Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Unwind
by Neal Shusterman
Pages: 335
Released: Nov. 6, 2007

Unwind
Summary: Unwind is a dystopian novel where unwinding happens. Basically, there was a Second Civil War, known as "The Heartland War," that was fought dealing with the issue of abortion. The two sides were pro-life and pro-choice and the war ended when the Bill of Life was passed.This is what the bill states:

...human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, a parent may choose to retroactively "abort" an child... on the condition that the child's life doesn't "technically" end. The process by which a child is both terminated an yet kept alive is called "unwinding." Unwinding is now a common, and accepted practice in society

The story follows the lives of three children who are about to be unwound--Connor, Risa, and Lev. Connor is a rebellious kid, Risa lives in a foster home that is too crowded, and Lev knew he was going to be unwound by the time he was born. 

My Thoughts: Oh my gosh.

What I liked: This story is a great one. The premise is very original and the story unwinds very well. At first though, my impression was, this is so unrealistic, I mean who would agree to this Bill of Life? But after reading the book, I was truly convinced as to why parents would unwind their children. The story is told in a third person perspective and I like how each chapter is from a different character's view. It plays out like a mystery/chiller book and I was fearing for these kids--rooting for them to escape. I never really know who is good or bad and what the motives are behind some of these characters. One of these characters change drastically toward the end of the book and I love how the author had him "grow up" before us. The whole concept of unwinding was interesting and it gave the book a very creepy vibe. The ending was amazing--sad, scary, etc,-- I did not expect the twists (yes, plural) in the end.

What I disliked: I can't really thing of anything I disliked. Hm, maybe I would have liked to know more of Connor's back story and the trouble that he caused his folks. Also, I wish they made the bad guys more evil. Perhaps I disliked that the book ended and I had nothing more to read (not really a dislike huh?).

Conclusion: Overall, I would give this book more than 5 stars if I could. I love how he put some philosophy into it and what it means to be alive, etc. I was so drawn into this world Shusterman created and involved with the three main characters--especially Lev.

5/5 stars

Source: Library.

By the way, there's going to be a sequel to this book!!!! It's coming out September 2012 and it's called Unwholly. How awesome is that title? I am already predicting what it's going to be about :) and I am so stoked there is going to be another book in this series. It really ended on a good spot and had one of those to be continued???... sort of ending.

Here's my video review too: