Review: Unwind by Neil Shusterman

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (November 6, 2007) 

Paperback: 352 pages

Price: $8.99 from Amazon
Summary: Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until theireighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.

Rating:

Review: I don't know what to say about this book. Great setting, great characters, great relationships, so why didn't I like it more? I just couldn't get into the book and made myself keep reading through the force of my will. I think the main reason I felt disconnected from the book was because the story is told from three different perspectives that constantly, and I mean constantly, alternate. I felt that Shusterman switched a little to fast between Risa, Lev, and Connor and often found myself thinking, "Why can't they see something's wrong with the other person?!" I am a fan of alternating voices, but though I did gain more insight into their thoughts, it just didn't work for me.

On the plus side, Shusterman creates a very original world with realistic relationships and characters. I picked this book out for the unusual premise (since I love urban fantasy), and it certainly lived up to its expectations. I could also sympathize with each of the main characters as their backgrounds were quickly but efficiently developed, and each one represented a different reaction I would have to a situation. Shusterman definitely made keen insight in human nature and developement, especially considering this was a book centering on the minds of teens. The only small problem I had was a lack of romance; not the absence of it, but the romance was very little. I would think that normal teens would want to kiss a little more and be more aware of the other gender.

And what I always have to talk about: the ending. I felt that Unwind was predictable at parts, but the end was an enigma until I actually read it. Either that or I'm a very unperceptive reader, which is possible. I'm glad it wasn't those unrealistic happily-ever-after endings, and I think it summed things up nicely.

Bottom Line: Technically, Unwind is a very good book. It boasts a good premise, great setting, and relatable characters, but I just didn't feel it. And the fact that I couldn't stay engrossed in the book prevented me from giving it a higher rating. However, if you're looking for a solid read in a hypothetical world, Unwind is worth a couple of your hours. And who knows? Maybe you'll love butt-kicking, clever Risa like I did.

Review: All We Know of Heaven by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Publisher: Harper Teen (April 29, 2008)

Hardcover: 320 pages
Price: $13.32 from Amazon

Summary: Bridget Flannery and Maureen O'Malley have been BFFs since forever. Then a brief moment of inattention on an icy road leaves one girl dead and the other in a coma, battered beyond recognition. Family and friends mourn one friend's loss and pray for the other's recovery. Then the doctors discover they have made a terrible mistake. The girl who lived is the one who everyone thought had died.

Rating:

Review: All We Know of Heaven is from the list of 2009 Black-eyed Susan Book Award Nominees, and I can definitely see why it got on there! I picked it up because the premise sounded interesting, though I usually don’t read this type of “sad” books because I hate crying. However, surprisingly, I didn’t shed a tear.

The main reason I didn’t cry is probably because of the surviving girl’s romantic interest. He apparently shows his devotion through waiting at her bedside while she’s in a coma, which was admirable, but my feelings for him quickly changed as the story progressed. It was very hard to sympathize with him as he cheated and made out with other girls, though I understand it’s probably insanely difficult to deal with a situation similar to the one in the book. Basically, I just didn’t feel that Jacquelyn Mitchard was able to prove the guy’s supposed “love” for the girl.

The book is split into three parts and the relationship mainly comes into play in the second and third sections. So while I started getting bored towards the end of the book, I did like the author’s take in the first part, when the girl is in the coma. It took a little bit getting used to, but it was interesting to see the experience of being in a coma from Mitchard’s perspective. And I could definitely tell that some medical knowledge was needed, so appreciation for research in the field here.

The ending felt unreal. Yes, it was the happily-ever-after, but there wasn’t exactly a lot leading up to it. I still liked the author’s investigation of love, hope, loss, and determination; the ending just threw me off a bit.

Bottom Line: All We Know of Heaven is a good book that explores teen love, the struggle to overcome hardships, and how people deal with loss of loved ones and things they take for granted. Admittedly, I had some trouble connecting with the main girl’s love interest and their relationship seemed sort of unrealistic to me, but I definitely felt and rooted for the main girl. This book offers interesting insight into humans; it was the relationship that killed it for me.

2009 Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Nominees

The Black-Eyed Susan Book Award honors outstanding books chosen annually by Maryland students.

Today was the third day of school, but it feels like I've been going back for months already! And it's very chilly outside these mornings. Getting up so early and sleeping late is really fraying my nerves, though it's partially my fault. If only I liked sleeping earlier... but, alas, it is not so. However, that gives me more time to read, especially since I was able to borrow Blood Promise from my friend today! I can't wait to read it. (:

Anyways, I went to the school library the other day and saw the 2009 Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Nominees propped up neatly on the table. A couple of them, which I've checked out, caught my eye, so I decided to post the list in case any of you are interested. (This is the high school list, so these are all YA books.)

