Scan barcode
A review by bespectacledbibliophile
UnWholly by Neal Shusterman
3.0
It was... okay. Nothing to rage about, but nothing that really struck me, either.
The best portions were certainly those with Cam discovering himself. There was line which called back nicely to the
However, this book didn't capture me in quite the same way that the first did. Maybe it's that this book is trying to extend a nicely self-contained story (ambiguous ending or no). Maybe it's that it lacked the same ongoing threads, like the story of "Humphrey Dunfee." Maybe it's that there were so many new characters, most of whom didn't feel as fleshed out as Lev, Risa, and Connor did. Maybe it's that there wasn't the same sense of urgency for the characters I cared about. Maybe it's that the ordinary teenagers I saw in the first book (albeit that they were in extraordinary circumstances) are now transformed into three different variants of The Chosen One. Maybe it's that there is now a.
It just didn't work for me in the same visceral way that Unwind did. It's not a bad book by any means. It's just okay.
The best portions were certainly those with Cam discovering himself. There was line which called back nicely to the
Spoiler
unwinding of RolandHowever, this book didn't capture me in quite the same way that the first did. Maybe it's that this book is trying to extend a nicely self-contained story (ambiguous ending or no). Maybe it's that it lacked the same ongoing threads, like the story of "Humphrey Dunfee." Maybe it's that there were so many new characters, most of whom didn't feel as fleshed out as Lev, Risa, and Connor did. Maybe it's that there wasn't the same sense of urgency for the characters I cared about. Maybe it's that the ordinary teenagers I saw in the first book (albeit that they were in extraordinary circumstances) are now transformed into three different variants of The Chosen One. Maybe it's that there is now a
Spoiler
secret organization behind the process of unwinding which takes away from the horror of the complacency of the citizenry in UnwindSpoiler
And maybe it's just that, unlike Unwind, it didn't have a scene that punched me in the gut with emotion. I needed the scene where Roland was unwound. I can't think of a single scene from this book that made me feel that way.It just didn't work for me in the same visceral way that Unwind did. It's not a bad book by any means. It's just okay.