“Unwind by Neal Shusterman takes readers a short way into the future where newspapers are rarely seen, daycares are now included in every high school, eye-color injections join fashion, and children between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives “unwound” and their body parts harvested for use by others.
Three teens joined by coincidence run from their chosen fate. Connor, sixteen, is sent to be unwound because of his behavior, Risa, without parents and fifteen, is being unwound to cut orphanage costs, and Lev, thirteen, had been chosen since birth to be unwound in dedication to his religion. Only if they can reach their eighteenth birthday can they dodge the grasps of the Juvenile Cops.
The readers are joined back-seat on their journey and you find yourself constantly turning the pages as fast as they have to run.
Shusterman created a new world and though his pages, readers fall into it. The setting is not foreign but seeps with the ethereal sense of mystery and gothic elements.
“Unwind” is not your ordinary book, and that’s what makes it so appealing for the fanatic readers. It’s a whole different world unlike any other, with characters readers can’t help but get attached to.
Like a rollercoaster, this story will jerk readers this way and that with its gasp-worthy twists and with a satisfying ending, this book is complete with nothing but amazing writing.
Shusterman has this special way of making every person deep with history though it may not be told directly. The main characters grow so quickly it almost seems impossible that they are the same teenagers they were in the beginning of the story.
Connor comes from being an angry, scared teen, to a bold, grown man in less than a year. Risa comes from a life filled with school and her love for the piano to a girl who sees the big picture yet can easily lean in and see the details. Lev is the biggest change forma young, scared, confused kid, to a brave, understanding, and loving boy who now knows who he is.
Readers can be promised a long ride with nothing but gripping characters, gothic settings, dark history, and mind-spinning suspense. This book well deserves to be picked up and will keep you reading to the point you won’t want to go to sleep until you finish.
[starreview tpl=16]
