Unwind by Neal Shusterman (Group Read December 2013)

[Sandra]

Great, let's read/reread Unstrung in a week!

Wendy, I think I can't keep on reading. (view spoiler)[As soon as I read 79. Starkey I feel sick. (hide spoiler)]

[Gwennie]

You'll have to refresh my memory, I don't remember what happened in 79. Was it (view spoiler)[Starkey leaving Trace trapped in the plane? I was devastated by this. I really thought Trace was going to stick around (hide spoiler)].

[Sandra]

Haha, I meant I had to stop because I get sick as soon as I see his name. Er, ahem... I think I shouldn't see that spoiler, Wendy. Just in case!

[Gwennie]

lmao.... I've tried so hard... but based off your post in 199 I thought it was safe to say.

[Sandra]

Maybe it's safe, but not gonna happen. I'm not reading it until I get finished, just in case ;P

[Gwennie]

That's probably wise. :)

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

I finished the book.

(view spoiler)[Trace - oh no!!! I didn't want that to happen.

Cam - It was sad to see him thinking that he could make Risa love him. Poor guy doesn't know that you can't do this.

I liked seeing Connor and Lev together again at the end. (hide spoiler)]

[Sandra]

I'm finished too.
(view spoiler)[
Connor and Lev: I like them together going back to Ohio. I always thought Connor would do it in the end, to read the letter he wrote and left at Sonia's. Well, him... or his parents.

Er.. I think Connor was not angry enough with Lev at first, though. He should be devastated and angry and probably suspicious about Lev having betrayed them once more to the Juvies. The thing is that we know Lev save him but after that? Did they befriend so much by letter that he doesn't want to punch Lev first?


Hayden: I haven't understood well his change of mind. Why did he do that? Are we supposed to understand later on or did I miss something? I'm so glad and hopeful that he's alive! Wendy: Yes, it was because of Trace.

Cam or Risa: We don't know anything about them!

Nelson: At the end he reminded me of Todd's pursuer in The Knife of Never Letting Go.

Great sequel! I think I like it even more than Up wind.

(hide spoiler)]

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

I laughed hard at "up wind." I don't think I'd want to be up wind. I'm assuming that had to be an autocorrect.

My phone isn't letting me make a spoiler tag right now but I wasn't completely clear on Hayden either.

[Sandra]

About Hayden: If you didn't catch it either, then it must be intentional.
About the up wind: LOL that wasn't intentional at all!

[Sandra]

Hi, I'm planning to start tomorrow. Stacia, do you want to reread it?

Initially I had planned to read right after Unstrung but I can wait for you if you want to buddy read it with me guys. So I can either get started by next Sunday if you can join me then or wait for you and read something else meanwhile.

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

Sure. I'll jump on Unstrung tomorrow.

[Dee]

i'll find it on my kindle as well - i'm busy all weekend playing Navy so I can't guarantee how much i'll get read but i'll try

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

I recall it being pretty short - maybe 1/4 the length of a book? Maybe less?

I'll start in about an hour or two.

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

Also, I won't be able to get to UnSouled until next week sometime - probably Tues. or Wed.

[Sandra]

It has less than 100 pages! I'm starting tonight and possibly will finish on Sunday. I've just found that Clean Sweep it's pretty short too so I'm picking it as next reading and that way I can start Unsouled by Tuesday or Wednesday too.

[Gwennie]

Clean Sweep was good too, haha.

[Sandra]

This weekend I have barely read.
End of Chapter 5, oh my: (view spoiler)["In the vision you were running," Kele tells him. "People wanted to hurt you... and you wanted to hurt them back." (hide spoiler)]

[Dee]

I got like zero reading done this weekend - didn't get home until 10pm saturday (I left at 5:30am); and left at 4:30am yesterday and didn't get home until 7

[Sandra]

@Dee: That way it's impossible! I hope you can find some time for you soon.

I've finished Unstrung. It was shorter than I thought (it had an sneak peak included). Thoughts:
(view spoiler)[- I still don't think it's fully understandable that Lev became a clapper. Maybe I just don't think Lev it's that type of guy, no matter the tragic happenings he goes through.
- It surprises me that Neal leaves it's unexplored how Lev met the clappers.
- Kale's vision is more ambiguous than I initially thought. Obviously it refers to undeterminated events that will happen once he is already out of the rez. I wonder if he would had become a clapper if he hadn't known that he is supposed to hurt back in his near future.
- So Cam has gotten Will's hands... I wonder if Lev will meet Cam and recognize Will's music later on.
(hide spoiler)]

[Dee]

it was reserve weekend - normally not that bad - just this weekend had a lot going on

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

I read Unstrung. Sorry, I forget to post.

(view spoiler)[I was wondering about Wil's parts going to Cam before he was unwound. I'm assuming it will all circle back to Lev but I'm curious what else between this story and future books is going to line up. (hide spoiler)]

[Gwennie]

:D

[Sandra]

Hehe, Wendy. So spoilery that smile ;P (just kidding)

[Gwennie]

Not spoilery, hahahaha. It's just that IIIIII know!

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

Show off!

I won't be able to read book 3 until next week or later. Not even going to try to be on a schedule with Thanksgiving coming up in a couple of days. We have three days of family stuff about to happen.

[Sandra]

Hehe, no problem, I'll wait. Anyway, I probably wouldn't have able to start until Friday night because I'm coming home a little bit later these days. Let me know if we can start Unsouled together around Dec 6. I'll probably start a long book meanwhile.

