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Unwind (Unwind, #1)

Neal Shusterman

Start date: May 1, 2010

Finish date: May 31, 2010

Discussion: MONTHLY BOOK DISCUSSIONS

Why we're reading this: Won for May book read
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MONTHLY BOOK DISCUSSIONS

July 2017: The Thirteenth Tale
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last updated Mar 22, 2018 04:57PM

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What Members Thought

Jun 03, 2008 Brigid ✩ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, sci-fi, yes-yes-yes, dystopia, futuristic, young-adult

Finished my re-read! It's been eight years since I read this book for the first time (damn, that makes me feel old). In my original review, I stated that this story would "haunt me forever," and I was definitely right about that. Even after all these years, there were a lot of scenes that I still remembered vividly. But there were also many details I'd forgotten. And there were also a lot of powerful themes that I think went over my head when I was younger, so I'm glad I decided to re-read it.

Al ...more

65 likes · Like · see review

Aug 22, 2008 Seth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-books, re-read

This book deserves 100 million bajillion stars. It was just so . . . good! I loved it! LIKE amazingness in a bottle! I loveeee it soooo much!

--EDIT--

Finished rereading it a while ago but never put it up here! But loved it again the second time!

9 likes · Like · see review

Oct 18, 2010 Cassi aka Snow White Haggard rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2011, dystopian

This was the type of book that I had trouble putting down--which was good because I'd been on a bit of an up and down rollercoaster with books lately. Some I loved (Chaos Walking), some I felt disappointed by (The Replacements). Unwind really captured my attention, keeping me up for just one more chapter (when I am old enough to know that it a slippery slope).

The character are well developed and interesting. While we don't learn everything that led to Connor's parents decision to Unwind him, we This was the type of book that I had trouble putting down--which was good because I'd been on a bit of an up and down rollercoaster with books lately. Some I loved (Chaos Walking), some I felt disappointed by (The Replacements). Unwind really captured my attention, keeping me up for just one more chapter (when I am old enough to know that it a slippery slope).

The character are well developed and interesting. While we don't learn everything that led to Connor's parents decision to Unwind him, we see enough of his personality to figure it out. But what's interesting about Connor--his rash forgetting to think moments are just as prone to heroics as problems. He's just as good a kid as he is a bad kid--only in this world parents take no responsibility for their kids shortcomings.

The unfairness of Risa's situation might be the most obvious, but all three characters have been wronged by the adults who were suppose to protect them. Risa had no parents or no one to love her. Lev's parents never even gave him a chance though, raising him as a tithe on a set path with no chance to discover himself or become his own person.

The best thing about this book is the way it raises questions. I haven't researched Neal Shusterman's political views but I have a guess. However the novel never falls into preachy or political prose. It puts questions about life and the soul out there, but doesn't tell the reader what to think. As a reader I prefer open ended questions because too often people try to oversimplify these issues.

Now there were a few points that bothered me with this book that really held it back from being a 5 star read.

1. I have trouble believing that the pro-life & pro choice crowd would agree on the Bill of Life. I know they try to deal with this in the novel but to me that decision never makes sense. The whole novel is based on the Bill of Life--but this issue doesn't hold the novel back as much as it could (and maybe should) because the story is just so compelling even if the basis doesn't make much sense.

2. In the Judeo-Christian (Abrahamic) tradition there is no practice of human sacrifice. It's one of the thing that separated the God of Abraham from all the other religions of the time. So to say their are rabbis and all kinds of religions that are participating in what is essentially human sacrifice just doesn't work from a theological standpoint. Read more about Abraham/Isaac here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_...

3. Unwind is not futuristic enough. Considering they have developed this whole process of Unwinding and replacing human body parts, everything else in the novel Unwind seems strangely un-futuristic.

4. Changing the names of races seemed unnecessary and intruded into the text.

Overall you can tell that I did in fact love this book. But the misunderstanding of the theology and my disbelief in the Bill of Life made loving this book harder. In fact it made me question whether I should love a book with so many flaws. But sometimes story wins over logic and that's the case with Unwind. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 24, 2010 Heidi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-that-rocks

I really liked this book (thanks Peep). Just like with The Hunger Games I had to suspend my disbelief to get into this story, but once I did I was all in. The book had very original concepts and great characters. It moved at a fast pace and really made me think. Definitely recommend.

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 23, 2011 Renuka rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction, dystopia, adventure, romance, action, thriller, e-book, owned, fav-couples

Reread: June 21, 2019

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Apr 24, 2010 Brittany (finally graduated and can once again read for fun) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2010, ya-my-first-love

I have to admit I am a little torn about this book. The situation is a bit unbelievable to me and i wasn't sucked in immediately, but once I got into the story it was actually pretty good. I genuinely found myself caring about the characters and their fates in what I consider a crazy situation. There were many slow parts to this book as well, but I was interested enough in the characters to keep reading. As with most books I wanted to know a bit more towards the end, I was especially interested ...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Claudia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-lit

Holy crap. I really enjoyed this book. The premise was great. I remember hearing about it at Comic-Con; it was one of the books presented on the Hungry for Dystopia panel that I hadn't read. When Shusterman talked about it I so wanted to read it. Then - a fellow English teacher said she loved it and let me borrow it. I need time to process then I'll have a better review.... ...more

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Nov 06, 2010 Falling for Books (Tia) rated it really liked it

I thought this was a really good book. I really like the writing in the book. Unwind also has a lot of action going on in the story. I'm not sure why it took me so long to read this. I think this is definitely a very unique concept, and I could see this book actually being a good movie! ...more

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Jun 03, 2008 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dystopian

If you want to read a book that reaches your very soul, Unwind is for you. Another great YA book to use in Literature Circles that gets even the most reluctant reader hooked. The book spread like wildfire throughout our school once I performed a booktalk to my class (and students kept recommending it to others). The only problem with the book is not having enough copies (you are going to want a copy of your own). Another utopian/dystopian themed book that questions "what is the value of life" an ...more

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Apr 28, 2010 Katelin rated it liked it

Shelves: src-summer-2010

This started off really intense and really good. I could't put it down. Then it kind of got boring and I had to make myself keep reading. It picked up toward the end. I liked the concept of the book. It really made me think. ...more

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