Unwind (Unwind, #1) in The Alternative Worlds

Jul 08, 2013 Figgy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, buddy-read, buddy-read-cam, genre-sci-fi, genre-dystopia

You remember what it was like when you and your parents used to spend time together, when you saw eye to eye, really understood each other. But then you hit puberty and wanted to spend less and less time with them. You began to find them condescending, controlling, annoying. And to top it all off, they just didn’t understand you.

To them it was all about good grades, friends who were a positive influence, and your plans for the future. For you it was all about it being, you know, your life.

You gu ...more

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Mar 01, 2010 Carolyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-ya_13-and-up, science-fiction, science-fiction_post-apoc-dystopian, 5-star-books, 2010-read

Wow! Great book - lots of food for thought in this one. A YA book, so great read for teens to get them thinking about/from others' perspectives on a usually divisive issue. Also good for adults, in the issues and philosopies, policies and practices portrayed in this book.
Highly recommend.
Longer review to follow, but if you enjoyed The Unit or The Hunger Games, I think you'll like this book as well. ...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Maree rated it really liked it

I...actually really liked this book! Finally, another YA that's not just meh, as so many I've recently read were.

Unwind is a dystopia, which most of the YA books I like seem to be (perhaps because they tend to be more realistic), where the second civil war was fought over abortion, which resulted in a major compromise between the pro-lifers and the pro-choice. Women could either stork their child without getting caught, laying the bundle on a doorstep and making the finders the parents, or sign I...actually really liked this book! Finally, another YA that's not just meh, as so many I've recently read were.

Unwind is a dystopia, which most of the YA books I like seem to be (perhaps because they tend to be more realistic), where the second civil war was fought over abortion, which resulted in a major compromise between the pro-lifers and the pro-choice. Women could either stork their child without getting caught, laying the bundle on a doorstep and making the finders the parents, or sign an order for their kids to be retroactively aborted at age 13 if they're too much trouble. Being unwound allows for 99.4% of one's body to be used for transplants, which essentially cures cancer and allows cripples to walk.

Though the first thing that comes to mind when I think back about this book is about how dumb some of the world stuff was, like how storking would become legal, and the whole unwinding protocol. Too weird that parents would be the ones to unwind their kids instead of the government when they broke too many laws, but from a story perspective, I can see the need for it.

The book also got a little...not preachy, because both sides were presented, but it tried to go deep, I guess, in having an in-flight discussion about abortion and when a baby first became alive so that killing it was murder.

But the story, surrounding sixteen year old Connor who gets in one fight too many for his parents, thirteen year old tithe Levi, whose parents had had him as part of the government's 10% rule, planning to give him to unwinding from the beginning, and state ward girl Risa, who the state determines isn't good enough to stay with the budget cuts, is full of action and power struggles, not so much in escaping those who would unwind them, but in dealing with their compatriots and those who would protect them. I think this is probably why I enjoyed the story so much, despite the unlikelihood of the world itself -- because it didn't focus on the world, but on the actions and reactions of the characters.

That isn't to say there weren't some cool things going on with the world. I really liked the idea of tithes, who thought they were special for being sacrificed, and clappers, a term that was used a few times in the beginning but not really explained until the end when it mattered.

I also liked the side notes at the beginnings of the chapters, which had quotes from future famous people talking about unwinding laws and opinions about it, and little side notes that helped to round out the world a bit. They were pretty cool to read and gave nice insight.

I admit the last part was sweet and brought tears to my eyes as well. ...more

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May 05, 2011 Regina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, dystopia, listened-to-audio-only, favorites, audio-also-listened-to, urban-fantasy-uf

4.5 stars

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Apr 28, 2010 Julie S. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2010, sci-fi-dystopian-fantasy, books-matthew-should-read, books-thomas-should-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was great. Neal Shusterman has never disappointed me in any of his books. He has a wonderful combination of an interesting/out-there idea, witty writing, and the cohesion to pull it all together into a wonderfully readable novel.

The issue that he was dealing with was quite interesting. No more abortions, but you have two other options. 1) Storking- leave the baby on a random person's doorstep and they are legally obligated to take the baby in. 2) Keep the baby until he or she turns 13, This book was great. Neal Shusterman has never disappointed me in any of his books. He has a wonderful combination of an interesting/out-there idea, witty writing, and the cohesion to pull it all together into a wonderfully readable novel.

The issue that he was dealing with was quite interesting. No more abortions, but you have two other options. 1) Storking- leave the baby on a random person's doorstep and they are legally obligated to take the baby in. 2) Keep the baby until he or she turns 13, at which time you can have them unwound. This means the government will harvest them for parts to give to others.

All of this is laid out in the Bill of Life, which says:
The Second Civil War, also known as "The Heartland War," was a long and bloody conflict fought over a single issue. To end the war, a set of constitutional amendments known as "The Bill of Life" was passed. It satisfied both the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice armies. The Bill of Life states that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, a parent may choose to retroactively "abort" a child... on th condition that the child's life doesn't "technically" end. The process by which a child is both terminated and yet kept alive is called "unwinding." Unwinding is now a common, and accepted practice in society.

In addition to exploring bioethics and medical advances, this novel had a lot of other things that could make for good discussion. For example: personal responsibility, the government's power, family structure, friendship, etc.

I liked the ending where the Admiral gets to see all of the people that have part of Emby, Connor is now leading the graveyard, and Risa (although now handicapped) is still alive (and whole) and playing the piano with dignity and spirit.

Shusterman is so quotable. Some of the most memorable:
A girl is storking her baby. "She now has a second chance in life, and this time she'll be smarter-she's sure of it. As she hurries down the street, she thinks how wonderful it is that she can get a second chance. How wonderful it is that she can dismiss her responsibility so easily." (page 54-55)

Risa arrives at Happy Jack Harvet Camp."In her mind's eye she always pictured harvest camps as human cattle stockades: dead-eyed crowds of malnourished kids in small gray cells- a nightmare of dehumanization. Yet somehow this picturesque nightmare is worse. Just as the airplane graveyard was Heaven disguised as Hell, harvest camp is Hell masquerading as Heaven." (pg 268)

...more

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Jul 07, 2013 Maria rated it liked it

Shelves: dystopia, young-adult, science-fiction

I thought that this book would be a pretty typical YA sci-fi, but it's much stronger than most novels in this genre. The ending was especially good. 4.5 stars. ...more

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