Unwind by Neal Shusterman...

JustJess · Oct 9, 2008

Please tell me someone else has read this. I just finished it. WOW. Deeply disturbing, gut-wrenching, intense, thought provoking, excellent read.

For those who haven't, it's the story of life after the Heartland Wars (a second Civil War fought by the Pro-Life vs Pro-Choice) a Bill of Life is in place making abortion illegal and protecting human life up until the age of 13 at which time any teen may be "unwound"-a process in which the teen is sent to a harvest camp and dissected; each and every part donated as replacements. It is not considered murder as each part lives on.

This is the story of 3 runaways who are marked to be unwound. One is a boy whose parents have given up on him, one is a girl from a state home who is just part of the annual cuts, and one is a tithe-knowing his whole life that he was born to be sacrificed.

wandergirl · Oct 21, 2008

Hi! I read this a couple weeks ago, and though I wasn't blown away (like with M.T. Anderson's Feed, for example) I enjoyed it. The premise was a little hard to accept, but I can suspend disbelief for a good tale.

The most gripping scene, I thought, was when a boy was actually being unwound. The boy looks down, and his lower half is gone -- they're wiping the cart which supported his legs. They take him apart piece by piece, until he's just a head, and then they begin on his face, then brain. He's aware until the very last lobe. Freaky!

If you like Neal Shusterman, I also recommend Downsiders and the Shadow Club. Haven't yet read Everlost, but I will.

JustJess · Oct 22, 2008

Yay! Finally, someone else has actually read it. That scene was so difficult to read. When I realized that I was about to be walked through the entire procedure I had to put the book down for a minute. Not only the process but the interaction between himself and the calm, logical nurse...ugh.

Thanks for the recommendations.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman...

JustJess

wandergirl

~kirsten hubbard

JustJess