Enchanting Review: Unwind

UNWIND

NEAL SHUSTERMAN

Young Adult Science Fiction

Simon and Schuster

ISBN# 1416912053

352 pages

$8.99

Paperback - Available June 2, 2009

Rating: 5 Enchantments

UNWIND is a thrilling tale, following the stories of three teens set to be unwound. The first, and oldest, is Connor Lassiter. He’s a good kid, a caring kid, but he has a temper that just explodes more often than anyone really cares for. When his parents decide that his constant fighting is just too much of a hassle for them, they make a decision and sign his unwind order. Everyone knows that once signed, the order is irreversible, so Connor’s only option is to attempt escape.

Risa is a StaHo ward – an unwanted child given to the state to raise. Wards are a hassle to the state; they suck down funding and resources. Every ward has to prove their worth. If not, they are more valuable to the state unwound than they are whole. It has been decided that despite her best efforts, Risa just isn’t talented enough to continue as a ward of the state. When she discovers that she has a date to be unwound, she makes a break for it, running into the wilderness.

Our third teen, Lev, has a story that will stick with me for years to come. He is a Tithe, a child conceived to lead a spiritual life continuing through the day he is unwound. While others beg, plead and run from their unwinding appointments, Lev looks forward to this. He has been raised to believe that his unwinding will be a glorious event where he will transition into a new state, capable of helping many people across the world. When something goes horribly wrong and Lev is forced to see the reality for other kids running from being unwinds, Lev gets a shock to the system that just might save his life.

Imagine a world where Pro-Life and Pro-Choice didn’t exist. In this world, everyone is happy because they have come to a mutual agreement regarding life. Well, everyone is happy except for the teenagers of course. In the world that Neal Shusterman has created, a great battle was fought over the Pro-Life/Pro-Choice issue. In the end, the Bill of Life was signed that protects life from the moment of conception up to the age of thirteen. At that point, between the ages of thirteen to eighteen, parents may choose to unwind their children for any reason. Unwinding is the process of removing every limb and organ while transplanting these into other individuals that need them. Have a broken arm? Get an Unwind replacement. Technically, 100% of the person is kept alive, so life doesn’t technically end.

UNWIND was chilling; absolutely and utterly chilling. I couldn’t put the book down, yet there were many times that I didn’t want to go on. Shusterman spun such a realistic and thought provoking tale that the question of “what if” kept playing through my head. That being said, I did finish the book and I absolutely love it. This is not the sort of book that I would cuddle up with in front of the fire. Rather, this is the type of book I would pull out anytime I wanted to exercise my mind, let the thoughts break free and roam of their own accord. I personally have not read a darker and more powerful tale than this. I would recommend it to everyone, but would warn that there is a message behind the book. Shusterman shows us what the world could turn into and does it in a gloriously gripping way.

If you get squeamish easily, normally I would say that this book is not for you; however, because this is such a great book, I would recommend it anyway. There are a few scenes that I still can not get out of my head. I wasn’t even there. I read a few black words on a grey page and yet they will haunt me for a while. The scenes in question are not graphic to say the least. If one examined the words, I’d say that they would probably be rated PG. Put them all together and allow Shusterman to take control of your imagine and the world will turn just a little bit darker.

UNWIND was intense; it was powerful. It is the kind of book that holds a revered spot on your shelf and the kind of book that you want to hide in a drawer somewhere so you don’t have to see it. Between the covers was such a complex and twisted series of emotions that the reader is left wondering about their own thoughts. It takes a certain kind of author to create a story that digs down to the core of a person and takes root there. Shusterman is that author and Unwind is that story.

Neal Shusterman is the author of other great Young Adult books like Everlost, Everwild and Downsiders. He can be found online at http://www.storyman.com.

Cinnamon

ENCHANTING REVIEWS

May 2009

Enchanting Review: Sight

SIGHT

ADRIENNE MARIA VRETTOS

Mystery YA

Simon & Schuster

ISBN# 978-1-4169-0657-5

254 pages

$16.99

Print – Available now

Rating: 3 Enchantments

Dylan is a psychic. She has visions of missing children that can help the police. Unfortunately, she usually sees the last moments of a child’s life, so when the child is found, he or she is dead. These haunting visions scare Dylan and emotionally scar her, so she doesn’t think about them unless she absolutely has to; not even her best friend Pilar is aware of Dylan’s psychic abilities.

Then Cate arrives in town, and Dylan finds herself revealing more of her secrets than she has ever before. But there’s something off about Cate that Dylan can’t place and probably doesn’t want to figure out. Cate is overeager to be accepted in Dylan’s hometown but her ways of going about doing this are undeniably odd. Dylan’s new friendship with Cate causes a rift in her long-standing friendship with Pilar, especially because of each friend’s unrevealed yet lurking secrets. But when Pilar’s little secret Grace disappears, Dylan realizes she has to embrace her sight to clear up all the mystery and save little Gracie’s life.

SIGHT starts off promisingly with an intriguing mystery and psychic visions to accompany it. However, the plot slows down after that and ends weakly; I was especially disappointed by the lukewarm climax. From the way the story started, I was expecting more dangerous encounters and frightening visions than I got. I’m not saying that the plot was bad; it just could’ve been written much better. There wasn’t much characterization, and I would’ve appreciated more development of Dylan’s character. It was difficult for me to connect with any of the characters, and I sometimes felt frustrated with them when I realized an important connection or clue long before they did. There was also a certain air of unreality about this story. It wasn’t Dylan’s psychic visions that caused this because those were actually one of the more plausibly aspects of this story. It was a mixture of the characters’ slowness in piecing together the mystery and the villain’s lack of motive. I couldn’t understand why many of the characters did what they did, and this confusion greatly diminished my enjoyment of the story. There might’ve been a deeper message in this story, but if there was, it was buried so deep I couldn’t find it. Overall, SIGHT was interesting but it didn’t live up to its full potential.

