I’m not
a weird person; I promise. I’m a wife,
mother, college educator, researcher, etc.
I’m just not weird (don’t say anything if you already read my post about
I Crawl Through It). However, I have been told many times by
students who read Unwind, that this series
of books is too weird. Yet, I love them! Am I weird then after all? I know that you are curious, so now, let’s
talk.
A couple
of weeks ago, I was walking through the book store, and I saw Unbound sitting there on an end cap. It brought me to an abrupt standstill because
I just knew that it must have something to do with the Unwind Dystology. How could this be? Shusterman said that this would be a
four-book dystology. When I closed the
pages of Undivided, I thought that I
would not read new stories about Risa, Lev, Connor, or Cam again. I thought that I would not read new
information about how our world could so easily cut up children and sell their
parts in hopes that they live a better life as a divided soul, or just for
sheer profit in many cases. If that last statement shocked you, go read
the first four books ASAP. Yet,
there Unbound was, waiting for me.
Unbound is a series of short stories,
some written in collaboration with other authors (including a couple of Shusterman’s
children). These short stories give
Unwind fans a glimpse into how some of their favorite characters came to be the
way that we knew them in the first four books.
It also lets us see past how the characters were at the close of Undivided. Beginning with Nelson’s story, you won’t be
able to put Unbound down. You are going to stay up late reading about Risa
as a ward of the state, Will’s path to unwinding, Cam and Una’s new life
together, Argent’s strangely redemptive and disturbing devotion to Divan, and
several new stories that give further insight into even more disturbing
possibilities associated with the results of the Heartland War. If you loved the Unwind books, then this is a
must-read for you. If your students
loved the Unwind books, then you have to recommend this to them. Most importantly, if you have not read any of
the Unwind books, you should. Then, talk
with your colleagues, students, and friends about the books. I think they are meant to be discussed and
mulled over.
Finally,
I don’t think liking the Unwind books makes me weird at all. These five books make me wonder about the
humanity (or lack thereof) in the world in which I live. They make me worry about children and the
adults who appear to have forgotten what it was like to be fifteen years
old. They make me strongly consider my
political and religious views. And, I
have even given more consideration to the soul.
Yes, thanks to Mr. Shusterman, I have images of unwindings, “pipe” organs,
and Kumal that are burned on my brain, forever to haunt me. But, I am a more thoughtful (and maybe just a
little bit paranoid when I see news reports about miraculous organ transplants)
person. I am a better person, and when
my sixteen-year-old slams the door in my face, I do not immediately have the
urge to buy a program that will totally transform my child. I think that one of my students said it best
when she was writing to me about Unwind last fall. She gave me permission to share this, and I
think it is a great way to close. “The
idea that we should not condemn people because of their mistakes truly hit home
for me, and the idea that the people who do the condemning also need the chance
to change their paths made me, once again, look at life a little differently.” Isn’t that what a great book should do…make
us look at life differently. Unwind, Unwholly, Unsouled, Undivided, and now Unbound will make you do that.
P.S. I will have to post something about Challenger Deep, Shusterman’s 2015
National Book Award Winner. Not at all
like the Unwind series, but I love it for the same reason…it made me feel life differently.
Unbound, 320 pages
from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (December, 2015); ISBN
9781481457231
Ideal for middle and high school-aged kids (or those of us
who just need to read this…that’s everyone!)
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