This book is about a alternate society to our own where children are unwound. Unwound means being taken apart and used in hospitals as if an organ donor, but by choice of their parents. It's a story mainly focused around four runaways from being "harvested". The story has lots of twists and turns, eventually leading to a very detailed description of an unwinding.
The story within itself is a comment on what I assume is slavery. These children are trapped into this fate by their parents. In Conor's case, his parent believe that he's gotten in too many fights, Risa is a ward of the state and no longer able to stay in the system because of budget cuts. Remember being unwound means one is literally taken apart and used to supplement other people who need treatment in hospitals.
A very interesting part of the novel is Lev, a very religious character that is being unwound because his parents believe that 10% of everything they own should be donated to the church, including children. Lev happens to be the tenth child and because he has been told he was going to be unwound from birth he is very committed to go to the harvesting camp.
The characters also find themselves in a system very similar to the underground railroad, which hides kids that have gone AWOL. There is a movement against unwinding, just as though there was a movement against slavery.
Schusterman communicates a very compelling story full of adventure and an obviously distopian world. It is an incredible book with lots to offer for the world of communication and telling the story about slavery through this book. It is well written but at a reading level for most middle school students. The pull of an alternate world is just too strong in recent years, but "Unwind" sent itself apart from all the others.
4.8 stars.
Melissa,
ReplyDelete"Unwound" seems like an incredibly thrilling book! I have seen so many horror movies with incredibly riveting plots, and this one, because of the fact that even children are physically "donated," sounds like it could make a great horror story.
I saw a movie a little while ago that was about a family that had four children, with the preconceived notion that the 3rd child would be the donor in case any of the other three children had any medical issues. The people who make stories like these are incredibly creative, but I wonder what else people like this think of.
Very juicy post!