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Unwind
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Unwind: Book 1

Unwind (2007) (edit title/settings)

by Neal Shusterman (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them. Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned... read more

Summary edit see section history

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that is out to "unwind" them. Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev is known as a tithe.... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that is out to "unwind" them. Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev is known as a tithe. Unwinding has been set in stone since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed—but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away. In Unwind, Boston Globe/Horn Book Award winner Neal Shusterman challenges readers' ideas about life—not just where life begins, and where it ends, but what it truly means to be alive.

Liz: This book was so bad that I read the first page, and hated it. I had to stop about half way through the book and return it. The plot, ene the idea of the whole story was terrible. The only thing that I liked was the cover, and that didn't connect with the book at all. 3 Kids are trying to escape from their lives, because it's going to end soon. Their parents signed the papers to have them unwind. Unwinding is when they take apart unwanted teens to give their limbs or organs to people who need them.

Characters edit see section history

  • Connor Lassiter: The main character of this story. He's being unwound because of his temper. His parents can't control him and they see no other option.
  • Risa Ward: Risa shares her last name with thousands of other kids, all wards of the state. Since a recent budget cutback, Risa and many other Wards have been shipped off to Unwinding, since they aren't talented enough to remain in the state's care. A gifted pianist.
  • Levi "Lev" Jedediah Calder: Lev is the 10th child of a very religious family. His family plays by the rules of their church, and they must give 10% of everything they own. Lev, therefore, grows up knowing he is a tithe. He knows at the age of 13 he will be taken to the Harvest Camp where he will do his part for society. He is a very willing tithe and thinks that he's off better being unwound.
  • Roland: Roland is a dangerous unwind who finds ways to cleverly manipulate everyone else around him. Roland has a menacing shark tattoo on his arm.
  • Cyrus "CyFi" Finch: Cyrus -or Cy-Fi is a street-smart black teenager.
  • Hayden: A very charismatic and easy-going boy, Hayden's parents decided to unwind him after they divorced and could not decide on the custody. So they decided to unwind him rather than share him.
  • The Admiral: He was an admiral in the war and he's also the guy who runs the Graveyard, a place for runaway unwinds.
  • Cleaver: The helicopter pilot at the Graveyard. Loves chaos.
  • Didi: a storked baby
  • Tyler: An Unwind whose brain bits went to Cy-Fi. Having kleptomania, he has an addiction to shiny things, and thus stole them from stores all of the time.
  • Sonia: Old lady who helps shelter unwinds until their 18th birthday. She keeps them on the move in safe locations so that they are never found.
  • Ariana: Conner's girlfriend at the beginning of the book.
  • Alexis: Teenage mom, who tries to be friends with Risa.
  • Hannah: Hannah is a teacher who helps out with characters in the book.
  • Greta: Nurse in the orphanage where Risa was raised.
  • Zachary, AKA Emby (Mouth Breather): He's an unwind with adenoid problems who always breaths through his mouth -hence the nickname. He only has one lung, from an unwind with asthma.
  • Mai: A girl who is running from being unwound.
  • Blaine: Someone who Connor and Risa meet in the basement and then again at the Graveyard.
  • Pastor Dan: Lev's Pastor who tells him to run when Conner runs onto the highway.
  • Andy Jameson: A child Connor knew from school who is also an unwind. He provided a distraction to help Connor avoid capture.
  • Marcus Calder: Lev's older brother. Against Tithing his youngest brother.
  • Josias Aldridge: The trucker who saves Conner when he first ran.
  • Amp: One of the Goldens at the Graveyard, called so because he uses a megaphone when welcoming newcomers to the Graveyard.
  • Vincent: A boy Mai knew and fell in love with.
  • Samson Ward: An orphan from the same Staho as Risa.
  • Dalton: A musician/Unwind at Happy Jack Harvest Camp. As a musician, you have an longer wait time before unwinding.
  • Chase: Alexis's baby
  • Jack: Unwound pianist.
  • Humphrey Dunfee: A urban legend of a kid who was unwound and his parents regretted it. They traveled around, searching for their sons' body parts and try to put him together.
  • Mr. Durkin: Risa's piano teacher.
  • E. Robert Mullard: The 19 year old guard who dies in the Happy Jack accident.
  • Connor: A bad and good guy who always did the right thing
  • Diego: Unwind who has the "forbidden" discussion with Connor, Hayden and Emby
  • Harlan: Add a description of this character.
  • Tina
  • Lady-Lips
  • Mason Michael Starkey
  • Fry
  • Headmaster Thomas
  • Mr. Starkey
