One day, I picked this book from the library for the husband to read, who devoured it in a few hours (and who is driving me crazy because of how quickly he gets through books while I am still in the first few chapters appreciating the writer's style, huff!). Certain YA books just don't seem to work for me, and I still had no way of knowing how to recognize them before even turning a page. My brother had been behind me to read this book, ever since he first read it a few years ago. Together, the three stumble across a hidden hive of unwinds and try to stay away from the authorities, until things go wrong.

Somehow during his escape, he manages to cross paths with another unwind, Risa, whose state home could no longer afford to keep her in its care and a tithe, Lev, who was brought up by his parents just to give him up for unwinding - considered to be a holy action. But Connor has other ideas and so he escapes one night. Since Connor's parents are no longer able to have any amount of control over him, they decide to unwind him. Beyond that, parents could choose to unwind their child - meaning allow the government to amputate every part of the child's body and use these parts for research or medical treatment. After the Second Civil War, a new law came into effect: the lives of children up to the age of 13 was well-protected. There is only one thing occupying Connor's head these days and that is his upcoming unwinding. That way their divided spirits could rest, knowing that their living flesh was spread around the world, saving lives, making other people whole.

Better to be broken up on the outside instead. It would probably be a relief for them, for now they're all broken up on the inside. They need to be protected from themselves.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman