Unwind by Neal Shusterman (2009-2010)
In the future, parents have the option of having their teenagers “unwound” or “retroactively aborted” where all their body parts and organs are transplanted into needy recipients. Connor, Risa, and Lev narrowly escape being unwound and search for a safe haven amid betrayal, political intrigue, and harrowing, non-stop flights and fights.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman is a great novel that allowed me to expand my thinking about such rules and laws discussed in the book. With the rules of being “unwound” have much relation to the beliefs of pro-life and abortion in present day America. In the book, when the characters are between the ages of 13 and 18 their life’s can be revoked, it’s just like an abortion that so many people fight against today. Another thing is how Lev comes to find out that his religious offering of his body to God is not really what he wanted in the end. Sometimes people are encouraged into doing things that they wouldn’t do themselves and let other people decide for them only because they seem naive. The mood that Shusterman portrays in the book works very well with characters attitudes, and the situations that they are placed in. When Risa had to leave for her unwinding, she almost accepts that fact that she isn’t wanted. His mood is very realistic and I see it as real if the novel were to be a true thing happening in the world. The one thing I didn’t understand was how easily people made the decision to “Unwind” someone that they love, how would they like to be unwound?
ReplyDeleteI found this book very interesting and I enjoyed. This book reminded me of the black market where they are selling their body parts for money. I admired the main characters, Connor, Risa,Lev. Connor was a very determined young man, he did everything he could do to avoid being unwound. I liked Lev because he was very brave and even though at first he was all for being unwound, he changed and helped everyone escape the harvest camp. I admire Risa because she is a very independent and strong female.I thought the plot was very interesting. The plot was kind of shocking. I can’t imagine something like that happening in real life. I can’t see unwinding becoming a compromise for abortion. I think Connor and Risa are going to get married.I think people who love action stories and science-fictiony stuff will enjoy this story.
ReplyDelete(C.H,10th grade,ATC)
The plot of the book Unwind by Neal Shusterman was very captivating. I was really drawn to this book just by reading the back of the book! It reminded me of the black market epidemic that was going on in Africa and India. There were butchering people for their “powers”; this was basically for black magic reasons.
ReplyDeleteThe plot and the characters tied together perfectly. I felt as if I knew the characters personally. Neal did a very good job giving each character their own unique personalities. The character Risa is very strong willed and ambitious. Throughout the novel I was sitting at the edge of my seat, wondering what was going through Neal’s head while creating this. I would ask like to ask Neal Shusterman what he was trying to convey when he wrote this book. Just reading the book made me think deeply about abortion.
J.R. 10th grade, ATC
Once you start reading this book, you won’t be able to stop. It’ll be as if you were in another person’s body. Reading this book reminded me of my old 8th grade teacher because he, unlike the parents who chose to “unwind” Connor, was against abortion. My teacher once told me that he stood outside of an abortion building and said a rosary so that God, according to him, would have mercy on their soul for killing a child. I thought that this was pretty brave like all the runaway unwinds such as, Risa who choose to fight for her life, even though she had no family or someone that loved her. Neal Shusterman’s theme to me had such significance that it made me change my mind about death and abortion. I use to think that death was the worst thing that could happen to me, but what happened to Lev. I changed my mind completely because he the people he loved had him unwound from birth. But I think that all the runaway unwinds will have justice, and come up with a plan that doesn’t involve getting rid of people. I recommend this book to a person who enjoys suspense, action, and romance.
ReplyDeleteThe book Unwind by Neal Shusterman was a really great novel that I think is probably the best book I have read. I thought it was good because, aside from a couple of things like the setting taking place in the future, it was a really realistic and believable novel. In the novel parents have the choice of having their kids “unwound” when they are between the ages of 13 and 18. In my opinion I thought it was cruel to have your own child unwound because after going through the process of raising and loving them how could they bring themselves to have their child unwound. I think that unwinding your child is the same as having an abortion, which we are trying hard to fight today. When Lev finds being unwound was not his destiny he tries to runaway with Connor and Risa to try and find a safe place until they turn 18. The mood that Shusterman sets is really exciting because just when the best part comes he changes to another character and what they are doing at the moment. I would recommend this book to people who love to read about suspense because this book is full of suspense. One question I would like to ask Shusterman is what gave him the idea to write a book like this.-(J.W., 10th grade, ATC)
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