Review: UnWholly by Neal Shusterman

Title: Unwholly
Author: Neal Shusterman
Pages: 402
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Series: Unwind trilogy #2
Released: August 28, 2012

 

The Story

"Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa, and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp, people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens, and in the same stroke, providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question."

Connor, Lev, and Risa are all return book. I love their characters and how they grow and develop. I especially love Risa--she was so strong, brave, and independent, and I admired her for refusing the spine of an unwind after her accident even though it meant being confined to a wheelchair.

We're introduced to several new characters in UnWholly as well, and it's interesting to see how their paths eventually cross with the original characters from Unwind. I loved all of the characters, and really got pulled into the story emotionally.

The story follows the journeys of all these different characters, which allows the reader to view unwinding from all different perspectives. I really loved how the author did this! Sometimes, through different character's perspectives, I could actually see how they thought unwinding was a good thing. 

I was really shocked to find myself having mixed feelings about unwinding at some points in the story! But Neal Shusterman does a spectacular job of making you really feel for the characters and see things from their perspective.

There are several different sub-plots of the story, but the main plot focuses on Connor and the Graveyard. He is now in charge of the Graveyard and keeping AWOL unwinds safe, but their safety is threatened because the juvie cops know about them.

Connor knows it's only a matter of time before they take out the Graveyard. He has to come up with an escape plan to get all the kids to safety before the juvies decide to take them down, but he soon finds that he is quickly running out of time.

  New Characters

• Mason Starkey

 "He talks as if Starkey should have known they were coming, but what Unwind ever really knows? Every Unwind believes in their heart of hearts that it won't happen to them....But Starkey's been a potential candidate for unwinding since the moment he arrived on his parent's doorstep." (p. 4)

 Starkey's parents choose to have him unwound because he was an unwanted baby who was 'storked' on their doorstep. He has grown up being teased about being storked and is called "storkey."  When he finds his way to the Graveyard he soon causes problems for Connor that might put all of the AWOL's in jeopardy.

At first, I felt sorry for Starkey. But as I saw more of his character and how it developed, I came to hate him. Oh my goodness I have not hated a character so much in a long time! It's not that he was a bad character--he was a very well-written character. He was just a total jerk.

He was manipulative, cunning, charismatic, deceitful, selfish, and cold. He hates the way storked kids are treated and wants them to be respected and save them from being unwound. His intentions are good, but the way he acts them out are not.

Starkey was a really interesting character and very well-developed--and he had reasons for all the stuff he did. In his mind, he was totally justified. Even though I hated his guts, I understood where he was coming from.

• Miracolina

"The girl has known since before she can remember that her body has been sanctified to God. She has always been aware that on her thirteenth birthday she would be tithed and would experience the glorious mystery of having a divided body and a networked soul...There are people who say it's death, but she believes it to be something else--something mystical, and she believes it with every ounce of her soul." (p. 30)

Like Lev in the first book, Miracolina is a tithe. However, at the last moment her parents decide that they don't want to tithe her after all, but Miracolina completely believes that unwinding is a good thing and her purpose in life. She leaves to be unwound of her own free will.

It was crazy seeing things from Miracolina's perspective, how totally brainwashed she had been. She ends up being rescued by the Resistance, and is furious. I couldn't believe how determined she was to be unwound!

But as we get to know her character more, we understand her reasons and why she thinks unwinding is a good thing. Sometimes I even almost found myself agreeing with her. Her storyline crosses with Lev's, and it was interesting seeing the two of them interact.

• Cam

"That face is a nightmare. Strips of flesh, all different shades, like a living quilt stretched across the bone, muscle, and cartilage beneath...His eyes ache from the sight of himself, and tears cloud them... "Monster!" he says." (p. 59)

Cam was a really intriguing character, and raised so many questions! He is 'created' using the parts of nearly one-hundred unwound kids. People don't know what to think of him--is he human? Does he have a soul? Is he his own person?

