November 1, 2013
This is the YA book that I will be writing a paper on, and giving a presentation about on Tuesday. For our four "choice" books, we are to pick YA books of different genres, so this one would be one that I would classify as science fiction, dystopian literature. I enjoyed this book about as much as I enjoy any YA dystopian-themed book that I've read (and it happens to be my favorite of all YA genres). Since I'm to devote part of my presentation to the themes in the novel, I will lay them out here to kind of sort out my thoughts.
The book takes place in the somewhat-distant future, when iPods and HD-TVs are considered to be antiques. Decades before, the debate over abortion had turned to all-out war and violence. To end things, it was decided that abortions themselves would be outlawed. Instead, any conceived fetus would be given a chance at life...for 13 years. From the age of 13-18, parents could then choose to retroactively "abort" their children through a process called "unwinding." At first, it seems like "unwinding" is simply killing the kid and taking him or her apart, distributing the organs (by law, all parts of an "unwind" are to be used) to those in need of transplants. However, as the story goes on, it becomes clear that there's more to it than that. The "logic" behind unwinding is that the child doesn't technically die, because all of him or her will live on in other bodies. It seems that this is true; there are examples in the book of people who have a part of an unwind's brain, and has the kid's memories; there's a truck driver who has an unwind's hand, who is able to perform magic tricks without really understanding how.
As you might imagine, parents would choose to "unwind" a troublesome child, allowing the "good" and more talented children to live. This is true to some extent. Connor is signed over for unwinding by his parents. He's always had some anger problems, has gotten into trouble. Many kids become Unwinds for that reason. The world that they live in is pretty messed up, though. As you might imagine, unwinding as gotten out of control. People demand upgrades to what they have; the organ transplants don't just go to people who need them to live, but take the place of cosmetic surgeries. Hair transplants are common, as are eye transplants. In fact, surgery and transplants of all kinds of body parts have become more commonplace than more tradition medicine. For example, a person who breaks an arm would have a choice of having it replaced, or putting a cast on it. Kids who are sent to 'harvest camps,' in preparation for their unwinding, are required to do a lot of physical activity, so that they are in the best shape possible...and that they have top-notch body parts to be sold.
Troubled kids aren't the only ones to be unwound. Because of abortions being illegal (it seems that birth control is also outlawed, or not readily available?), teen pregnancy is common. Another common practice is the technically-legal "storking." A newborn baby can be left on a doorstep of a home; if the mother can get away quick enough without getting caught, she doesn't have to have responsibility for the baby anymore. Whoever finds the baby, must keep it and care for it. Some people do so willingly, even happily; others attempt to "stork" the baby again in secret (which is technically illegal). Connor remembers when his parents did this; they'd been "storked," and passed off the baby to a neighbor. Two weeks later, the same baby was back on their own doorstep. It had been passed, in stealth, from neighbor to neighbor. Very sick from all the passing, exposure to the outdoors, and probably a lack of care, it died. Connor was disturbed by this; it's no wonder that so many kids are disturbed, when the adults in their lives all act like such monsters.
Kids who are abandoned can also end up in a state home (called StaHo for short). This is the life that Risa lives; she bears the common last name 'Ward,' and lives in a highly-competitive environment. A StaHo kid who can't prove his or her worth (Risa is a talented pianist, but apparently not good enough to have her life spared), or is in danger of being unwound after hitting the age of 13. This is especially true when StaHos are overcrowded and lack funding. Kids who make it to 18 in a StaHo don't necessarily have it easy once they're free from the threat of being unwound, though.
There are also kids known as 'tithes,' who, for religious reasons mostly, are born and raised to be unwound. This is so with Lev, a 13-year-old who has been raised to believe that he is special, chosen by God to help others with his own body. There are others like him; they, unlike the other kinds of Unwinds, are not viewed negatively, but are always treated with preference. Even in the harvest camps, they have more privileges than the others, known as the 'terribles.'
Lev, Connor, and Risa all meet when they're all on their way to being unwound. Connor, learning of his fate after seeing some papers in his dad's office, runs for it, only to be caught in the back of a sympathetic truck driver's cab. Pulled over on a highway, Connor runs from the 'Juvy cops' (whose sole responsibility seems to be catching runaway Unwinds), just as the bus that Risa rides (on her way to a harvest camp herself) and the car in which Lev rides (also going to his unwinding) come along. In the commotion, accidents occur, and Risa manages to get off the bus and make her way into the woods. Connor follows, but only after forcing Lev to go with him, recognizing him as a tithe. Their adventures begin from there. Lev is treacherous at first, but after almost getting Connor and Risa caught, he begins to realize the horrors of unwinding and he runs for it himself, also aiding in the escape of the others. While those two are helped by a teacher into a underground network that smuggles Unwinds to a safe haven in the Arizona desert, Lev meets up with a young black kid (called 'umber' in their time, while white people are referred to as some other fancy word for 'white' that I can't remember...supposed to do away with racial prejudice or something, but that didn't seem to be the case) named Cy.
