aligmich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
All in all, I enjoyed it - but it’s certainly not perfect by any sense.
Graphic: Body horror, Abandonment, Abortion, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
scarlettskyes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, and Child abuse
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Slavery, and Religious bigotry
martereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Slavery, Violence, Torture, and Stalking
Moderate: War, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked and I'm looking forward to how the sequels (hopefully) develop and complicate the world. UNWIND has a specific and pretty interesting plot, but narratively it does the heavy lifting of a kind of tour, showing all the different facets of existence for someone impacted by the unwinding, the ways that this deeply flawed plan has cracked and broken the people under it. The main characters are slated to be unwound, some willingly and some not, but the mix of perspectives combine to show just how fucked up the whole system is. Secondary characters get a few chapters and even minor characters might get one to show how everything in their world is bent by this paradigm.
In a book meant for teens, it's especially poignant that since Unwinds are always children the majority of recipients of their organs will be adults. This sets up a paradigm where the old are preying on the young in a visceral way. Page counts are lower in YA, and part of what makes this world so immersive are the little things. Even something as simple as recipients continually referring to the donated organs and body parts as if they don't belong to them, they belong to the person who was unwound, it creates this sense of disassociation. There's a character who received a lung and consistently draws a distinction between himself and this lung that's in his body but isn't his, it belongs to some other kid who was unwound. This distinction is one of horde of tiny details in how everyone is committed to the idea that the unwound are that, unwound, a state that is somehow distinct from state-sanctioned murder plus organ donation on the basis that a bunch of people said so and everyone plays along.
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Violence, Car accident, and Suicide
Minor: Sexual assault, Slavery, and Animal death