Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Unwind


Have you ever had a book whose characters stayed with you well after the story ended. Have you ever hated a character but ended up feeling sorry the villain in the end. Have you ever really thought about what being a organ donor means?

I just finished a book called Unwind by Neal Shusterman. It was a brutal non-stop roller coaster of a book. Here's the synopsis of the story. There's been an all out war between the pro-choice and pro-life movement. After some years of struggle someone suggests a solution to the "where does life begin and end" debate. Abortion is now illegal but in it's place you have the practice of unwinding. Let's say you have a child who won't behave ;or there's too many orphans in the group home ;or you believe in giving a tenth of all of your income including your children as a tithe. Have your child unwound. That's right ladies and gentlemen until the age of 17 you can have your child disassembled. The parts that formerly made up your child will continue to "live" in other people rich enough to buy their various parts. The children are living donors.

What I hated about this book - It was so visual that I had trouble stopping myself from thinking about the characters in the book. Yes I know it's fiction but the description of unwinding just made me feel so bad for the kid. It made me think about being an organ donor-I am one-but also about the value of life and the fear that being a donor means they won't try as hard to save you.

What I loved about this book - How the kids found ways to stand up for themselves. I also loved moments of humor in the book. The story is so well written. If you have a teen in your life who likes apocalyptic stories I would highly recommend this one.

Des

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