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A Quick Book Reco: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

As a quick update, I have finished two books off of my 2015 Reading List. First was Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy, which was okay. It took a little bit to get into it, but once I did it was a fast and pleasant enough read. But I think Binchy wrote better novels, so if you want to try one of her books, pick a different one (like Circle of Friends). The second was Unwind by Neal Shusterman. And that's why I'm here today.



If you're a fan of dystopian future novels, I definitely recommend checking this one out. I really enjoyed this book and plan to pick up the next one in the Unwind Dystology (which I don't always do...or always recommend). Unwind was fast-paced, engaging and a new twist in the land of dystopian future book scenarios.

The basic premise of the book is this: There is a Second Civil War in the US. This time it's not the North vs the South but Pro-Choice vs Pro-Life. The war comes to an end when the armies agree to The Bill of Life, which states that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until the child reaches thirteen years old. But, between the ages of 13-18 a parent or guardian may choose to retroactively "abort" a child through a process called "unwinding." Unwinding does not technically kill the child because it allows for all of his or her organs and body parts to be transplanted to various recipients in need, thereby allowing the child to "live on" in others. (Can you say, Super Creepy?!)

The story follows three different teens marked for unwinding who all come from very different backgrounds with very different stories but are brought together when they become AWOL Unwinds and go on the run.

Sound interesting? Sound bizarre? It is both. And while it is a fun, fast read, it also gets you thinking about a lot of things...much deeper things than you might expect to be pondering while reading YA fiction.

So there you have it. My first book recommendation for 2015. Check it out.

And, as always, I bid you good reading!


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