Neal ShustermanYoung Adult · Science Fiction·b. 1962
Unwind
Synopsis
In a future where a divided nation has found a disturbing compromise, parents can choose to have their children 'unwound' – their bodies harvested for parts – between the ages of 13 and 18. This novel follows three teenagers on the run, desperate to avoid this fate. Their paths collide as they navigate a world that sees them as less than human, fighting for their right to live.
How it reads
Prose complexity 7/10
Content warnings (3)
GoreViolenceTrauma
- It's almost frightening that I'm reading this at a time where it isn't impossible for a future in the far off to happen along these lines. Like The Handmaid's Tale, it expands from a long time persisting issue, pushing human morals and creating a solution for the issue, which is ridding the world of abortion but also of unruly, unwanted children. Schusterman has this way of writing which makes it difficult to put down. The chapters and done bite size, leaving you reading more and more before you finally discover you're at the end. These kids are people you could have, will have and may well know in the future - if society took a wrong turn then it could become a horror reality like what Schusterman has created. The one scene of unwinding has definitely made me think. It's always been a tiny thought that comes out now and then, what makes a human alive, but the scene will stick with me. The ending wasn't too great, but it has opened the story up for the sequels, which I'll have to read.
- This book is pretty good, I'd reccommend it. The subject matter is really creepy to think about, especially because of the debate about abortion going on today. Could this be a part of our future? (I hope not.)