I found this book to have an inspirational message as well as many instances of humor throughout the book that kept me wanting to read more and see where the author would take me. I would highly recommend this book to kids my age who enjoy action and sci-fi types of novels.

In the book Unwind By Neal Shusterman It takes place in a future but not the future we think of with hover crafts and aliens. The most interesting thing is how human life is dealt with. Storking is a common practice in this society. This is when somebody puts a baby on a porch, knocks and it is someone else's problem... unless you are caught and then you must take it back. Unwinding people is also a common practice. This is when your body is taken apart and is used for body parts for transplantation to other people. This can happen to people between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.

One of our main characters, Connor ,has a flashback about a baby his family support and storked it. Unfortunately, it comes back and dies on their porch. Connor doesn't want to see that happen again with another baby. Connor and his friend Risa are “unwinds”, that is, they are destined to go to a harvest camp, where they will be taken apart and used for extra body parts. They are trying to stay away from the police until they reach the age of 18, when they will no longer be eligible to be unwound. It is while they are on the run that they come across a baby and Connor grabs the child, intent on saving it. Risa feels this will place them both at risk and is not pleased with his choice. In order to keep the child safe, they come up with a cover story that they are teenage parents. They are able to keep the baby safe until they are able to hand it off to a compassionate teacher who wants to raise a child. Connor and Risa ultimately survive, and destroy a harvest camp. Unfortunately, they do not change the practice of storking or unwinding in their society, but save themselves and a baby by their heroic actions.

For me, this book had three important messages. Running away won’t solve your problems. Connor and Risa were able to survive their horrid circumstances because they were smart, and trusted each other. They were the best of friends and had each others back. I believe that if one has someone they can count on, be it friends or family, it makes you strong enough to survive anything. I also believe the book emphasized how important it is to treasure the life you have, because we do not know what may come tomorrow. Lastly, we should appreciate all of the wondrous things our bodies do for us, and enable us to do. We take for granted our abilities to talk, think, and move but these can be gone in an instance of bad luck.

The premise of the book is unbelievable but it does make the reader think about life and its value, both to an individual as well as to a society. No matter who it is their life is valuable.