Unwind

-Neal Shusterman

This book was… terrifying. Another work of genius from Shusterman. Seriously. I have never read anything of his that I didn’t like, and this book was really no exception.

Every once in a while I come accross a book that actually haunts me. It makes me think when I’m on the bus, wonder about life, and other such existential things that dystopian novels tend to turn your thoughts to. This book has been haunting me for years. Maybe it was the writing style, maybe it was the subject matter… I don’t know.

The book follows the lives of a couple of teenagers. It’s hard to put a number on them, I would have said the lives of three teenagers, but… well you need to read it to understand that bit.

It takes place in the not so distant future, a world where, abortion isn’t the only way to rid yourself of an unwanted child. Until the child has reached the age of 18, you can still dispose of him/her, by signing them off as total body donors. They are not killed, says the law, simply just unwound. It is horrifying. It is common. And it’s legal.

As these teenagers try to figure out a way to escape their impending fate, their lives intersect in the most strange fashions, and soon not only their lives are at stake, but everyone’s whole way of life. Not a light read, and not for the faint of heart.