"Unwind" by Neal Shusterman

Unwind the first book in the Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman was amazing to say the least. It wasn't first person or really even third person perspective. It was almost a combination of the both.  I really enjoyed Neal's writing style. The book has a touch of everything: suspense, mystery, love, survival. The story line itself gives me the chills, it's scary to think about what the future of the world could hold.


After a war between pro-life and pro-choice, the country agreed upon the bill of life.
Babies could no longer be aborted, however; they could now "abort" children between the ages of 13 -17.
It wasn't really killing the kids after all; they were just living in a divided state. They called it unwinding.
If parents could no longer handle the kids behavior they sign the papers, and off the kids go. Their bodies get taken apart piece by piece, and they become live organ donors. No piece of them goes to waste, every piece goes somewhere. Then there's storking. You don't want your baby to begin with? Not a problem after you give birth, as long as you don't get caught you can leave it on someone else's door step and make it their problem. It's entirely legal.


There's three main perspectives.

Connor Lassiter: A rebellious teen always getting into fights, so his parents want him gone.

Risa Ward: An orphan, a ward of the state, is being unwound due to cost-cutting.

Lev Calder: A tithe, It's been his parents plan to have him unwound since birth for religious purposes. 

For the better or for the worse their paths intertwine and leave all their lives hanging by a thread.


I LOVED this book so much! I'm already half way through it's sequel, Unwholly.  I had originally thought it was a trilogy, but have just come to the realization that he's writing a fourth book. I'm WAY excited. The excitement doesn't end there, not only is there fourth book, but from what I understand there's also a possible movie in the making. I'm thrilled! Unwind was really unique compared most dystopian novels I've read. It's all fiction obviously, but Neal based a lot of ideas for the book off of real events. I found myself seriously disturbed after looking up the news articles Neal referenced. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

                                                                                                                                                                                         Rating  5 out of 5.

"BirthMarked" by Caragh O'brien

Birthmarked by Caragh O'brien is the first book in an exciting trilogy. This book is a new favorite of mine. It is a suspenseful and an addicting read. Once I started reading it I didn't want to put it down. There's a bit of a mystery in it that slowly gets revealed chapter by chapter.

Sixteen year old Gaia Stone is a mid-wife that lives outside the wall. Gaia and her family have always served the Enclave dutifully. Gaia and her mother deliver all the babies in their sector, making sure to advance the first three babies born each month. Gaia's mother will tattoo the babies ankle then give it to the people inside the walls. Gaia's never really understood why, she has just always followed orders. She followed them until the day her parents were arrested and taken from her for no reason.  An old woman came to her and gave her a ribbon with strange markings and said it was her mothers and to keep it safe. She didn't understand at the time what it was, but she decided to do what the woman asked. A rumor started to float around saying her parents were sentenced to death in a weeks time. She knew then she was going to sneak inside the wall and get them out or die trying. Gaia had thought everything inside the walls would be perfect, however; upon entering there was an execution taking place in the main square. What unnerved Gaia wasn't the execution per say, but the fact that the women was pregnant and could be due any day. When the floor dropped out from the woman's feet and she was hung, Gaia knew then that she was going to find out where the body would be taken. She may not have been able to save the mother, but she was going to try and save the baby, even if it jeopardized everything else. Since there was no oxygen getting to the baby at this point, it became a race against time. Gaia didn't know if she could do it, but she had to try. It was this action that opened a doorway to all sorts of problems and mysteries. Each and everyone Gaia would have to face and overcome. Her life depended on it.

This book was an interesting read, and it was well written. Some of it was rather heart wrenching, and you really felt Gaia's pain. Other parts of it you could jump for joy when Gaia had triumphed over a difficult trial. The book was ever twisting; there was so much I never saw coming, and it turned into such a surprise. I was sad to see it end, but i'm excited as ever to start the second book,Prized.

                                                                               Rating 4.5 out 5.