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.

Taken

Book: Taken
Author: Edward Bloor
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: what's next, Kidnappers R Us?

In the year 2035, the economic divide between the Haves and the Have Nots has become even more pronounced, and kidnapping has become a growth industry for the underclass. It's becoming a well-established, if still illegal, way to make quick money, and if parents follow instructions closely, children are usually returned intact. Mostly.

Charity lives with her father and almost-ex-stepmother in The Highlands, an exclusive gated community in Florida. Like the rest of the kids there, she goes to "satschool" remotely and almost never leaves The Highlands, except under heavy guard. When she becomes ill, kidnappers disguised as an ambulance come, and she is taken.

From her gurney in the ambulance, she gradually gets to know the young man who's guarding her, and the two of them argue and challenge each other about the rights and wrongs of the system, kidnapping, racism, etc. Eventually Charity is shocked by the identity of her kidnappers and must make a choice between returning to her old life or living a new way.

Great concept, good fodder for book club debate, but I wasn't as impressed with the writing itself- ideas felt too clearly laid out sometimes, like the characters were sharing position papers rather than having a conversation. Still, lots of action, plot twists and interesting ideas make it a good choice.

One or more of the different major plot twists may strike some readers as stretching credulity, or maybe it won't bother you at all. I usually just go with the flow when I'm reading, but even I thought the surprise twists were getting to be a bit much. Still, overall I liked it.

The Declaration

Book: The Declaration
Author: Gemma Malley
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: immortality=illegal children

The year is 2140. When the scientists and drug companies developed Longevity drugs, it meant the end of cancer, AIDS, and eventually aging itself. World leaders quickly realized that they could have an extreme population problem soon, so they developed The Declaration. Any person wishing to take Longevity drugs, which is almost everyone, must sign a Declaration promising not to have children. Children born in opposition to the Declaration are known as Surpluses. Surplus Anna has lived in Grange Hall since she was two, ever since she was discovered and taken away from her parents, who were sent to prison. Surplus halls were created to raise illegal children and turn them into vaulable assets, instead of simply burdens to the world. They are also taught their place, which is barely human; they live like slaves and have virtually no rights at all.

Anna is a model surplus and prefect at Grange Hall, raised to consider herself worse than dirt and hate her parents for their selfishness in giving birth to her. Her ordered life is first disturbed when a woman she works for gives her a journal, and she secretly writes in it- a very illegal activity at Grange Hall. Then a new surplus boy named Peter arrives, and he challenges Anna to question what she's been told by the horrible Mrs. Pincent and the other teachers. He says he knows her parents, and they love her and want her to escape and rejoin them. She resists at first, but Peter's persistence, his love and friendship, and then his imminent danger spur her to action.

A very compelling dystopian story that explores ideas of life and worth, love and sacrifice, and whether you'd really want to live forever.

Life As We Knew It

Book: Life As We Knew It
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: the moon gets closer and wreaks havoc

Sixteen-year-old Miranda is living the life of a normal high school girl until a meteor hits the moon and knocks it just a little bit closer. What with the moon controlling tides and all, giant tsunamis immediately destroy cities on any and all coasts around the world. Then the weather gets severely rainy, then severely hot, followed by severely cold and snowy: basically severe all around. And did I mention the dozens of instantly active volcanoes that blot out the sun with a constant grey layer of ash? There's also that. Miranda, her mother, younger brother Johnny, and older brother Matt must work harder and harder to survive as the power goes out, the well dries up, the food stores get lower and lower, and just when you think things couldn't get much worse, they do.

Good journal-style survival story with a twist: part surviving, part family drama as they all try to get along in increasingly close quarters and realize just how much they're willing to give up for each other.

I listened to this one on CD, and it was an okay reading by Emily Bauer. Too sweet-sounding for me; I read the first chapter on paper, and the voice doesn't match what I imagined at all. Still, an interesting addition to the survival story bookshelf.

The Prophet of Yonwood

Book: The Prophet of Yonwood
Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Audience: Grades 4-8
In a Nutshell: find a home, fall in love, help the world

Nickie's great-grandfather just died, leaving the family's huge old mansion in the small town of Yonwood, North Carolina, to her mom and aunt. The house is so old it has a name: Greenhaven. Nickie's aunt, Crystal, just wants to clean it up and sell it as soon as possible, and Nickie comes along to help. She also has three goals of her own: 1. To convince her aunt not to sell Greenhaven so that she and her mom and dad can live there, out of the dangerous city; 2. To fall madly, passionately in love- not forever, just for now, to see what it's like; 3. To do something helpful for the world. She sees her chance to do #3 when she hears about the Prophet. Several months back, a woman in town had a fiery, frightening vision of the future, and now she's half-delirious in bed, muttering confusing things that a few prominent town members (like Mrs. Beeson) interpret and pass on as God's will to the rest of the people. With the President on television nearly every day warning of an imminent war with the extremist "Phalanx Nations," people are all too willing to believe a vision of fiery doom, and they do whatever Mrs. Beeson tells them to do in the hopes that they can prevent the coming disaster and destruction. Nickie tries to help Mrs. Beeson do good by reporting people who might have evil tendencies, but she soon realizes that it's not as easy as judging appearances and first impressions to decide who's good and who's eeevil. To mix things up, throw in a cute stray dog (good?), a new friend who loves snakes (evil?), a mysterious white-clad "terrorist" wandering the woods, and a secret message hidden in postcards from her father. Nickie reaches all three goals, but not how or when she expected.

This book was disappointing; all the more so because I love the first book, The City of Ember, and the sequel, The People of Sparks. Prophet is presented as the Third Book of Ember, prequel-style, but the connection is pretty slim. The author threw in a lot of wrap-up and tie-in facts in the final chapter, almost like she hit her page quota and resorted to summary. The story quickly gets bogged down in message and metaphor, mostly related to the current state of the post-9/11 world. Not that war, fear, safety vs. freedom, and questions of religion and who really knows God's will aren't perfectly good topics to tackle, but the approach here gets too heavy-handed. It hampered my attempt to enjoy the story and characters apart from The Lesson To Be Learned. I don't like being hampered.