Unwind

Unwind is a dystopian novel that centers around the idea of the unknown. Secrets the society keeps locked away and nobody seems to question lead into the overarching moral issues that have been caused by the lack of questioning, the lack of standing up, the lack of revolution. Our protagonist Conner begins to slowly lead a revolution that exposes the consequences that the process, ‘unwinding' has had on their world. It's grueling, heart wrenching, and terrifyingly descriptive with how Shusterman can use a lack of detail to enthrall you into feeling the fear of the unknown that takes place during unwinding. It's lonely, it's empty, and all you're left with is memories. Though it takes a while to pick up pace, the overarching message contributes beyond its pages, as many themes expressed in the novel are applicable to the real world, most notably, abandonment and connection to yourself, your family, friends, and society. Unwind is pretty great and I only hope to see the narrative and themes expand with the coming novels. Shusterman is especially great at utilizing recontextualization to the best of its ability make a character or message more important and grand later on in order to make everything more interconnected. Very excited to see what comes next and this is my first review and it's late so sorry if it's bad