Unwind by Neil Schusterman - Review

Imagine fighting a second civil war over one issue: reproductive rights – that’s right, pro-choice versus pro-life. And because politicians will always seek compromise, the law changes to make life inviolable from conception to age thirteen. There is a loophole: between the ages of thirteen and eighteen a parents can have their child “unwound" - every part of that child is transplanted into other people so technically life they are still alive.

This is a very creepy, chilling look into the future where the Bill of Life actually kept me awake at night. A world where if you are a troubled teen like Connor, or a not quite talented enough ward of state like Risa, or a tithe like Lev (a child raised in a religious family to be unwound), being sent to camp does not mean getting help. It means an order to be unwound. But Connor and Risa escape, liberating Lev along the way. And find themselves on the run, looking for help, hoping they can make it until they are eighteen. The question is: can they?

This is a dark, haunting, and horrifying look at how people can view life – and we see it through many, many different viewpoints. The characters are real, the situations disturbing, and you’ll have a hard time forgetting the ideas underneath this story. Read it with someone else because you’ll want – need – to talk about it. I’m still stuck on the idea that there was no other choice – that the teens themselves are never included in the decision-making, never given a chance to try again.