Does My Head Look Big in This?

Randa Abel-Fatteh

Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full- time and everyone has a reaction, from her parents and friends to strangers on the street. But she stands by her decision to embrace her Muslim faith and all that it is in this stunning debut novel.

Shift

Jennifer Bradbury

Some friends fade away....Others disappear.
Imagine you and your best friend head out West on a cross-country bike trek.
Imagine that the two of you get into a fight -- and stop riding together.
Imagine you reach Seattle, go back home, start college.
Imagine you think your former best friend does too.
Imagine he doesn't.
Imagine your world shifting....

November Blues

Sharon Draper

When November Nelson loses her boyfriend, Josh, to a pledge stunt gone horribly wrong, she thinks her life can't possibly get any worse. But Josh left something behind that will change November's life forever, and now she's faced with the biggest decision she could ever imagine. How in the world will she tell her mom? And how will Josh's parents take the news? She's never needed a friend more.
Jericho Prescott lost his best friend when he lost his cousin, Josh, and the pain is almost more than he can bear. His world becomes divided into "before" and "after" Josh's death. He finds the only way he can escape the emptiness he feels is to quit doing the things that made him happy when his cousin was alive, such as playing his beloved trumpet, and take up football, where he hopes the physical pain will suppress the emotional. But will hiding behind shoulder pads really help? And will his gridiron obsession prevent him from being there for his cousin's girlfriend when she needs him most?

The Last Exit to Normal

Michael Harmon

It’s true: After 17-year-old Ben’s father announces he’s gay and the family splits apart, Ben does everything he can to tick him off: skip school, smoke pot, skateboard nonstop, get arrested. But he never thinks he’ll end up yanked out of his city life and plunked down into a small Montana town with his dad and Edward, The Boyfriend. As if it’s not painful enough living in a hick town with spiked hair, a skateboard habit, and two dads, he soon realizes something’s not quite right with Billy, the boy next door. He’s hiding a secret about his family, and Ben is determined to uncover it and set things right. In an authentic, unaffected, and mordantly funny voice, Michael Harmon tells the wrenching story of an uprooted and uncomfortable teenaged guy trying to fix the lives around him–while figuring out his own.

Yellow Flag

Robert Lipsyte

In any race, there are drivers and, at the front of the pack, there are racers. In the final laps, it's the racer who moves his car through the sweet spot, picks off the competition, and drives through a hole to win.

In Kyle's family, his older brother, Kris, has always been the racer, born and bred to it, like his father and grandfather and great-grandfather before him. And that's just fine with Kyle; he's got other things to do. Now Kris is out of commission, injured, and Kyle has no choice but to drive. Does he want to drive just long enough to keep Kris's seat warm, or does he want to race—and win?

Wicked Lovely

Melissa Marr

Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance among the Faery Courts has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow. Seventeen-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their intrigues. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo of eyes and wings, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life. The tattoo does bring changes--not the kind Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils. . . .

Streams of Babel

Carol Plum-Ucci

Six teens face a bioterrorist attack on American soil as four are infected with a mysterious disease affecting their small New Jersey neighborhood and two others, both brilliant computer hackers, assist the United States Intelligence Coalition in tracking the perpetrators.

Unwind
Neal Shutterman

Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together through desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing all the while that their lives are hanging in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthdays, they can't be harmed. But when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away...

Notes from the Midnight Driver

Jordan Sonnenblick

16-year-old Alex decides to get even. His parents are separated, his father is dating his former third-grade teacher, and being 16 isn't easy, especially when it comes to girls. Instead of revenge though, Alex ends up in trouble with the law and is ordered to do community service at a senior center where he is assigned to Solomon Lewis, a "difficult" senior with a lot of gusto, advice for Alex, and a puzzling (yet colorful) Yiddish vocabulary. Eventually, the pair learn to deal with their past and each other in ways that are humorous, entertaining, and life changing.

All We Know of Heaven

Jacquelyn Mitchard

Bridget Flannery and Maureen O'Malley have been BFFs since forever. Then a brief moment of inattention on an icy road leaves one girl dead and the other in a coma, battered beyond recognition. Family and friends mourn one friend's loss and pray for the other's recovery. Then the doctors discover they have made a terrible mistake. The girl who lived is the one who everyone thought had died.

The books that interested me the most were All We Know of Heaven and Unwind, both of which I have borrowed from the library. I've already finished All We Know of Heaven, and I'll review that soon when I have time. I can vy that it is good though, as is Wicked Lovely, but I'm sure most of us have read that already (with the exception of me, who skipped right on to Ink Exchange). Happy reading!