SIGHT is Adrienne Maria Vrettos’ second novel, her first being SKIN. You can visit her online at www.adriennemariavrettos.com

Rachael Stein

Enchanting Reviews

October 2008

Enchanting Review: Fake Boyfriend

FAKE BOYFRIEND
KATE BRIAN
Contemporary Young Adult
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ISBN# 978-1416913672
272 Pages
$16.99
Hardcover - Available now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Deciding that their best friend Isabelle needs someone better than Shawn Littig aka “Sluttig”, Vivi and Lane concoct a plan to keep Isabelle from rebounding back into Shawn’s arms just in time for prom. But where to find a guy great enough to distract her? Look no further then a fake boyfriend. After scheming up a myspace page for ‘Brandon’, Vivi quickly recruits her younger and extremely annoying brother Marshall to fill in on IM while the girls go out in search of someone to play ‘Brandon’ for real.

I thought FAKE BOYFRIEND was a fairly entertaining read. There were some parts of the book I figured would just never happen, like Isabelle falling for a perfect stranger so fast after being so hung up on Shawn. I have to admit Isabelle seemed more of a background character at times, even though the plot evolved around Vivi and Lane securing their best friend a brand new boyfriend, all to keep her from falling back into the arms of her cheating on-again, off-again ex. Things picked up once Vivi and Lane really got into the search for the perfect real life ‘Brandon’ and Marshall’s evolution from a preppy geek to possible hottie.

My favorite scene from the book is when Vivi, Lane and Curtis head to the local prep school which is supposed to be hottie central to find a real-life ‘Brandon’ to take Isabelle to prom. The scene is truly laugh out loud and had one of the best lines in the book.

Kate Brian is the author of the popular The Princess & the Pauper, The V Club (available in paperback as The Virginity Club), Lucky T, and Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys. She will always be sweet sixteen at heart.

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
June 2008

Enchanting Review: Goddess Games

GODDESS GAMES
NIKI BURNHAM
Simon and Schuster
Contemporary Young Adult
Hardcover
$15.99
ISBN-10: 1-4169-2700-X

Rating: 3.5 Enchantments

GODDESS GAMES focuses mainly on the relationships between the three girls, all with totally different backgrounds who are forced to become room mates during a summer working at King's Crown resort in Juniper, Colorado.

Seneca could be the stereotypical poor little rich girl. She's harboring a secret - her mother's acting career is a mess, and her working in Juniper is part of her plan to help get her and her mom's life back on track.

Drew, the female jock, is on vacation from her mother after facing a terrible loss. Her focus is solely on training to become an even better runner.

Claire is the reforming party girl who's searching for a deeper relationship with God to help get her life on the right path.

Things aren't exactly smooth sailing for the three roommates, particularly with each other. In a tiny cabin it’s easy to for conflict to arise, especially when they don't exactly make the best first impression on each other. Drew and Claire see Seneca as fairly superficial, Seneca sees Drew as rude, and Drew and Seneca see Claire as quiet and somewhat withdrawn.

Conflict abounds when Claire can't be sure of the motive behind Seneca's interest in her L.A. boyfriend and Drew can't stand what she sees as Seneca's superficial ways. As the summer wears on, each girl is forced to deal with their own growing problems until one night forces the three to bond together and their friendship is finally cemented.

I really enjoyed this book, as the reader gets to see other sides to the girls that the characters don’t know about till later in the book. Each girl has their own point of view and it’s interesting to see what is actually going on with them and their misconstrued views of each other. I especially enjoyed watching Seneca fall for a guy who is so not her typical type.

GODDESS GIRLS is an enjoyable read, with a strong focus on the budding friendship between three girls as they search for themselves.

Reviewed by Lisa
Enchanting Reviews

Enchanting Review: Goddess Girls

GODDESS GAMES

NIKI BURNHAM

Simon and Schuster

Contemporary Young Adult

Hardcover

$15.99

ISBN-10: 1-4169-2700-X

Rating: 3.5 Enchantments

GODDESS GAMES focuses mainly on the relationships between the three girls, all with totally different backgrounds who are forced to become room mates during a summer working at King's Crown resort in Juniper, Colorado.

Seneca could be the stereotypical poor little rich girl. She's harboring a secret - her mother's acting career is a mess, and her working in Juniper is part of her plan to help get her and her mom's life back on track.

Drew, the female jock, is on vacation from her mother after facing a terrible loss. Her focus is solely on training to become an even better runner.

Claire is the reforming party girl who's searching for a deeper relationship with God to help get her life on the right path.

Things aren't exactly smooth sailing for the three roommates, particularly with each other. In a tiny cabin it's easy to for conflict to arise, especially when they don't exactly make the best first impression on each other. Drew and Claire see Seneca as fairly superficial, Seneca sees Drew as rude, and Drew and Seneca see Claire as quiet and somewhat withdrawn.

Conflict abounds when Claire can't be sure of the motive behind Seneca's interest in her L.A. boyfriend and Drew can't stand what she sees as Seneca's superficial ways. As the summer wears on, each girl is forced to deal with their own growing problems until one night forces the three to bond together and their friendship is finally cemented.

I really enjoyed this book, as the reader gets to see other sides to the girls that the characters don't know about till later in the book. Each girl has their own point of view and it's interesting to see what is actually going on with them and their misconstrued views of each other. I especially enjoyed watching Seneca fall for a guy who is so not her typical type.

GODDESS GIRLS is an enjoyable read, with a strong focus on the budding friendship between three girls as they search for themselves.

Lisa

Enchanting Reviews