Show all 40 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “"Don't I have a choice in this?" But when she looks behind her, the answer is clear. There are two guards waiting to make sure that she has no choice at all. And as they lead her away, she thinks of Mr. Durkin. With a bitter laugh, Risa realizes that he may get his wish after all. Someday he may see her hands playing in Carnegie Hall. Unfortunately, the rest of Risa won't be there" pg 24”
    Risa Ward
  • “Picasso had to prove to the world he can paint the right way, before he goes putting both eyes on one side of a face, and noses stickin' outta kneecaps and stuff. See, if you paint wrong because that's the best you can do, you just a chump. But you do it because you want to? Then you're an artist" pg 125”
    Cyrus "CyFi" Finch
  • “It’s not an it. It’s a she." pg 113”
    Connor Lassiter
  • “If every part of you is alive but inside someone else… are you alive or are you dead?” pg 167”
    Hayden
  • “Stupid dreams. Even the good ones are bad, because they remind you how poorly reality measures up" pg 17”
    Connor Lassiter
  • “I was never going to amount to much anyway, but now, statistically speaking, there's a better chance that some part of me will go on to greatness somewhere in the world. I'd rather be partly great than entirely useless" pg 26”
    Samson Ward
  • “First rule of motherhood, dearie: Men are screwups. Learn it now and you'll be a whole lot happier" pg 63”
    Insignificant Character
  • “You can't change laws without first changing human nature" "You can't change human nature without first changing the law" pg 115”
    Nurse Greta and Nurse Yvonne
  • “The devil you know is better than the one you don't”
    Risa Ward
  • “If there wasn't unwinding, there'd be fewer surgeons, and more doctors. If there wasn't unwinding, they'd go back to trying to cure diseases instead of just replacing stuff with someone else's" pg 169”
    Connor Lassiter
  • “You're so sane, it's insane" pg 184”
    Cyrus "CyFi" Finch
  • “Getting to know someone in blind darkness changes your impression of them. p. 177”
  • “In a perfect world mothers would all want their babies, and strangers would open up their homes to the unloved. In a perfect world everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn't a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is.”
    Connor Lassiter
  • “Please be a human being. With a life so full of rules and regiments, it's so easy to forget that's what they are.”
    Hannah
  • “"Nice socks."”
    Conner
  • “"It's funny how a flame can only burn your hand if you move too slow, you can tease it all you want and it never gets you, if your quick enough."”
  • “"I'm scared," he says. "I know," says the nurse." "I want you all to go to Hell." That's natural."”
    Roland
  • “"Hey," says Hayden, "I'm Switzerland; neutral as can be, and also with great chocolate."”
    Hayden
  • “The good thing about being explosive is that no one can beat you.”
  • “"...the first sign of civilization is always trash."”
  • “Of course, if more people had been organ donors, unwinding never would have happened...but people like to keep what's theirs, ever after they're dead.”
    Admiral
  • “"...His hand would never touch me like this."”
    Risa
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • In a perfect world everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn’t a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is.
    Highlighted by 357 Kindle customers
  • One thing you learn when you’ve lived as long as I have—people aren’t all good, and people aren’t all bad. We move in and out of darkness and light all of our lives. Right now, I’m pleased to be in the light.”
    Highlighted by 320 Kindle customers
  • See, if you paint wrong because that’s the best you can do, you just a chump. But you do it because you want to? Then you’re an artist.”
    Highlighted by 280 Kindle customers
  • You see, a conflict always begins with an issue—a difference of opinion, an argument. But by the time it turns into a war, the issue doesn’t matter anymore, because now it’s about one thing and one thing only: how much each side hates the other.”
    Highlighted by 261 Kindle customers
  • Stupid dreams. Even the good ones are bad, because they remind you how poorly reality measures up.
    Highlighted by 244 Kindle customers
  • “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” —ALBERT EINSTEIN
    Highlighted by 218 Kindle customers
  • Just as the airplane graveyard was Heaven disguised as Hell, harvest camp is Hell masquerading as Heaven.
    Highlighted by 169 Kindle customers
  • “I was never going to amount to much anyway,” Samson says, “but now, statistically speaking, there’s a better chance that some part of me will go on to greatness somewhere in the world. I’d rather be partly great than entirely useless.”
    Highlighted by 164 Kindle customers
  • He’s become like that briefcase in the ground—full of gems yet void of light, so nothing sparkles, nothing shines.
    Highlighted by 163 Kindle customers
  • “It was the last chapter in our history textbook, but we had state testing, so we never got to it.”
    Highlighted by 100 Kindle customers
Show all 32 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

  • Harvest Clinic or Camp: This is the building or the place where the teenagers are actually "unwound"
  • The "Graveyard": The Graveyard is a place where a bunch of unwinds that have run away from being unwound stay until they are 18 years old.
  • Chop Shop: What unwinds call the Harvest Clinic
  • Sonia's Basement: Where Risa and Connor are hidden and where they first meet Roland.

