Unwind

Book: Unwind
Author: Neal Shusterman
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: unwanted teens used for spare parts

In a future U.S., abortion became such a divisive issue that it sparked the Second Civil War. Both sides eventually agreed to a treaty which created a sort of delayed abortion in which unwanted teens are essentially stripped for parts, or "unwound." The story centers on three teens. Connor is 16 and has trouble controlling his temper. Due to the "troubled youth" he has become, his parents have chosen to unwind him. Risa is a ward of the state. She's a talented pianist, but not talented enough; the StaHo (State Home) needs to correct a 5% overcrowding problem, so she's being unwound. Thirteen-year-old Lev has always known he would be unwound. He's the tenth child in a strictly religious family, and he has been set aside since birth as a Tithe to God.

Circumstances throw these three teens together on the run as they hide from Juvy-Cops, care for a baby who's been storked (legally abandoned on a doorstep), find a secret refuge of Unwinds, and fight threats both from within and without as they try to hold themselves together. Literally.

Fascinating premise that challenges stances on both sides of the abortion issue; no one view comes across as wholly good or bad. This is a book that I think will stick with me for a while, much like Pete Hautman's Rash. It also brings up interesting questions about soul and consciousness, and under what conditions our human bodies could hold on to either.

Aside from the overall concept, this is a great action and survival story with lots of plot twists and characters that keep you guessing as to whether they're friend or foe- and they often change. One scene near the end, without being at all gorey, is one of the most disturbing things I've read in a long time.