Cy is an interesting character. He has two gay dads. He was 'storked' and they were happy to have him. He's not an Unwind; he does, however, have part of the brain of an Unwind, after having some of his brain replaced due to some serious illness. While Cy is a brilliant, quirky young man, the part of his brain belonging to Tyler (the Unwind) is troubled. He forces Cy to embark on a journey (on foot, so as to avoid suspicion from Juvy cops) to Joplin, Missouri, to pay a visit to the boy's parents. As Lev witnesses Cy's mental anguish, and Tyler's desperation and fear as he, through Cy, begs his parents not to unwind him, he becomes very angry. This anger leads Lev to take desperate action later in the book, though he redeems himself in the end. He starts out as the most obnoxious character, and ends up being my favorite.
Another interesting character is Zachary (called 'Emby,' or MB, short for 'mouth breather'...kids are mean). He is an orphan who is sent to be unwound by a greedy aunt, who will get hold of his inheritance. Sick and wrong! Emby's fate is ultimately a happy one, as he ends up in the home of a couple who had their son unwound, but went on to sorely regret it. The father, the same Admiral who ran the safe haven for Unwinds in Arizona, had also had a part in starting the whole unwinding thing in the first place. He explains, to Connor (who, after a crazy chain of events, becomes the Admiral's successor in running the safe haven, called 'the graveyard' because it's the home of hundreds or thousands of out-of-commission airplanes), that it was originally proposed as an exasperated joke, and that they'd all been shocked when the public went for it. After his son repeated got into trouble with the law, he felt political pressure to have him unwound. In his regret, he has dedicated his life to helping Unwinds make it to 18 safely. Also, he and his wife have been trying to find all of the people who received parts of their son Harlan; Emby is one of them, with one of his lungs. When all of those people finally come together, it's almost as though all of Harlan is put together again...because the parts of him, his memories and all, are still alive.
Unwind is about as good as, say, Scott Westerfeld's Uglies. It's easy to compare a book like this to other, perhaps better known dystopian-themed YA novels (such as The Hunger Games), but I think it stacks up. A student of mine at my former teaching job had recommended it, and I'm glad that this is the one I'll be discussing with my class next week. So here's a breakdown of the important themes:
-Abortion, obviously. Along with this, I would include the value of life. The lives of Unwinds are not valued; they are valued as commodities, body parts. It begs the question (unanswered by the text, appropriately), too, of whether or not a fetus is more valuable than a teenager. Is unwinding more tragic than abortion? Unwinding is certainly murder, to be sure...
-Organ transplants. This is a controversial issue at times, and often, for people who need certain organs, they're not always available. There's also a black market, and dark tales of people waking up in tubs full of ice, missing a kidney or lung. Along this same lines, I would also point out elective surgeries as being another important topic. Because unwinding is so common (dare I say popular?), there is such an abundance of parts that a lack of available organs is no longer an issue, and people, kids, are used for desirable parts (like pretty eyes, or swift and capable hands).
-Parenting and family relationships. How do all of these 'Unwinds' become such troubled kids? I'm around troubled kids all the time, and I know that their behavior stems directly from the behavior of their parents. What about the kids who are born to very young mothers? Teen pregnancy would be another theme to explore, as it becomes very, very common in Connor's world.
-Foster kids. These children typically live very difficult lives, and it's an issue that isn't focused on often enough. Do foster kids today have it much easier than the kids in the StaHos? I mean, the threat of death isn't a reality for most of them, but what about the struggle just to get by? And the uncertainly about the future?
-Religious beliefs. In the book, most of the mainstream religions preach the value of 'tithing' children for unwinding. It shows how religious preaching and scripture can be manipulated to suit the desires of those in power. This has always been done, since religion even became a thing. In the middle ages, people were taught that heaven would be their reward for a life of drudgery. Religious manipulation is very much a reality today as well.
I'll angle my presentation toward using this book to examine critical issues in our world today. I think this will go well. I would want to go on to read the sequel sometime; I understand that a third one will be out soon as well. But I haven't gotten around to reading any of the other Uglies books yet, and I still want to finish The Hunger Games and Harry Potter (I have one book left for each of those). Damn these addictive YA series! I'll probably take a bit of a break from YA when my semester is up, but I'll still keep some on my list.
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This is what most Americans imagine when they imagine suicide bombers. In the book, Lev actually becomes a terrorist himself, and through a process that alters the chemistry of his blood, he becomes a human bomb. He can be set off by clapping his hands...hence, the term "clappers" being used for such bombers. This is apparently a common practice in the world depicted in this book.
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