Good morning! It’s still morning, right? I woke up early and went to the gym this morning. First time on a row machine and my arms absolutely hate me. They’re angry. Really angry.
I have my cup of coffee and I’m so excited to settle in and tell you about some books that have spurred a lot of thinking around here. The good kind of thinking, about life and value and what makes us human.
The Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman is set in a time when human life has been declared sacrosanct from conception to the age of 13. From the ages of 13 to 18, however, a child can be unwound—a process which allows for each part of the individual to be used in another person. There is no shortage of organs, no blindness, no immobility. If part of you doesn’t work, you have it replaced. Parents can have problematic children unwound. Wards of the state can be unwound if they don’t prove necessary. Basically, if you’re between the ages of 13 and 18 you need to watch your back.
The way Shusterman tells this story is captivating. There are several important characters, but Connor, Lev, and Risa are consistently important throughout. As I read, I was forced to evaluate the decisions we make today pertaining to organ donations and the value of individual lives. What would take a society to the place where it was okay with disassembling adolescents? What course of thinking makes that seem justified?
This is why I love dystopian fiction—it explores consequences and, in showing us the next world, demands that we more closely examine this one.
Unwind and Unwholly are particularly action packed. Things happen very quickly and there are a lot of characters to keep up with, but Shusterman is clear when transitioning from one character to the next. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good ride and doesn’t mind pondering some of the deeper aspects of humanity like ethics and questions of person hood. It was clean and suitable for middle school ages and up.
I recently read the third book thinking it would wrap things up and it didn’t. It’s a dystology not a trilogy. (Duh, Kaela!) There are definitely more books to come. Which is good because I. Need. Answers.
Jeeze. 😉
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Have you read these books?
If not, have a look! I hope you enjoy them!
kaelaprall.com 
hey, a trilogy gets you three closer to your goal 🙂 I’m jumping on board with your 52 in ’14 goal and heading over to goodreads to put my latest on the list. Hoping you’ll keep me accountable 🙂
These books look a little too dark for me. And having a daughter almost that age would make it even harder for me to read. Thinking I might need one of those culinary mysteries again soon!
Love your reviews–you can go where I am unable to go 😉
Yay! So glad you’re jumping on the bandwagon! We can keep each other moving forward. 🙂
The books are a bit dark because they hit close to home, and deal with issues that aren’t impossible to imagine. I definitely understand passing them up. I’ll post something a little friendlier next week. 🙂
I like the sound of these! Dystopian always catches my interest, and this series sounds particularly intriguing. I’ll check them out!
I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
These sound totally opposite to what I would normally consider reading, but I have to admit I’m intrigued. I have added them to my “to-read” list. It never hurts to try something new, right?
Trying something new is the absolute best thing we can do. Even if you end up hating them, at least you’ll have given them a shot! I hope you enjoy these books and at the very least they give you something to think about. Let me know how you like them, Kim! 🙂
I definitely want to read these now! I love your blog. Keep it up! 🙂
I hope you love them! Thanks so much for reading! 🙂