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dangarmora's review against another edition
3.0
No continuaré la saga; pese a ser entretenida, se me comenzó a hacer muy pesado y no me interesa saber qué les pasará a los personajes. No es para mí.
kelsey_thereader's review against another edition
4.0
I may come back and add more to this review later, but wanted to write down some thoughts while they are fresh. I gave this book 4 stars because it is thought-provoking and socially relevant, as well as suspenseful and multi-layered. It's the second book in the [b:Unwind|764347|Unwind (Unwind, #1)|Neal Shusterman|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1297677706s/764347.jpg|750423] trilogy, and continues to follow the lives of Connor, Risa, and Lev; as well as a few new faces. Connor is the reluctant leader of the Graveyard, a safe haven for escaped AWOLs like himself, while Risa is coming to terms with her disability (as a result of the Happy Jack clapper bombing). Lev is in the hands of the Juvenile Authority after he decided not to clap, performing community service while under house arrest. All of their worlds are about to get much, much more complicated. This novel delves deeper into some of the already-deep questions posed in Unwind: What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be human? What is a soul? Is it morally right to sacrifice one individual for the sake of many? It also explores the origins of unwinding and the mysterious organization "behind it all," Proactive Citizenry.
I have a hard time deciding whether I like the narrative format of this book. It switches between many perspectives, a technique that certainly allows for suspense and foreshadowing (for example, at one point we see Risa, from another character's perspective, doing something that doesn't really make sense but we can't find out what's really going on until it switches back to her perspective a couple chapters later). Many times I found it neat to be seeing through the eyes of very minor characters (or not even characters at all), while other times I found it to be confusing and a bit of a challenge to keep everyone's stories straight. As all these different perspectives and people converge closer and closer to one another, however, I couldn't help but be helplessly drawn in and hooked to this story.
The best things about this book and this series as a whole:
1) Romance takes a back seat to social issues. Thank you! This doesn't mean there isn't any romance, but it's on the sidelines and just a small piece of the bigger puzzle these kids are trying to solve.
2) It makes me think. There is no clear-cut answer here, which, in a way, makes these books scarier than their dystopian counterparts (think Hunger Games or Divergent, which I also love by the way). This is a future that could happen. In some less-extreme ways, it is happening right now.
All in all, one of the better dystopian series out there, for sure.
I have a hard time deciding whether I like the narrative format of this book. It switches between many perspectives, a technique that certainly allows for suspense and foreshadowing (for example, at one point we see Risa, from another character's perspective, doing something that doesn't really make sense but we can't find out what's really going on until it switches back to her perspective a couple chapters later). Many times I found it neat to be seeing through the eyes of very minor characters (or not even characters at all), while other times I found it to be confusing and a bit of a challenge to keep everyone's stories straight. As all these different perspectives and people converge closer and closer to one another, however, I couldn't help but be helplessly drawn in and hooked to this story.
The best things about this book and this series as a whole:
1) Romance takes a back seat to social issues. Thank you! This doesn't mean there isn't any romance, but it's on the sidelines and just a small piece of the bigger puzzle these kids are trying to solve.
2) It makes me think. There is no clear-cut answer here, which, in a way, makes these books scarier than their dystopian counterparts (think Hunger Games or Divergent, which I also love by the way). This is a future that could happen. In some less-extreme ways, it is happening right now.
All in all, one of the better dystopian series out there, for sure.
shelbieb's review against another edition
3.0
The concept is still super freaky to me, and that people agreed with it. But it gives a lot of insight about how guilt, fear, shame, etc play into a lot of choices people make.
annamariemorra's review against another edition
4.0
Another thrilling read, just like the first book. Excited to continue the series.
lindzee's review against another edition
4.0
The characters continued to mature and the new characters were nicely developed.
nia1210's review against another edition
5.0
Review: I read Unwind way back in 2012 when I first started reviewing, and it has been one of the books that has stuck with me ever since. If you have ever read it you'll probably know the scene that managed to shock me so much that I still talk about it to this day, but for some reason I never managed to pick up the sequel...until now!
