Unwholly

Synopsis:

Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa—and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp—people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simltaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished.

     Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself.

Thoughts:

Once again, Neal Shusterman exquisitely explores the enigma of what it truly means to be alive. He does it brilliantly, using a futuristic Frankenstein to explore the idea of what makes one human. Overall, the book was a very enriching read.  However, after reading, I wished that the author could have brought back more of Unwind. Risa and Conner spent nearly the whole book separated, and Lev spent most of his time being worshiped by a group of tithes. Shusterman does bring in some interesting new characters, though. Miracolina was a tithe created for the purpose of helping her brother with a medical problem. Her parents swore to give her back to God, and she wanted to be the tool that God uses to touch people. The idea that a child could be made simply for the sake of helping a sibling and then unwound was intriguing and disturbing. The relationship with her parents and the love that they have for her was a great storyline as well. Starkey introduced the whole new aspect of storked children. Storked children were generally looked down upon in the unwinding world, and he wanted to change that. While this storyline was engaging, it was also a bit cliche. A little remembered character from Unwind was brought back in Unwholly. The Bounty Hunter's job was to pick up kids off the streets and sell them on the "Black Market" for unwound parts. Due to the events as the result of Happy Jack Harvest Camp, there had been a shortage for quite sometime. Any parts would do, whether they were from an AWOL Unwind or a random victim. One of the best part of the book was the discovery of how unwinding began and the organization behind it. Schusterman points out how we look at our own teenagers as "feral" and how the media can spread fear. 

Stars: 3/4