UnWholly

September 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-This sequel to Unwind (S & S, 2007) is well worth the wait. Connor is now the leader of the Graveyard, a place in Arizona that serves as a refuge for "troubled" teens who escaped unwinding, a process where individuals are "divided" for their body parts. Risa is confined to a wheelchair and works as the group's medical authority. She can only watch helplessly as Connor drifts further and further away from her. Lev lives under house arrest and ministers to jailed youths, trying to make his life mean something. Unwinding is still widely practiced, and the threat of government action hangs over all of the characters. Shusterman throws plenty of new conflicts and characters into the mix. Nelson, a "parts pirate," will stop at nothing to hunt down Connor, while new guy Starkey wants to usurp him and become the Graveyard leader. Cam is made completely from parts taken from dozens of unwinds and is being groomed by a shadowy organization as the future of humanity. Like the first book, this one requires a large suspension of disbelief, but the characters, action, and drama make it easy for readers to be drawn into the story and the weighty issues, such as what it means to be human and what it means to sacrifice for others. Several plot twists at the end not only make for a satisfying conclusion, but also expertly set the stage for the final installment of the trilogy.-Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School Library, CA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2012
After surviving the attack on the Happy Jack Harvest Camp, the heroes from Unwind (2007) lead the revolt against the Unwind Accord. Connor, aka the Akron AWOL, now heads up the resistance at the Graveyard, an abandoned airfield where 700-plus unwind escapees live in hiding. His wheelchair-bound girlfriend, Risa, who also survived the attack, serves as the Graveyard's nurse. Lev, a former tithe, now leads missions to rescue other tithes from unwinding and sends them to a camp where they can cope. Enter Cam, a schizophrenic, teenage Frankenstein built from the body parts of 99 different unwound teens. Shusterman mercifully supplies a Q&A at the front of this sequel to help readers fill in details from Book 1 in the trilogy. He also does an expert job of plunging them headfirst into his disturbing, dystopic and dangerous future world where teenagers are either handed over by their parents or kidnapped for "unwinding," or organ harvesting. While the plot moves quickly, the work definitely reads like a sequel--a good one. Shusterman is obviously setting the scene for a big climax in Book 3, and his only fault is excess. There are so many new characters and plot twists and segues that readers may feel overwhelmed or confused, but that won't stop them from turning the pages. A breathless, unsettling read. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

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July 1, 2012
Grades 7-10 Having floated a Modest Proposal to convert troublesome teenagers into involuntary organ donors in the near-futuristic Unwind (2007), Shusterman uncorks his version of a Frankenstein's monster for this middle volume in the planned trilogy. Constructed by the shadowy Proactive Citizenry from grafted parts of 99 gifted donors, and with a face that is a carefully designed patchwork of skin colors, Camus Comprix accepts his role as the centerpiece of a public campaign to expand the general harvest until he falls in love and begins to develop ideas of his own. Literary antecedents aside, Shusterman continues to develop and expertly twist plotlines begun in the first book, picking up the pace with short chapters and a present-tense narrative while interspersing for verisimilitude actual recent news items about real organ harvesting and abandoned and feral teens. Perfectly poised to catch the Hunger Games wave and based on an even more plausible dystopian scenario, this episode leaves its central cast of escaped teens in midflight, and should leave its target audience thoroughly discomfited. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: It has taken almost five years for this sequel to the highly praised Unwind to arrive, so fans will want to get their hands on this the second it's released.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)