First Sentence edit see section history

"There are places you can go," Ariana tells him, "and a guy as smart as you has a decent chance of surviving to eighteen."

Table of Contents edit see section history

The Bill of Life

I. Triiplicate
1. Connor
2. Risa
3. Lev
4. Connor
5. Cop
6. Lev
7. Connor
8. Risa

II. Storked
9. Mother
10. Risa
11. Connor
12. Risa
13. Lev
14. Connor
15. Lev
16. Teacher
17. Risa
18. Lev
19. Connor
20. Risa

III. Transit
21. Lev
22. Risa
23. Connor
24. Risa
25. Connor

IV. Destinations
26. Pawnbroker
27. Connor
28. Risa
29. Lev
30. Cy-Ty
31. Lev

V. Graveyard
32. The Admiral
33. Risa
34. Connor
35. Lev
36. Risa
37. Emby and the Admiral
38. Mob
39. Roland
40. Connor
41. Mob
42. Risa
43. Mob
44. Connor
45. Mob
46. Connor
47. First-Year Residents
48. Risa
49. Roland
50. Connor

VI. Unwound
51. Camp
52. Risa
53. Connor
54. Lev
55. Risa
56. Connor
57. Lev
58. Connor
59. Roland
60. Harvest
61. Roland
62. Lev
63. Guard
64. Connor
65. Clappers

VII. Consciousness
66. Connor
67. Risa
68. Lev
69. Unwinds

Glossary edit see section history

  • Unwind: A person scheduled to be unwound. When you are unwound, your body parts are salvaged and reattached to other people in need of them. This is a way of you not dying because all of your body is "living" in others.
  • Tithe: One-tenth paid as a religious sacrifice. In Unwind, a tithe is in the form of people. They are raised foe the sole purpose of being unwound.
  • Chop Shop: Officially known as the Harvest Camp. This is the building where Unwinds are unwound. Named by the people who were being unwound.
  • AWOL: Military term meaning "absent without leave." This is a term used for people who run away from being unwound.
  • Umber: The term used for black people.
  • Sienna: The term used for white people.
  • Storking: When a mother feels she can't take care of her newborn baby, she places it on the doorway of a random person and legally the family living there is now responsible for the baby, unless the mother is seen getting rid of the baby, then she must keep it. This is a legal act.
  • Clapper: A suicide bomber; uses a chemical injected in their blood stream that explodes when they clap their hands.
  • The "Golden": The five Unwinds who work right under the Admiral and are his eyes and ears
  • Bill of Life: The legislative bill signed after the Heartland War, which made abortion illegal but establishes unwinding and storking as acceptable.
  • StaHo: Abbreviated version of "State Home" which is a state run orphanage. Everyone from there is given the last name Ward
  • Heartland war: A second Civil War that was fought in the United States. The opposing armies were pro-life, pro-choice and US military.
Show all 12 glossary entries

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Free Will: In Unwind, it shows how the will of yourself, and of others, can make a difference. A difference between life and death, even. A good example is Connor. When he realized what was to happen to him, he fought, running, biting, clawing, anything to keep himself alive. And he did. Connor was able to save his own life on the sheer will to survive -- Something that is buried inside of all of us.

Errata edit see section history

Page 86, line 6; "...comes up beside her, with Chaz gnawing at her shoulder." Chaz is the baby's father; the baby's name is Chase.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 4 in Unwind. (standard series)

Followed by UnWholly.

This book is in Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Nominees 2011. (community list)
This book is in 2011-2012 Iowa Teen Award. (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Neal Shusterman (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Country: USA
Publication Date: November 6, 2007
ISBN: 1416912045
Page Count: 352

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PZ7.S55987Unw 2007
  • Dewey: Fic (dc 22)

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

There is so much rich fodder for discussion in this book. If you have a thinker, present them with a copy and read it with them. If you have a child who loves action and adventure, this book is loaded with it. If you have a child who loves science fiction, encourage them to read it. Let them know it is being made into a movie -- better to read the book first! Lexile level: 740

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The House of the Scorpion
  • The Declaration
  • Among the Hidden
  • The Ninth Orphan
  • Rash

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