Unwind

Title: Unwind
Author: Neal Shusterman
Published: Nov 2007
ISBN: 9781416912040
Price: 17.99
Other books in the series: Unstrung, UnWholly
Genre: dystopian, horror
Reading Level: 5th grade
Interest Level: 9th-12th grade
Awards: YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers
Plot Summary: In a futuristic America the issue of abortion was battled over in a bloody civil war. The sides finally agreed on a compromise. Babies can no longer be aborted but instead parents have the option to retroactively abort their child when they are between the ages of 13 and 18. This retroactively abortion is known as unwinding. Teens that are sent to be unwind are harvest for their body parts and their parts go to other people in need. The idea is that the person lives on through someone else.  No one seems to mind this, except for those being unwind. Connor, Lev and Risa are three teens who are all being sent to be unwound but through a set of coincidences the three teens end up on the run together in an attempt to avoid being cut into pieces. But with the police determined to find them the chances of them surviving are low.
Review: The story is an interesting with the idea of UnWinding. How would society be different if organ donation was no longer and issue because unwanted teens supplied all the transplants you could ever need. The story also focuses on issues of the soul and what makes us human. While the story was suspenseful with elements of creepy horror I found the overall plot to be a bit unbelievable. I had a hard time seeing how Unwinding would somehow be a compromise for the two sides on the abortion issue. I also couldn't imagine a parent who loves their child all of a sudden sending them to be unwound because they were suddenly difficult. I can see how the story can be gripping and interesting to some but for me it just seemed to far outside of reality to be believable.
Reader's Annotation: In future America teens can be unwound, a process that harvest their body parts. Three teens being sent for unwinding are determined not to be harvest but can they survive.
Bibliotherapeutic usefulness: The story explores issues of what happens when we die and the soul. Teens can explore these issues through a fictional story. Teens can also relate to Connors, Isa and Lev's struggle to survive and battle against a society gone wrong. 
Issues: Lev is sent to be unwound as a religious tithe, basically his family is sending him to his death because of their religious beliefs. This may offend some religious people. There is also the issue of teens being sent to be harvest for their organs by their parents. The story may offend some parents who feel that it places parents in a negative light. There is also a very gruesome scene in which the author describes a teen being taken apart bit by bit as part of the unwinding process.
Book Talk Ideas: The book talk could focus on the idea of harvesting someone for their organs, does that person's soul still live on? 
Main Themes: survival, souls, organ harvesting, abortion,
Read-alikes: Eve and Adam by Michael Grant
Author Website: http://www.storyman.com/
Professional Reviews: Kirkus Reviews
Publisher's Weekly
Why this book was chosen: This book was a part of the Oregon Battle of the Books for 2013. The book has received rave reviews and presents some interesting issues of death, souls, and abortion.