The penultimate book on my A-Z challenge…
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
335 pages
Genre Fiction (Science Fiction)
Thursday 14th November – Wednesday 20th November (7 days)
4 morning, 2 afternoon, 4 evening.
Set in the not to distant future, after a second Civil War or “Heartland War”, abortion has now been outlawed. However, unwanted babies can be “storked” – where babies can be left on a doorstep, and if you find the baby you are legally responsible for it. A law was made to compromise between the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice sides where between the ages of 13 and 18, teenagers could be sent to be “Unwound”. this involves them being sent to “Harvest Camps” where they have their entire bodies harvested for donation – the technology has become so advanced that all the body can be used and donated, and therefore the “Unwinds” don’t technically die.
We follow the story of 3 unwinds… Connor, who’s parent’s signed the form for him to be unwound as he is a tearaway and troublemaker; Risa, a Ward of the State (an orphan in an orphanage) who is being unwound due to budget cuts, and Lev – a tithe who is being given to be an unwound as his religious family give 10% of everything they own to God.
Because of the different backgrounds, we see the different perspectives of the Unwounds, and we follow them on their attempts to get free and avoid being unwound. Once they reach 18 they are safe, so Connor and Risa plan to escape and lay low for 5 years… and it obviously doesn’t go according to plan.
This was a disturbing dark story, and despite being a “Young Adult” novel, I found it really engaging. Apart from the obvious theme of whether this is a morally right thing to do, there is also an underlying sub-plot about whether the “Unwinds” actually die… or whether because they don’t die, they are just split up into separate pieces, essentially they are still alive and their soul still exists. This book gives you a fair bit to think about mixed in with lots of adventure, and some good characters, I enjoyed reading this book, and I am looking forward to the next two in the trilogy, and the novella. Worth a look!
Next book: The First Casualty by Ben Elton
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