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Unwind (Unwind, #1)

Neal Shusterman

Start date: September 1, 2013

Finish date: October 1, 2013

Discussion: DB book club - currently reading

Discussion leader: Rachel Mackenzie

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DB book club - currently reading

* April 2014 - COWS by Matthew Stokoe
By Heather V · 1 post · 5 views

last updated Apr 13, 2014 03:32PM

July 2014 - CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE by Thomas Ligotti
By Heather V · 2 posts · 6 views

last updated Aug 05, 2014 10:02AM

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What Members Thought

Dec 27, 2012 Kynthos-the-Archer (Kyn) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: b-_-d, contemporary, captive-captivity-confinement, young-adult, depraved, engrossing, emotional-distress, in-library, good-plot, tear-jerkers-sad

REMINDER: to RE-READ this book for GR Group - Disturbing Books on Livejournal . Group reading starts on 1st September 2013.

I am going to re-read this book to kick-start my reading of the UNWIND Dystology Series since I have only read the first book and it was ages ago. I plan to continue reading after book one in hope to complete the whole series. I think there are 4 volumes now and a couple of side stories.

I have truly enjoyed this book very much and hope the rest of the installments are ev ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Aug 14, 2013 Heather V ~The Other Heather~ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: disturbing-books-reading-list, dark-and-darker, db-book-club, my-kindle-library, books-i-regularly-recommend, recommended-to-me, gifted-to-me, reviewed

I don't read much in the way of dystopian fiction, nor am I a conoisseur when it comes to YA novels. I wasn't resistant to reading this - it came highly recommended by many members in the Disturbing Books Community I moderate, and my friend Rachel gave it to me for my birthday - but I know I wouldn't have picked it up on my own. And, oh, what I would've been missing.

Reviews here really don't require a rehash of the plot; you can get the gist of the book just by clicking its title. I'll skip to t I don't read much in the way of dystopian fiction, nor am I a conoisseur when it comes to YA novels. I wasn't resistant to reading this - it came highly recommended by many members in the Disturbing Books Community I moderate, and my friend Rachel gave it to me for my birthday - but I know I wouldn't have picked it up on my own. And, oh, what I would've been missing.

Reviews here really don't require a rehash of the plot; you can get the gist of the book just by clicking its title. I'll skip to the part where I explain why this earned a solid five stars from me.

Shusterman has created a world here that feels enough like our own to connect us instantly, while still shrouding us in the horrors of what could very possibly lie ahead in the not-too-distant future. I'm not saying I expect laws to be passed any time soon that will allow parents to Unwind their kids (that is, (view spoiler)); I'm saying that the way Shusterman approaches the subject makes it seem plausible. Certainly not impossible, anyway. That's an imperative part of telling a great dystopian story: It can't be so alien that you aren't able to imagine it, but it has to be terrifying enough in its possibilities that you'll be sucked in. I have more vivid images in my mind of Shusterman's future than I've had about many books I've ever read. Ever.

Another impressive feat is the way Shusterman has divided up (...ugh, bad choice of words, for those who've read it) the book itself. Each chapter is told in third person, present tense, from the perspective of a single character. With these glimpses into the personalities and histories of Connor, Risa, Lev, Roland and a handful of others, the reader gets to know each of them very well right away, and then you're invested, for better or worse, until the bitter end. Each character is so three-dimensional you'll find yourself wondering how they're doing right now if you've put the book down for a few hours. They get into your head. You give a damn.

And that's why so many of the things that take place throughout "Unwind" will shatter your heart. I wouldn't have even pegged this as YA, actually; even though it's a story about kids in the 13-17 age range, the book doesn't back away from truly horrifying situations, moral and ethical dilemmas, tragic fates for mere children. As my friend Jenn put it, the person who recommended the book to her expressed surprise at just how far the YA genre is able to push the boundaries, and damn, that is so true here. I cannot imagine what this would've done to me if I'd read it when I was twelve. I guess I'd just be thankful I'm an only child whose parents always liked me. *shudder*

There is a scene about 80% of the way through that will make even the most hardened reader want to slap their hands over their eyes so they don't have to take it all in. I was warned, in a vague sense, about this scene. It didn't prepare me. The interesting thing is not only that it's a horrifyingly vivid chapter (it really, really is) but that, even so late in the game, after you've already formed your opinions about every character, you'll suddenly find yourself unsure, on shaky ethical ground, and that is what will haunt you long after you've closed the book and put it back on its shelf.

Read this damn book. Just read it. It picks up quickly, and by the last quarter it moves at breakneck speed. You will be shocked, appalled, enraged, heartbroken, touched, torn, and in the end you will be glad you took the journey with these characters. Even the ones for whom there is no happy ending.

Knowing now that this will be a quadrilogy, and having read the first chapter that came along as a preview of Book Two on my Kindle, I can say for certain that I'm in this 'til the end. Neal Shusterman, you have a new fan. Friends and fellow readers, you won't stop hearing me recommend "Unwind" to you until you just give in and buy it. Save yourselves the hassle and read the goddamn literary victory that is this book. ...more

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