Published: November 2007 by Simon & Schuster
Format: Hardback, 335 pages
First Reviewed: March 2011
Buy: Barnes & Noble//Books-A-Million//Amazon//Book Depository
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What if your parents could unwind you?
The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape-and to survive.
Rating: 4/5
After reading the first page, I was like, "Uh, this would never happen. That makes no sense." You can read the summary above to kind of get an idea. However, I let that go and just went on with the story, which ended up being a great read.
Having multiple leads and multiple major-minor characters that all have their own chapters usually makes it difficult to get into the characters. But I didn't have that problem at all in this book. I felt each character was different, but not so different that it looked forced. It was natural, as were the characters' personalities. I cared about each one and cared about their journeys and plans. My adrenaline would pump when their did. The characters were pretty great, though there were some of the minor characters I didn't care for as much.
Overall, I'm impressed with how Shusterman managed to write in all the character's heads without getting me confused or boring me. While this is in third person, it's still in multiple points of view, even points of view of minor-minor characters at times. But never once did I get confused. The writing flowed nicely and that made for an easy read. I felt like Shusterman knows where to put the action and suspense and where to tone it down, which was great. However, I felt their were too many errors and places where the grammar just wasn't as it should have been. If you're not a writer or don't have a personal editor in your head dissecting everything you read, then you'll probably completely miss these things.
Loved the plot! Seriously, it was pretty darn awesome! Like I said earlier, at first I was like, "Okay, really? Pro-Choice would never go for that and neither would Pro-Life." And still, part of me thinks Shusterman could have used a different reason, or at least a more...realistic reason for unwinding, but that aside, the plot really was incredible. I've never read anything like it. It really was one of those books I couldn't put down. You know, the ones that have you going, "Okay, one more chapter...one more...just one more." My heart raced, there was action, adventure, mystery, suspense, dark and creepy scenes, and overall greatness. I thought this might have grossed me out, but it didn't. Seriously, great plotting.
Loved this book, just like everyone said I would, and I cannot wait for the next one...which doesn't come out until 2012! What the heck? No matter if you're Pro-Choice or Pro-Life (considering that argument "caused" this unwinding in the book). It doesn't matter. This is a great read, though not completely sold that it's a must-read.
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