Unwind by Neil Shusterman

It's the United States some time in the not-so-distant future.  There has been a civil war between those who support abortion and those who oppose it.  Peace was finally achieved by virtue of a treaty agreeing that all pregnancies will be carried to completion, but when children are between the ages of thirteen and eighteen parents can sign an order to have their child "unwound," which means 100% of their organs and tissues will be taken and donated to others who are in need of them.  In the book, this is an agreeable compromise because the child is alive during the unwinding, and since 100% of the body is used, the child isn't actually being "murdered."

Connor is a juvenile delinquent whose family is sending him to be unwound because he is too much trouble.  Risa is a ward of the state who is sent for unwinding because the facility where she lives has experienced budget cuts.  Lev is a "tithe"--a child sent for unwinding because he is part of a family who believes 10% of everything, including their children, should be given to God.  Due to various circumstances, all three of these characters end up "runners."  Running away is against the rules.

I'm going to be blunt:  I hated this book.  Normally I assign an appropriate age range, but in this case, I am struggling because I personally had nightmares after reading it.  I realize that I am in the distinct minority, as it is an extremely popular title with excellent reviews.  Colleagues have actually chosen to have students read it as classwork.  Logically, I can understand why they would want to use it.  First, it is a story that both genders will probably find highly engaging.  It's a well-written, suspenseful novel that's edgy and really, really dark.  Second, there is plenty of fodder for discussion here.  So many ethical questions to consider.  So many journaling opportunities.  Nevertheless, I would never recommend this book to anyone.

Why didn't I like it?  Well, to begin with, I found the premise a little too unrealistic.  I don't know a single pro-life advocate who would accept this compromise.  If you aren't comfortable with ending the existence of an embryo, there is no way you're going to be comfortable with a 13-year-old being cut up into pieces.  I actually don't know any abortion advocates who would be comfortable with that, either.  And while I can, sadly, imagine that there might be a tiny number of parents who would sign an order to have their teen unwound, given the sad stories one sees in the news sometimes, I find it unimaginable that it would be done on the scale described in this book.

All that aside, though, the whole thing was just too gruesome for me.  I was fairly engaged in the novel until about three-quarters of the way into it, when one of the characters is unwound and we are right there in his head throughout the process.  I thought I was going to vomit, and I still can't think about it.  And I did literally have several nightmares in the following weeks.  So, bottom line, I don't think a young person should read this book.