racheldonna14'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
4.0
The characters start as 2D characters of a troubled teen, ward of the state, and religious tithe which allows the world to be the main character for a while. The world of this book feels familiar (because its mostly Ohio and Arizona) but the rules are different and it takes the reader on a journey to see what the USA has become post Second World War. Once the world is concretely established, the characters, and their relationships between one other, begin to blossom and become complex and whole. Each of their motivations and desires are unique leaving no room for confusion as to why they make the choices that they make even if the choice is wrong. The story is gut-wrenching and visceral from beginning to end.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Body horror, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
heathermarie08'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Abandonment, and Bullying
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Abortion, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
oliverreeds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Abortion, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Violence
tshc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
cepbreed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Body horror, Bullying, Gaslighting, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Abortion, and Sexual assault
Minor: Blood, Gun violence, and War
_morgan'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Violence, Child death, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Confinement and Abandonment
Minor: Grief, Gun violence, Abortion, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
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