Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Unwind
Neal Shusterman
2008

Let me start off by stating that I love dystopian novels. I had been looking forward to reading Unwind since I first heard about it, and it was one of my first reads when my book order came in.

In the future (mid to late 21st century) abortion is no longer allowed. Instead, unwanted children are "unwound" between the ages of 13 and 18. The law states that as long as 99.44% of the body is transplanted into other people's bodies, the children who are unwound are not dead, they are just living their lives differently. Unwind follows the paths of three children who have all been classified as unwinds. Connor is the classic "bad kid" whose parents no longer know what to do him; Risa has grown up in an orphanage that can no longer afford to keep her; and Lev has known since birth that as the tenth child of a very religious family, he is to be tithed to an unwind facility. All three end up together, literally running for their lives as they try to escape a truly gruesome fate.

As I've said, I love dystopian novels, and I've read a lot of them. One of the things I particularly enjoyed about this one is that I never saw where it was going -- it constantly surprised me. Like many dystopian novels, this one makes a lot of commentary on today's society. I think this would make a great book club book -- lots of things to discuss and think about.