I didn't know what to make of Cam at first. I was disgusted, but at the same time I felt sorry for him because he couldn't help the way he was created. He was spoiled and childish, but he was also innocent and caring. He was such an interesting character, and I'm still not sure how exactly I feel about him.

To Read Or Not To Read? 

Oh my goodness gracious, this book was all sorts of awesome!! It was full of amazing characters, tension that left me on the edge of my seat, adrenaline-pumped action, and a premise that had me thinking long after I closed the book.

I think that this book was actually better than the first, if that's even possible. It was a long 5 year wait between books but I can assure you the wait is well worth it and you will not be disappointed!

Also, for those of you who are worried about remembering details about the previous book like I was, the author provides a brief guide at the beginning that helps to jog your memory.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any more interesting, Neal Shusterman raises even more thought-provoking questions in this book. This book is seriously deep! This is one of those stories that's going to linger in my mind for days.

If you haven't read the Unwind books, I highly recommend them! Especially if you are a fan of dystopians, this is a must-read. I'm eagerly anticipating that final installment of the trilogy, UnSouled, and I hope the wait won't be as long as the last!


Writing: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Creativity/Originality: 5/5
Kept me interested: 5/5

Review: Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Title: Under the Never Sky

Author: Veronica Rossi

Pages:376

Publisher: HarperCollins

Series: Under the Never Sky #1

Released: January 3, 2012

First Line: They called the world beyond the walls of the Pod "the Death Shop."

From Goodreads: "Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland - known as The Death Shop - are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild - a savage - and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky."

My Thoughts:

“She absorbed the terror and beauty of him and his world. Of every moment over the past days. All of it, filling her up like the first breath she'd ever taken. And never had she loved life more.” 

Wow. This is easily one of the best books I have read this year. I had heard lots of great things about this book, but I hadn't expected it to be this good! I have fallen completely in love with Under the Never Sky, and it is definitely one of my favorites now.

 Veronica Rossi has created an interesting and different dystopian world. Aria lives in an underground Pod called Reverie and wears a device called a Smarteye that allows her access to virtual realms where she spends most of her time. The slogan for these realms is that they are "better than real." Perry is an Outsider who lives in a tribe out in the "Death Shop", under constant danger from the violent Aether storms. The Aether clouds are always in the sky, so it is never blue. And then these two who come from complete opposite worlds--virtual and real--are thrown together.

This book is told in alternating points of view (in third person) between Aria and Perry. I'm usually not too crazy about this style of story-telling, but Veronica Rossi pulls it off perfectly. I think that this was the perfect way to tell this story, because we get to see both sides. We are drawn into both Aria's world and Perry's. And then when Aria is thrown into Perry's world we get to see it from both of their perspectives.

Another thing I loved about this tactic was that we get to see how Aria and Perry view each other, and how their views change throughout the story. This is a story about how two people from two different worlds are thrust together and must overcome their prejudice, dislike, and mistrust of each other. And despite how different they may be, they are both working toward the same goal: finding someone they love. For Aria it's her mother, for Perry his nephew Talon.

I loved the characters in this book, especially Perry. Veronica Rossi did a marvelous job with developing these characters and making them feel real. You can see how they slowly change and grow throughout the story, and by the end they are different people than when the story started.

The romance in this book was one of the best I've seen in a while! I'm not a fan of insta-love, which is how a lot of YA romances are. Veronica Rossi develops both of these characters and their relationship and we get to see how they gradually fall in love with each other. To me this made the romance feel so much more real!

Recommendations:

Honestly, I can't think of a single negative thing to say about this book. I stayed up until 1AM finishing it, and was so captured by its spell that I didn't even realize it was that late. That is the mark of an awesome book!

I would recommend Under the Never Sky to everyone! Especially fans of dystopians. Seriously, if you haven't read this one yet you need to move it to the top of your list, you won't be disappointed! My only regret is that I borrowed this from the library instead of buying it.

My Rating:

Writing: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Creativity/Originality: 5/5
Kept me interested: 5/5