Fabulous Finds: Unwind

I have just finished an amazing book thanks to my professor for my Adolescent Literature class. She gave us a list of books to read and discuss and this book, Unwind is one of them. I ordered it on my Kindle because let's face it, technology rules our lives lately. Unwind is the first of a dystopian trilogy written by Neal Shusterman (click on his name to go directly to his website). I honestly hadn't heard of this book and being such a huge dystopian fan, I was surprised. Anyways, forward onto the book review for Unwind.

Here is the description given by Amazon.com

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them
Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.

This gives a pretty decent description of the book. Below is a review given by yours truly:

Unwind is a fantastic thrill ride that is guaranteed to get you thinking about your own beliefs. It's a story of three totally different teens thrown together by one common goal, to live when the law is telling them otherwise. This setting takes place after a war between those believing in Pro-Life and those believing in Pro-Choice. The ending of this war results in what is called Unwinding, where teens between the ages of 13 and 18 can be written off by their parents or guardians and "unwound". It is a common idea that these teens don't die, but are living in a divided state as 100% of their bodies are harvested and used as transplants. It's truly a horrifying thought.

This book really made me think about how I viewed this current debate. While I do have my own beliefs and lean strongly toward one side rather than the other, the idea of unwinding another human being is revolting. This subject helps connect us to a very real debate in our world. It's nearly impossible not to question your ideas or the ideas of those that oppose you after reading such an interesting novel.

This dystopian reminds me greatly of another series that I was thoroughly hooked on called "The Uglies". (I'll need to place a review for that book on here soon. It was fabulous!!) That series dove deeply into current issues as well but rather than address the Pro-Life/Choice issue, it involved the issue of cosmetic surgery and self-confidence issues. The writing style and how the author addresses these hot topics are very similar. I do think I need to mention that the story's POV jumps through several characters and that can be a little confusing if you aren't paying attention.

As a teacher of third grade, this is not a book I would have in my classroom library. However, I will be recommending it to fellow educators teaching late junior high or high school. It would be great as a class set to read aloud and discuss this sensitive issue. Perhaps even bring about a class debate.

Anyways, I need to thank my professor, Dr. White for introducing this wonderful book to my personal library!

Happy Reading!!!
-CM (browsing the cover of "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by G. Choldenko)