I thought UnWholly was great, even better than Unwind, as it picks up where the first book left off and builds the dystopian world, characters, and conflict in a consistent and fascinating way. The ending of the second installation very obviously sets the stage for UnSouled, the final book in the trilogy. Why always a trilogy with these middle grades & young adult series?
The three main characters, Connor, Risa and Lev, all survived the first book, and continue to grow through their many trials. We're also introduced to a handful of new characters, including a storked AWOL, another escaped tithe, and a boy made entirely from parts of unwound teens. We find out a lot more about how unwinding came to be the solution to the a war over reproductive rights, and who really stands to benefit. I love how Shusterman prefaces each section with excerpts from actual news articles, blogs, etc., that show how possible his dystopian vision actually is.
I just have one bone to pick with Mr. Shusterman. Several characters repeatedly reflect on how the world is not black and white, people are not entirely good or evil, and these reflections tend to center around our protagonists, the ones that we're supposed to see as being mostly good. However, the antagonists (Starkey, Nelson, Roberta, etc.) are purely evil. We're given the slightest glimpse (at least in the case of the first two) of why they are the way they are, but not really, nothing to justify the horrible things they do. So although Shusterman pays lip-service to the whole yin-yang concept, he's not actually illustrating it for his YA audience. On the other hand, his antagonists are so fun to hate.
I'm looking forward to seeing how Shusterman ends this ride. UnSouled comes out in October!
The three main characters, Connor, Risa and Lev, all survived the first book, and continue to grow through their many trials. We're also introduced to a handful of new characters, including a storked AWOL, another escaped tithe, and a boy made entirely from parts of unwound teens. We find out a lot more about how unwinding came to be the solution to the a war over reproductive rights, and who really stands to benefit. I love how Shusterman prefaces each section with excerpts from actual news articles, blogs, etc., that show how possible his dystopian vision actually is.
I just have one bone to pick with Mr. Shusterman. Several characters repeatedly reflect on how the world is not black and white, people are not entirely good or evil, and these reflections tend to center around our protagonists, the ones that we're supposed to see as being mostly good. However, the antagonists (Starkey, Nelson, Roberta, etc.) are purely evil. We're given the slightest glimpse (at least in the case of the first two) of why they are the way they are, but not really, nothing to justify the horrible things they do. So although Shusterman pays lip-service to the whole yin-yang concept, he's not actually illustrating it for his YA audience. On the other hand, his antagonists are so fun to hate.
I'm looking forward to seeing how Shusterman ends this ride. UnSouled comes out in October!
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