Unwind (Unwind Dystology #1) by Neal Shusterman

"A hard hitting, unflinching, dark, disturbing novel but one that is filled with hope, endurance, strength and the characters, as well as the story itself and its message, stays with you long after you read it, as it should."

5 Stars

Pros: This book is both horrifying yet immensely compelling and thought provoking all at once/ The subject of pro-life/pro-choice is so fraught with tension and it seems that people lean one way or the other but Shusterman is great at really making the reader see and consider all sides.

Cons: Shusterman just loves those exclamation points/Not a book for people who are not willing to keep an open mind.

Full Review:

After the second Civil War, also known as The Heartland War, which was fought between Pro-Choice and Pro-Life, both sides come to an agreement and draft "The Bill of Life." It reads as follows.

"The Bill of Life states that 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" a child on the condition that the child's life doesn't "technically" end.

The process by which a child is both terminated and yet kept alive is called "unwinding."

Unwinding is now a common and accepted practice in society."

The novel follows the lives of Connor, a troubled, angry teenager, Risa, an orphan and ward of the state and Lev, a Tithe, a child born to be unwound as a sign of faithfulness to the Church. Their lives become intertwined in one cataclysmic moment and their stories continue to coalesce as they manage to avoid unwinding and live another day. They each grow as characters and people but in different ways, Connor manages to control his emotions and rely more on rationality, Risa learns to trust more and not be so guarded and Lev, lets his feelings of betrayal, anger and disillusionment that his whole life was a lie fester into something dangerous and dark.

It is an intense book with intense moments. The process of unwinding is explained, even detailed for one unlucky teenager and the scene is horrifying. Shusterman does not shy away from exploring the ideas of pro-life and pro-choice. His characters often wonder when does life begin, if you're unwound, do you really truly die or does your soul live on, only in a divided state? What is there afterwards, Heaven, Hell, something in between? And it's the fact that Shusterman does not shy away from such deep, painful, thought-provoking subjects that gives this novel its power and drive.

The end is truly, only the beginning and I'm excited to continue the series and see how it finally ends. But this book was just as good, if not better, the second time around.

Comments

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