Unwind (by Neal Shusterman)

The disturbing yet intriguing idea behind Neal Shusterman’s Unwind promises more than it delivers.  If you are a troubled teen, boot camp doesn’t cut it anymore in Shusterman’s world. Teens that are disruptive get unwound: their life as they know it ends (though they do not die, “technically speaking”) as they are stripped off their various body parts, that will get a use later, in another body… The moral and philosophical issues behind the Unwinding process do not really stand out in the book, while they are what could make this an incredibly interesting read. They are mentioned, yes. Explored, no. Instead we get the adventures of 3 Unwinds, Connor, Lisa and Lev. The main reason – besides the lack of moral exploration  – why the cat is a bit iffy about Unwind is the weird present tense multiple point of view, which oddly enough distances the reader too much from the story. Could have been a whole lot more captivating.

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