Unwind

Overall: 9.5/10.0

Summary: Connor is your average juvenile deliquint: he gets into fights at school, he talks back to his parents and skips classes. He doesn't think much of his own behaviour until the day he finds out that he's going to be unwound. His parents, having decided Connor is too much trouble, have decided to sign the release form to have their son literally disassembled. His body parts will go to those who will use them to their full potential- something Connor never really managed.

But Connor isn't willing to put up with this. He refuses to be unwound. So he runs. Along the way he runs into another two unwinds- Risa and Lev. The three of them spend the novel running from the cops and trying to survive. They're in and out of the law's hands. They're in and out of the company of other unwinds and allies. They're in and out of each others company as they're separated at various parts of the story. But in the end, will the trio manage to keep it together, or will they find themselves being unwound?

Opinion: Wow! This was much more hooking and gripping than I had originally thought it would be. I actually bought this book a few months before I actually got around to reading it. And by 'a few' I mean like 7. But my friends are partly to blame; they kept borrowing the book from me. Now I can see why! Connor isn't the perfect hero. He messes up. A lot. Half the things that make him out to be a hero are false rumors. But that makes it all the more interesting. Connor has to fight and he doesn't always win. He's a very well developed character, as are Risa and Lev. They change and evolve as the story goes on.

There are a few undeveloped/unaddressed issues in this novel, but they're so few and so insigificant that it doesn't bother me much. It's a bit weird jumping from Lev to Risa to Connor's POV and makes it a little harder to connect with the characters, but again, not a big issue.

On the whole, this book rocks.

Title: Kind of an obvious one, but I still rather like it.

Cover: I can't say much about it. I'm not a fan. Fortunately for Shushterman the book's reputation proceeded it. this book was recommended to me and therefore it didn't have to catch my eye for me to want to buy it.

Recommendation: You'd better be able to stomach some gore. There's also talk of god, abortions and other life issues. If you can get past that... definitely read this.

-MJ