The novel focuses on the three characters lives, and their personal experiences while trying to keep from being unwound. While Connor and Risa would do anything to be kept from being unwound, Lev is under the impression that his unwinding is a work of God: that is, until he meets Connor and Risa. Lev was born with the destiny of being unwound at age thirteen. human sacrifice) as a part of the “ten percent” they owe to God. On the other hand, Lev is meant to be unwound as a “tithe.” His parents, religious people, are tithing him (i.e. Connor’s parents decided to unwind him because of his “violent” behavior, while Risa, who is a ward of the state, is sentenced to be unwound simply because there is not room for her anymore. All three characters have very different circumstances, yet faced with the same fate: they have been ordered to be unwound. The novel follows the narration of three main characters- Connor, Risa, and Lev. Unwinding is a process where every body part of the person being unwound is donated to someone in need, or at least given to someone in some way, so while they do not really exist, they are not technically dead. Now, parents have the option to “unwind” their child once they reach the age of thirteen, and the option of unwinding remains an option for parents until the child reaches the age of eighteen. The novel is set in a post-second Civil War America, presumably not too far from present day, which was fought over the issue of pro-life versus pro-choice.

The novel, published in 2007, is a science fiction novel with an unusual setting. Unwind, a controversial YA novel written by Neal Shusterman, draws readers in in a very intriguing way.

Unwind books