From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

Unwind (Unwind, #1)

Neal Shusterman

Start date: April 2, 2013

Finish date: April 30, 2013

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What Members Thought

Oct 21, 2010 Marla rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, award-winner, boys, challenged, with-reservations, series, zz-2013, romance, religion, young-adult

Lots of unique story elements and a very discussible (controversial and thought-provoking) book, perfect for book clubs. Story kept me guessing, characters were sympathetic and believable, and 3+ different points of view were fascinating and gave story more depth. WARNING: Chapter 61 is disturbing, consider yourself warned.

This would be a great book for book club! We would discuss it a ton! The ideas about death and a soul are very deep for a YA novel. Loved the reply from ebay about listing a s ...more

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Sep 16, 2014 Krissy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-motherfucking-stars, pgs-400-499, cover-color-blue, read-before-2015

I freaking loved this book. I loved all of the characters in it. Lev was a little shit at first but he grew on me. I even ended up feeling sympathy towards Roland by the end of the book. I did not expect that at all. There are so many great YA dystopian books out there right now. But I hope this book does not get lost in the sauce. It should definitely be given a chance and I will be recommending this book to everybody I know who enjoys this genre.

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Aug 05, 2011 Jacalyn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011

In the effort to disclose information, here’s my confessions. I hate the term “Pro-Life”. Like those who are “Pro-Choice” are somehow against life in some way? After two very high risk, life-threatening pregnancies, I’m also a fan of “My uterus, my rules.” I choose what to do with it and I don’t want other people deciding this. That does not necessarily mean I am “Pro-Choice”, just that I don’t like the idea of someone else telling me what to do with my body. Finally, I really wasn’t sure I coul In the effort to disclose information, here’s my confessions. I hate the term “Pro-Life”. Like those who are “Pro-Choice” are somehow against life in some way? After two very high risk, life-threatening pregnancies, I’m also a fan of “My uterus, my rules.” I choose what to do with it and I don’t want other people deciding this. That does not necessarily mean I am “Pro-Choice”, just that I don’t like the idea of someone else telling me what to do with my body. Finally, I really wasn’t sure I could even read this book without gagging or going into some sort of thermonuclear meltdown at the thought of having babies just to farm them for spare parts which I partly attribute to having a cancer-survivor for a son.

Why did I read this book? I read it because I had far too many people tell me that it was just that good. Much like “The Hunger Games”, Shusterman’s “Unwind” tells a thought-provoking story with a terrible backdrop. The backdrop is merely a setting, one that while horrifies you. The story, however, takes you on adventure of human nature while exploring the role society plays in people’s lives.

The book touches on the wanted and unwanted in society as well as what depths people will go to survive. It makes you consider organ donation. The look into a future where people claim life “sacred” and yet treat it as a “disposable” commodity offers you the ability to truly ponder what life means to you. The book even touches on what could happen to the adoption/foster care system in a future world more gritty than our own. Legalized abandonment on a doorstep known as “storking” is a way of life in this future, and the instances seen in Shusterman’s novel is heartbreaking.

I think the most chilling topic covered is the “tithe-child”. A child born for the sole purpose to one day be “unwound”. A child whose very existence puts all new meaning to “an heir and a spare”. It made me sick to think about, but maybe that’s because I actually had people bring up this idea when my oldest son had cancer.

As with most dystopian tales, this book is not for the faint of heart. I promise, the story is worth reading. It’s just that good, but it will leave you thinking. ...more

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Jul 09, 2016 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: american, fiction, fantasy-scifi, young-adult, male-protagonist

Read this on the recommendation of Thirteen. It was a quick, spirited dystopian read, told, mostly and in turns, from the points of view of its characters, a group of misfit 13 year olds who, for various reasons, have been sentenced to be Unwound. (A few places or groups had a turn at narrating, which was awkward.) The prose was crisp, the characters and their actions believable, the philosophical preachings few yet insightful and timely, and the pacing quick. A solid summer scifi read and a rem ...more

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