Unwind, Unwholly, and UnSouled

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

More dystopian fiction--I seem to be in a rut here.  But two friends have repeatedly recommended this series, so I thought I should check it out.

What if there was a huge war between pro-life and pro-choice groups and the eventual peace treaty/compromise provided a way for children to be "unwound" and their body parts used for transplants between the ages of 13-18?  This is Shusterman's premise, and his story of a few characters running to escape their fate.

I didn't love this book, but the characterization was good enough that I wanted to read #2 to see what happens to Lev, Connor, and Risa.


UnWholly by Neal Shusterman

I wasn't thrilled with the first installment in this series, but kept reading for the characterization and I'm glad I did!  Book two was significantly better than book one.

Shusterman introduces his book with "Wishing you a nail-biting, sleep-depriving, thought-provoking read!", and he delivered on all three accounts.  I love dystopian literature, it always makes me think.  A good dystopian writer can take a philosophy held by people in our current world and take it to its extreme consequence, leaving the reader shuddering at the possibilities.

A few quotes I enjoyed:
"The whole place is a petri dish of angst, generated by kids whose parents gave up on them, which is the worst kind of angst there is" (23).

Of the compilation of the parts of many people:  "'Eventually your body will learn the alliances it has to make with itself,' Kenny had said--as if Cam was a factory full of strike-prone workers, or worse, a clutch of slaves forced into unwanted labor" (56).

"The sad truth about humanity is that people believe what they're told.  Maybe not the first time, but by the hundredth time, the craziest of ideas just becomes a given" (86)

"With the failure of the public school system, the nation was overrun by teenagers out of work, out of school, and with nothing to do even before the war. . .One side claimed the ferals were created by the collapse of family values, while the other side claimed the ferals were a product of rigid beliefs that no longer met the world's needs.  Both sides were right.  Both sides were wrong--but it didn't matter when people were terrified to go into the streets at night from fear of their own kids" (123).

"Does a sick society get so used to its illness that it can't remember being well?  What if the memory is too dangerous for the people who like things the way they are?" (255)

UnSouled by Neal Shusterman

Number three in the Unwind series and I continued to enjoy it very much. The characterization of this series is really quite good, and I think the plot just keeps getting better as each new book unwraps another layer.

The pursuit of money becomes more important than the value of life and the harvesting of body parts leads to the creation of a "super human" when a scientist's discovery for good is taken over by those who have evil plans.

Shusterman challenges the reader to consider previously held views and inserts his perspectives in clever little phrases throughout the book such as:

"It never ceases to amaze Starkey how far society will go to protect the children it loves and to discard the ones it doesn't" (109).

"How can she not see that when you are defined, you lose the ability to define yourself?  In the end he will become that definition.  He will become a thing" (215).

I just downloaded the last two books onto my Kindle from the Wilbor (free ebook library) site and am hoping for a leisurely Sunday afternoon to see what happens to the characters I've come to know.