Author: Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, NY. Just after he graduated college he got a book deal and was hired to write a movie script. He is a man of many talents from directing to writing music and stage plays, to movies, tv shows and, of course, novels. He currently resides in Southern California with his four children. For more information on him click here.
Synopsis: The book starts off stating the "The Bill of Life" which was passed after "The Heartland War".The Heartland War started b/c the pro-lifers and the pro-choicers couldn't agree and a second civil war started over the single issue of abortion. Finally, a decision was made that satisfied both sides of the conflict. In The Bill of Life it "states that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, a parent may choose to retroactively 'abort' a child... on the condition that the child's life doesn't 'technically' end." (pg 10) The process they do this is by 'unwinding'. This is when the child is taken apart and every body part is reused in another as transplants/transfusions...etc. Anything! This story follows a few children who's parents or the state have decided should be unwound. However, they run!
Review: The whole concept of this futuristic story I found extremely disturbing yet I couldn't seem to stop reading it. I found myself completely sucked into Shusterman's futuristic world. It has drama, romance, and plenty of fighting and even some explosions. :) It was a fun read and 'realistic' in that everything doesn't end "happily ever after". However, it is the first of a series so I'm excitedly waiting for the next installment and maybe it will end somewhat happy. On the bright side, the ending of this book does have a finality so the reader isn't left with a cliff-hanger. (I hate those! ;) Parts of this book are a bit disturbing for obvious reasons. There is very little bad language in it and absolutely no sex scenes (a small amount of kissing is all). There are real life situations in it though and the reader goes through the process of unwinding through an unwound's point of view. It was interesting to read that part, and I went to bed after reading it and it led to very interesting dreams. If you are sensitive to things like that you may not want to read this book but if you're not then I highly recommend it! I thought it was a great read - controversial and thought-provoking.
Rating: **** Four Stars
1 comment:
Wow.... what a distinctly distrubing idea. And I thought my brother was weird when he said he always believed in late-term abortion, up to 18 years of age!!
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