UnWholly (2012) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 3 stars

“Started slowly,but I was such a fan of Unwind, I had to hang in. The story finally delivered.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Awesome!! ”

• Rated 0 stars

“Some great twists and turns which make you really ponder where we are heading with science and the medical profession. It leaves you wanting to read the next book in the trilogy!”

• Rated 4 stars

“Finally a second installment that lives up to the first book of the series. ”

• Rated 4 stars

“Well I was nervous to read this after reading Unwind because I wasn't sure it would amount to the first of its series.
I don't know if it really did, to be honest, however I did enjoy this book. The beginning and almost the first half of it I wasn't that interested in, but as it went on the story picked up.
I was so irritated by Starkey and of course that just meant that he was well written, but oh gosh, I really wanted to give him a smack on the head to clear him.
Cam gave a really interesting twist to the book. I'm not completely sure I get a great sense of character with him, but I think over time, he'll grow out.
Meeting all the old characters from the previous book was great and meeting all the new ones was as well (with the exception of some).
This definitely wasn't as good as the first in my opinion, but it wasn't a disappointment. ”

• Rated 4 stars

“I was looking forward to reading this book and was very glad that I finally found some time to read it. I greatly enjoyed UnWholly and I liked the addition of the characters.

Though it was not as "shocking" as the first book in the series, it did bring up many important ethical issues. What is the value of human life? How desparate are people to make themselves look and feel better in the expense of others? What is the meaning of being a parent? Over and over Shusterman described situations where teenage lives did not mean much. It was very sad in fact and it made my heart break that any excuse from a parent or guardian was used against these "troubled" teens. What happened to coming together and fixing their problems with words? How about therapy? Also, it was disgusting to see the advertisements in the book which made "unwinding" such a normal thing and made it sound that it's okay to better your body by using other kids' body parts. I understand it if it were a life or death situation, but not for cosmetic reasons. So, the issues from the world that Neal Shusterman mentioned really had me thinking.

The characters were also great. Connor, Risa, and Lev made an appearance again and we came to see how the events from the first book made each of these characters stronger. The book also introduced Cam and Starkey. Cam was a person created from different unwinds. The thought of him existing was scary, but you do end up feeling some sympathy towards him. Starkey was a stork with alpha male issues. He wanted to be a leader and wanted everything for himself no matter what the consequences were. His character was not likeable but you do understand him.

I was not sure at first what to rate this book since it was not as great as the first one. It did take me longer to read this one because I couldn't find myself to sit through more than three chapters at the same time. At first I thought maybe because it didn't interest me as much, but in reality, I couldn't read many chapters because I had to stop and let the story sink in. I found myself really thinking about the issues and the events in UnWholly. It made me start to question things that are going on today in our world. Because of this, I rate the book 4.5 stars.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Excellent page-turner. Unexpected twists and turns on every page.”

• Rated 4 stars

“This is the sequel to Unwind and I was so thrilled to hear Neal Shusterman was going to continue the story. Although Unwind ended without a cliffhanger, you just wanted to hear more about this story!

My Booktalk:

If you've read Unwind, you know about the treaty to stop abortions. The Homeland War was declared over when both sides agreed to stop aborting pregnancies, but would allow children between the ages of 12-18 to be "unwound" if they prove to be too much of a problem or not productive enough for the new society. They believed this wasn't technically a killing because all "unwound" parts would be used to help or save another person in need of a heart or brain or leg or eye!

In Unwholly, Connor, Lev and Risa have already escaped the Happy Jack Harvest Camp.

Connor is back at Graveyard, the safe haven for AWOLS. But with the General now gone, Connor is in charge.

Risa is paralyzed from being pinned under the rubble of the collapsed building at Happy Jack that was bombed by a clapper.

Lev who was a tithe is not happy about being released from his unwinding, and finds himself with a group of people who are saving kids from being tithed. As a matter of fact, he is seen as a god, worshipped because of his exploits and escape from Happy Jack.

Unknown to these three is a new type of human...a man comprised of all unwound parts! The group in charge of this experiment will stop at nothing to prove that unwinding is a huge success and a clear choice in producing the most perfect human being. But such experiments have gone wrong in the past...can anyone say Dr. Frankenstien?

End Booktalk?

Although the topic is heinous, it is not so far out of the realm of possibility. Can anyone say Hitler? This is a scary look into bioengineering and political correctness gone amuck. I booktalk Unwind all the time and will add this to my list. I cannot wait for the final book! Get writing Neal Shusterman!
”

• Rated 4 stars

“Rated: 4.5 stars; Review at: http://booksinthespotlight.blogspot.com/2013/01/unwholly-unwind-2.html”

• Rated 4 stars

“In Unwind, unwanted teens were sent to harvest camps to be taken apart and have their parts (an eye, a leg, some hair) donated to those in need. In the sequel to Unwind, we follow the stories of various kids who escaped being unwind. The stories intertwine with one another in some form or fashion with one goal...an end to unwinding.
All in all, it was a pretty good read. There were some things that were thrown in that I didn't care for, but I found myself being consumed by most parts of it.”