This book is no longer entirely focused on Connor, and includes a wealth of new fantastic characters that drive the plot forward. It still follows the horrible idea that you can unwind your child for any sort of misdemeanour, and starts to uncover the reason behind the creation of unwinding!! Which was a fantastic plot twist. I think this entire series is something that I'm going to thoroughly enjoy getting my teeth into, despite having a four year gap between reading the first and the second.
The characters are so fabulously written and deep that I really didn't mind changing between them, and there wasn't any perspective that I didn't enjoy reading. This book gives you so many different perspectives on unwinding, and very clearly shows the brainwashing that has happened to this society. Miracolina and Cam are probably the best perspectives to see this from. Miracolina because she has been told from birth that she will be unwound, and despite her parents changing their mind, still leaves to be unwound because she believes it is her job. Cam is an even better example of this brainwashing, as he is part of the propaganda machine himself due to being a direct product of unwinding He is definitely one of my favourite perspectives featured in the book, and allowed me to see inside the corporation that controls unwinding.
This book is so morally complex and interesting! One of my favourite things is the adverts for unwinding interspersed throughout the book. They make it seem so reasonable to kill your child for being a rebellious teen, and I have to say it was one of the scarier aspects of the book. Society makes it seem like your doing the right thing, that your saving these childeren by seperating them, but it is honestly a chilling concept that is presented so well in this book.
I will admit that I don't think I enjoyed this book as much as the first one, and I think this is probably because most of the drama happens towards the end of the book; but the characters are engaging enough that I didn't find myself urging the book onwards, and in all honesty this a great sequel that I can't really fault.
Recommend: Yes but read unwind first!! I think this book series will probably be one of my favourites!
Stars: ★★★★★
This book is no longer entirely focused on Connor, and includes a wealth of new fantastic characters that drive the plot forward. It still follows the horrible idea that you can unwind your child for any sort of misdemeanour, and starts to uncover the reason behind the creation of unwinding!! Which was a fantastic plot twist. I think this entire series is something that I'm going to thoroughly enjoy getting my teeth into, despite having a four year gap between reading the first and the second.
The characters are so fabulously written and deep that I really didn't mind changing between them, and there wasn't any perspective that I didn't enjoy reading. This book gives you so many different perspectives on unwinding, and very clearly shows the brainwashing that has happened to this society. Miracolina and Cam are probably the best perspectives to see this from. Miracolina because she has been told from birth that she will be unwound, and despite her parents changing their mind, still leaves to be unwound because she believes it is her job. Cam is an even better example of this brainwashing, as he is part of the propaganda machine himself due to being a direct product of unwinding He is definitely one of my favourite perspectives featured in the book, and allowed me to see inside the corporation that controls unwinding.
This book is so morally complex and interesting! One of my favourite things is the adverts for unwinding interspersed throughout the book. They make it seem so reasonable to kill your child for being a rebellious teen, and I have to say it was one of the scarier aspects of the book. Society makes it seem like your doing the right thing, that your saving these childeren by seperating them, but it is honestly a chilling concept that is presented so well in this book.
I will admit that I don't think I enjoyed this book as much as the first one, and I think this is probably because most of the drama happens towards the end of the book; but the characters are engaging enough that I didn't find myself urging the book onwards, and in all honesty this a great sequel that I can't really fault.
Recommend: Yes but read unwind first!! I think this book series will probably be one of my favourites!
Stars: ★★★★★
lucidreigns's review against another edition
5.0
The Unwind series is a gripping, chilling, and heart-wrenching series. My whole household read these books together and it was both therapeutic and eye opening. There's a deeper meaning to these books that some may not pick up on but we certainly did. My mother was adopted and this book struck some chords she didn't even think to play. It was an intense read and I think we're all better for it. A great series for young adults and adults alike. Just absolutely magnificent!
kijoweaver's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
I find myself not connecting with the series as each book introduces new main characters. The author doesn’t do the best job with female characters and depictions.
I find myself not connecting with the series as each book introduces new main characters. The author doesn’t do the best job with female characters and depictions.