Unwind by Neal Shusterman

1. Summary: Conner, Lev and Ria are all unwinds, teenagers turned over by their parents to the government to be chopped up and their body parts given to donors in need. They live in a society that now unwinds people in response to the number of abortions and unwanted children. Their deemed uselessness becomes incredible usefulness to people in need; people who need new limbs or organs. But they don’t go willingly; they fight for their right to stay whole by joining and underground railroad of sorts that gets to The Graveyard, a place of refuge until they turn 18. Through trials and situations, they are all saved from being unwound and eventually bring the issue of dismantling human beings to light and begin to force change in their society. Ria becomes paralyzed during an explosion at the Chop Shop, Conner receives a new arm after being injured, and Lev, who attempted to be a clapper, a suicide bomber of sorts, becomes an unintended spokesman for human rights.
2. Textbook: This is a great example of scifi/fantasy. Despite living in a futuristic society, Rai, Lev, and Conner exemplify basic teenage qualities: brash, rebellious, hormonal, and willing to fight for what they believe in. The society they live in has glimpses of current society, even sometimes pointing out poor qualities of our society by addressing a futuristic societies response to the issue, such as an abortion and unwanted children. Either way, there are still concrete laws and ways of living in this society that are similar to current rules, allowing readers to understand the fantasy and believe it. The value of human life, the influence of religion, and the power of a person’s voice are all universal themes addressed in this novel despite being a novel set in a future time period and dealing with fantasy. This novel almost feels like a satire of our current society, but with a focus on teenage empowerment and other negative aspects of society.

 Shusterman, N. (2007). Unwind. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

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