Shusterman, Neal (2007). Unwind. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9781416912040. 335 pages. $17.99.
Author’s Website: http://www.storyman.com/books/
Reader’s Annotation: Parents are given the option of unwinding their children, meaning medically donating their bodies. Three unwinds are presented with a chance to escape their fate.
Summary: In response to the Second Civil War over abortion rights, the government has outlawed abortion. However, parents are allowed to has their children unwound between the ages of 13 and 18. The unwinding process takes the teen apart piece by piece, but keeping them alive the entire time so the theoretically never die but live on in other body.
On the way to the unwinding facilities, three teens manage to escape. Connor is not a bad kid, but is apparently too much for his parents to deal with. Risa is a ward of the state, but the orphanage cannot afford to keep her any longer. Lev come from a very religious family and is a tithe, a boy who was raised for the sole purpose of being unwound.
The three must work together to avoid being taken in by the police and eventually be unwound. Along the way, the trio encounter an abandoned baby, a camp of escaped unwinds, and the truth behind what really happens during the procedures.
Reading Level: Grades 6 and up
Interest Level: Grades 9 and up
Review and Evaluation: Unwind is a startling and horrific vision of a very possible future for the world. Shusterman does a wonderful job of including shocking situations without making it too fantastical. What makes this so frightening is how real the entire scenario is. He does not include a great deal of advanced technology. He makes a science fiction story feel like it is happening tomorrow. However, the reality of Unwind can be more controversial because of the fact that it is so possible. I will discuss this further in the upcoming sections, but Shusterman’s inclusion of unwinding as a respectable replacement for abortion can get Pro-Choice supporters a bit angry. He is theoretically saying that if you don’t want to kill babies, then you can donate your teens instead. This raises several discussion questions. Actually, I think Unwindmight be one of the best discussion books I’ve read in quite some time. Anyone who reads this book is going to have a strong opinion in response to the subject matter.
It is also important to note the format of Unwind. Shusterman allows us the opportunity to follow several different perspectives as this story unfolds. Each of the teens has a different reason for being unwound. The fact that their guardians made the decision to get rid of them is something that will weight differently on each of them. A third person narrator could not explore the inklings of doubt that Lev experiences in regards to the demands of his religion. The act of unwinding is bad enough, but Shusterman makes sure we experience it first-hand through Connor, Risa, and Lev.
Subjects/Genres: Coming of Age, Death, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Thriller, Violence
Bibliotherapeutic Uses: Unwind is about being heard. The teens don’t have a voice. They can be shipped off to a harvesting camp at end point, for any reason. Connor, Risa, and Lev show that teens do need to be heard and they will do whatever it takes to make it happen. Unwind is a book for teens forced to be silent who are striving to find a voice.
Controversial Issues:
Unwinding and Violence – The violence executed against the teens is horrific and could be viewed as too intense for some readers.
- Defense – The violence is making a point. The situation is not acceptable to the readers but it is deemed acceptable in the world of the book. The violence makes the reader ponder why unwinding is wrong. It’s in the book to create strong opinions.
Abortion – The book shows that donating the bodies of teens for transplants is a better to getting an abortion. Those who do not believed life begin at conception may have issues with the connotations of the book.
- Defense – It’s unclear as to whether Shusterman wrote this book with an agenda in mind concerning abortion. However, as with the use of violence, the story forces the teens to make an opinion to defend or argue the views of the book.
Negative Portrayal of Adults – The adults are willing to send away their children on a whim. We see few adults fighting for the rights of teens.
- Defense – Like in many dystopian novels, the adults run the government which creates the heinous laws that regulate the lives of our protagonists. But, the lack of adult leaders puts the teens in the position of success on their own. It inspires the teen readers to stand up to oppressive, unhealthy situations.
Booktalking Ideas:
Explain the history of unwinding and what it entails. You will get responses from the audience.
Discuss what it would be like to have the arm or eyes of someone else.
How would your life change if you knew your parents could have you unwound at any time?
Awards and Booklists:
- ALA Top Ten Picks for Reluctant Readers (2008)
- ALA Best Young Adult Book list (2008)
- Japanese Sakura Medal (2010)
- Bank Street Best Books of the Year (2008)
- Nevada Young Reader Award Winner
- Washington Evergreen YA Book award List Winner (2010)
- Oklahoma Intermediate Sequoyah Award List Winner (2010)
- Oklahoma High School Sequoyah Award List (2010)
- Texas Lonestar Award List (2009/2010)
- Texas Tayshas Award List (2009)
- Virginia Readers Choice Award Winner (2009/2010)
- Indiana Rosewater High School Book Award Winner (2009/2010)
- Utah Beehive Award Nominee (2010)
- Missouri Gateway Readers Award Winner (2009/2010)
- Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award List (2010)
- Vermont Green Mountain Book Award (2009/2010)
- Rhode Island Teen Book Award List (2010)
- Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award List (2010)
- Georgia Peach Award List (2009/2010)
- Florida Teens Read Award List (2009/2010)
- Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award List Winner (2009/2010)
- One Book for Nebraska Teens Winner (2010-2011)
- California Young Reader Medal Nomination (2010-2011
- Kentucky Bluegrass Award List (2009/2010)
- South Dakota YARP Award List (2010)
- Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award Winner (2011)
- New Hampshire Isinglass Teen Reads Award List (2010-2011)
- NY Public Library “Books for the Teen Age”
- New Jersey Garden State Children’s Book Award Nominee (2010)
- Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award List (2010)
- Nutmeg Book Award Nominee WINNER (2011)
- Vermont’s Green Mountain Book Award
- YALSA’s Popular Paperback Award List (2011)
Readalikes:
- Airhead by Meg Cabot
- The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
- Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
- The Declaration by Gemma Malley
- Birthmarked by Caragh O’Brien
- The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
- Double Helix by Nancy Werlin
Professional Reviews:
Peters, J. (2007). Unwind (book review). Booklist, 104 (4), 45.
Staff reviewer (2007). Unwind (book review). Kirkus, 1 October 2007.
Staff reviewer (2007). Unwind (book review). Publishers Weekly, 249 (26), 80.
Vizzini, N. (16 March 2008). Young and in the Way. The New York Times.
Why I Chose This Book: Unwind was a book that I was told about several times by colleagues and teen patrons. It was always on my to-read pile, but I could never seem to get around to reading it. Finally I submitted to the pleas of masses and read a book that I was afraid would not live up to its hype. I did not have to worry because it was amazing. The only disappointment was that I waited so long to read it.
Young Adult Controversial Titles 