[Sandra]

Hi, I's just want to say that I haven't forgotten this series yet. It's just that the book I chose was not only long but slow too. It has taken me one week more than I initially thought! Sorry for my bad calculations. I'm such as mess for Buddy Reads!. I think I'll be starting Unsouled by next Tuesday and I hope you can join me at some point now that Thanksgiving has passed.

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

It's fine. I haven't been reading much lately. If I get the chance, I'll try to jump in.

[Sandra]

That would be great! I'm about to finish my other book (hehe, after checking out my GR friend's updates) so I'm starting definitely tomorrow.

[Dee]

yeah, i'm soo far behind...i finally got caught up on my reading goal after parking my butt on the bed and reading most of the weekend

[Sandra]

Where are you at, Dee?

[Dee]

where I was before we talked but I realized I can fit it into a challenge, so I may go back and re-read up to where I stopped

[Sandra]

It would be wonderful, Dee. The more, the merrier.

[Rachel]

Are you guys planning on reading in the new year? I would love to join in!

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

I would like to. It would be nice to finish out the series and have others to read with. :)

[Sandra]

Yes, Rachel, I'd love you could join in! I don't know when in the next year. I've just started Unsouled. For sure, I don't want to let more than a couple of books interfere, if any at all.

I'm just at 3% and I'm already enjoying.

[Rachel]

It's been awhile since I've read Unsouled, so I'll be following your discussions to get a bit of a recap.

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

I don't know why I thought we were starting next week. I think I misinterpreted next Tuesday as the following Tuesday. Oops. I will try to start in the morning and get caught up.

[Sandra]

Ups! My English is not very good either. I might have mislead you. I haven't read a lot so far, because real life doesn't allow it.

At 11% or starting 5.Lev : I've gotten into it since page 1. (view spoiler)[
- Happy to see Connor - <3 <3 <3 - and Lev again. I don't think Connor's captor is going to mean anything in this story, though. That's the only stuff that doesn't look original in this series and I really hope Connor can escape soon. It pains me to see Lev on his own again.

- Even happier because Cam is not pining over Risa. God, Neal Shusterman must be really intelligent. How else can he write Cam's POV as he does? (hide spoiler)]

[Sandra]

Few series make me think over like this does.
I guess it happens partly because I'm buddy reading it and I know there's a chance that someone reads my thoughts but definitely this series is suitable for it.

I can't help it. A flood of thoughts comes to my mind each time I read a book of this series!

One important thing: Thank you, Wendy because if it wasn't for your insistence, I would have missed . This is a read must.

At 22% 13. Cam chapter. No big spoilers:(view spoiler)[
- There has been a couple of chapters fast paced. I don’t know if all the book will be like that. I can’t stop thinking and worrying about something Ash Wednesday said in her review: ”…something about Connor still reminds me a little of Jack Bauer”. I guess I won’t mind as long as the book is not just about them getting at Sonia’s home. I want them to meet Cam or Risa somewhere along their way (and that not in a too far-fetched way, at that).
- GO Grace! I like her and I like that she has joined Connor and Lev so long as she is still helping that way.
- Connor wearing police stuff? Umm, I wanna see him with uniform again. Make the damn movie!
- Poor Lev! Run over by Connor. Their friendship is pretty complicated, ha?
- Hey, these guys get their bearings too easily, don’t you think? Specially Lev, who doesn’t even drive.
- Cam:

”I’m just on the receiving end. But yes, I do grieve their loss-so I choose to honor them by giving voice to their hopes, their dreams, and their talents.”

. *SIGH!* I do love concept cars too, Cam ;).
- Why did Risa call on Tyler’s Foundation? Should I know that? Did she knew someone from it?
-

”If I, in my youth, had been designated for unwinding I should think I’d be honored to know that a part of me was worthy to be choose for inclusion in Mr. Comprix.”

Man, how does Neal come up with all these argumentations? Sometimes they feel pretty convincing.
(hide spoiler)]

[Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder]

Okay, so everything fell to shit in my real life the past couple of days. Nothing that can't be fixed, just had to take care of my husband's stuff because he blew out his knee. So I still haven't started. I keep pushing back a day, but I will honestly try to get a chunk read tomorrow.

[Dee]

Yikes stacia :(

[Dee]

Ok getting my butt into gear - reading UnStrung right now

[Sandra]

OMG, I hope he has a speedy recovery, Stacia.

[Gwennie]

I'm so sorry to hear that Stacia!

Sandra, I love your thoughts but I don't want to say much having read the series I don't want to give anything away.

[Sandra]

At 53%: I admit to have lost interest for a while with a sequence of POVs from too many villains I detest and Risa, Connor and Lev stuck in their personal havens. I'm glad that Cam has get me back into the book. (view spoiler)[Glad the priest didn't answer him when he asked him if he had a soul. I know there will be more chances to break his heart ahead. I'll never be ready for that kick in my guts. I really like him. (hide spoiler)]

[Dee]

Ok finished UnStrung - Awwww Wil! Even though it wasn't as descriptive as the chapter from Unwind, I felt him - ya know?

[Gwennie]

Yes... YES, Dee. It got to me.

Sandra, I love Cam too. I think he was my favorite.

[Dee]

now back to UnSouled

i have SERIOUS book ADD right now!