Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Summary (via the author's website): "In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.

In Unwind, Boston Globe/Horn Book Award winner Neal Shusterman challenges readers' ideas about life -- not just where life begins, and where it ends, but what it truly means to be alive."

Review:

What I liked:

-He drove the "how to resolve the abortion debate" issue to it's scariest possible conclusion - which is how good dystopia is often created (The Hunger Games, for instance, does that with reality TV).
-All the people willing to help the Unwinds - even in a dark book, Shusterman still holds out hope for humanity. The future may be stormy, but at least there's a little sunshine here and there.
-It's always fun to get inside the heads of kids who are so-called "troublemakers."
-Those kids were really smart. Love it.

What I didn't like:
-Connor's transformation from "can't stay out of fights" to having amazing self control happened a little fast, for my taste.
-Lev's deprogramming/reprogramming was fast, too... especially since he's 13.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, is-this-a-kissing-book, my-kind-of-woman, thought-provoking

Rating: