I had trouble getting past the premise for this book, which I just found too unbelievable. The war between pro-life and pro-choice believers is a great and frighteningly plausible idea, but the result - the actual details of the Bill of Life - the author kind of lost me right there on the first page. The book itself is a page-turner, but I kept getting stopped whenever I thought too much about the main ideas behind the story. I also found all the characters a little too insightful - everyone could always tell where everyone else was coming from, could read into their words/actions in a way that seldom seems to happen in real life. Somehow despite all this the book is almost compulsively readable, but I kept getting so annoyed with certain events and the whole concept of unwinding that it was distracting. And when we finally get to see unwinding in process - that scene was so horrible and compelling, but through it all I kept thinking how ridiculous it was that they would keep him awake through the entire thing. ( )

This book is good and it takes a lot of twists and turns. Lev a major character and is very dynamic. He starts out that he wants to be tithed and thinks he has to do it. But he ends up finding Connor and Risa. He ends up turning and slowly trying to avoid being unwound. He is a protagonist when he saves Connor. He is a very round he changes a lot during the story. He is a very complex character who take a lot of twists and turns. ( )

Reviewed by Mr. Kome ( )

Reviewed by Tommy (Class of 2012)
Imagine a society where a war was fought between Pro-life and Pro-choice armies, and the end result is more horrifying than either side could have thought.
The novel Unwind is a fantastic novel that will keep you at the edge of your seat until the very last page. This book contains a terrifying plot that some readers might not be able to stomach and blends together a dark plot line with a little adventure and action here and there.
The book is narrated by several different characters, each telling their own in the story, but they each share a personal goal, which is to escape the law. The book details a future when parents have the right to have teenagers taken away to be “unwound”. The only down side I found was that there are several sections where the characters are hiding from the police in buildings or in cabinets just sitting and chatting and the plot seems to bleed away. The book is organized by each character's own individual story which can sometimes lose and confuse you at several important points. The novel Unwind is a perfectly blended story of science fiction and adventure, I highly recommended picking it up next time you’re in the library. ( )

Reviewed by Mrs. Foley
From Follett, "Three teens embark upon a cross-country journey in order to escape from a society that salvages body parts from children ages thirteen to eighteen."

This is a nominee for the 2009-2010 Missouri Gateway Award nominee. This would be a great book for a discussion on current hot topics including abortion, religion, organ donation, stem-cell research, etc. Many books are just a variation of another story that has been done before. This one is a unique and disturbing story. I expect it to have pretty wide appeal with students.

Review from Publishers Weekly (November 26, 2007)
Shusterman (Everlost) explores one of the most divisive of topics-abortion-in this gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller. After a civil war waged over abortion has almost destroyed America, completely new laws are in effect. Human life can never be "terminated," but between the ages of 13 and 18, a child can be "unwound" by his parents, an irrevocable decision that leads to every single bit of his body being harvested for medical use. As the novel opens, 16-year-old Connor has secretly discovered his parents' copy of his unwind order, and decides to "kick-AWOL," or run away. Connor's escape inadvertently sweeps up two other Unwinds: a ward of the state who is not quite talented enough to merit her place in a state home any longer, and the 10th son of religious parents, who gave birth to him just to "tithe" him. Beyond his pulse-pounding pace, the cliffhangers and the bombshells, Shusterman has a gift for extrapolating the effects of alien circumstances on ordinary people and everyday behavior. He brings in folklore, medical practices, and slang that reflect the impact of unwinding, creating a dense and believable backdrop. Characters undergo profound changes in a plot that never stops surprising readers. The issues raised could not be more provocative-the sanctity of life, the meaning of being human-while the delivery could hardly be more engrossing or better aimed to teens. Ages 13-up. (Nov.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. ( )