Unsouled

By Neal Shusterman

In the next part of Neal Shusterman's gripping and thought-provoking futuristic thriller, Connor, Lev and Risa continue to uncover shocking secrets about the process of 'Unwinding' and the company, Proactive Citizenry, which created Cam, a teen made completely from parts taken from 'unwound' teens. There are plans to mass produce rewound teens like Cam for military purposes, and below the surface of that potential horror lies a sinister layer of intrigue… Proactive Citizenry has been suppressing technology that could make unwinding completely unnecessary. Will Connor, Lev and Risa ever be able to break free from the fear of Unwinding?

Praise for Unwind:
"Following in the footsteps of Jonathan Swift, Shusterman uncorks a Modest Proposal of his own…" Booklist
"Gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller… The issues raised could not be more provocative - the sanctity of life, the meaning of being human - while the delivery could hardly be more engrossing or better aimed to teens." Publishers Weekly, starred review
"a powerful, shocking, and intelligent novel... It's wonderful, wonderful stuff." thebookbag.co.uk
"This is the kind of rare book that makes the hairs on your neck rise up. It is written with a sense of drama that should get it instantly snapped up for film." The Times

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Nov 7, 2013
• ISBN: 9781471118111

Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of more than fifty books, including Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award; Scythe, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book; Dry, which he cowrote with his son, Jarrod Shusterman; Unwind, which won more than thirty domestic and international awards; Bruiser, which was on a dozen state lists; The Schwa Was Here, winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award; and Game Changer, which debuted as an indie top-five best seller. He is the winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for the body of his work. You can visit him online at storyman.com.

Reviews for Unsouled

[stephlaymon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am completely taken with this series! The originality is mind blowing and the details, while seemingly far from reality, are quite imaginable. The characters are as diverse as ever and have a variety of things to bring to the table, and we meet Grace this time around, who is amazing.
There were a couple of details that I wish we're wrapped up before the end of this book, but waiting will be worth the wait if the first three books are any indication of reading satisfaction.
Thankfully, the next book, UnDivided is expected out in 2014, so we won't have to wait as long has we have in the past for a sequel.
This series has to be read in order. I really can't even imagine trying to get nearly as much out of it without the background stories of these characters and the history of unwinding and the warped society views that come along with it.

[jdifelice-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another great addition to this series. Really enjoyed it :)

[waddingtone · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Challenging to read what my students like, but this is an interesting series.

[kassilem · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This series is fantastic. I'm really into Shusterman's work because they are always so different and thought provoking. To think that we might end up like the people in these books. It makes me want to shudder. I struggled a little bit with the previous book before this one because I thought it dragged a little, but this volume picked up the pace a lot. There's another book to finish the series out after this and I'm very excited to get to it. I like the characters, but even more than that, I really like the story. Not in a I-enjoy-the-horrendous-settings type of way but in a this is a thought provoking train of thought being expressed. I do highly recommend this book or any of Shusterman's books.

[mountie9_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoying this series and all of the fascinating discussions you could have about so many topics. Excellent character development and have appreciated the development of the back story on how this world came to be. Will definitely appeal to teen readers, especially the male reader. Still have a hard time understanding on how a parent could choose to have their child unwound no matter how much of little shits they are. Guess that makes me a decent parent. Some fabulous uses of dark humour and again love the moral discussions you could have about this series.

[ryant.b3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In this book Connor, Lev, and Risa have found answers. They are taking down Proactive Citenzry piece by piece. Cam is trying to take down the company that made him for the hope of Risa loving him. The maker of Proactive Citenzry and unwinding; Justin Rheinshild, is trying to come up with something to replace unwinding. Connor is captured by a big giant fan of his, and locked in his basement. Connor and Lev with the fan of Connor's sister are all forced to take refuge at an Indian society. Cam comes to the Indian society in search of Risa, but only finds Connor and Lev. This book was better than the first and second book combined. I can't wait for the fourth book to come out so I can read it. My favorite person was Jason Rheinschild. My least favorite person was the big fan of Connor's. My favorite part was when Connor escaped his fan. My least favorite part was when Cam came to the Indian society. I was very interested in the book, because of the excitement it entails.

[anatoliar.b1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After the destruction on the Graveyard Connor and Lev are on the run. Cam is with the Proactive Citizenry, without Risa, and Risa herself is alone and on the run. Connor goes into a super market to buy him and Lev some food and refreshments but as Connor is leaving the store the clerk follows him and puts him in a choke hold, then while Connor is unconscious the store clerk (who we later learn is named Argent) takes Connor to his house and holds him hostage there so he can tell his friends that the famous Akron AWOL is in his house. While Connor is being held hostage, Lev has nothing to do but wait. Eventually Connor escapes Argent with the help of Argent's sister, Grace, and a stolen car. Connor and Grace are trying to get to Akron but on their way, Lev jumps in front of their stolen car and has sever internal bleeding and breaks a few ribs. Meanwhile Risa is wandering the streets trying to go unnoticed but eventually a woman against unwinding takes her in for a few weeks and gives her a makeover so that Risa doesn't look as recognizable. Cam escapes/leaves the Proactive Citizenry in search of Risa and Connor. Eventually Risa, Connor and Cam reunite but Cam is found and taken back by the Proactive Citizenry.This book was a bit of a drag. It was very slow and not exactly what you would call a page turner. The book was one of those types of stories where everyone is looking for answers and things of the like, but in the end no one really finds any answers. There were some parts of the book that I did enjoy but not enough to even give this book 3.5 stars. As far as suggesting this book to anyone, if you've read the two previous books and want to find our what happens next(even though I just spoiled the whole thing)

[mltl-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Neal Shusterman is a wonderful writer and I enjoyed this book enormously. However, I thought this book would be the conclusion and was somewhat disappointed. Would recommend to all audiences.

[Eliana · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love it - so much. Fast-paced, full of tension. Some bits, especially in the first half were slightly slow and uneseccary but overall a masterpiece. Love Hayden in this and the horrors of the stark legion is brutal enough to open your eyes to what oppression can do. Despite all this positivity, I would like to say that the first two were better - but not by much

[sheiladeeth_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Each book in this extended series emphasizes a different aspect of social morality, while very naturally continuing the adventure begun in the first book. Characters grow and change convincingly. Questions deepen. And the inclusion of present-day media quotes together with imagined future ones deepens the immediacy and plausibility of the author’s dystopian vision. Each book has its own beginning (or more than one beginning, as several character arcs are followed), middle and end. Divided characters come together again. Simple characters grow more complex. And the blend of introspection, believable teen and adult behavior, and terror grows ever deeper.I particularly like UnSouled for its glimpse into the question of what makes us human. For me, memories of Star Trek’s split personalities (does tearing your atoms apart and reuniting them retain the human soul?) blend with new memories of a young man called Cam. For other readers, there will be other parallels, all of them enhanced by a fast-moving, fascinating storyline set in a well-imagined not-too-future world.Disclosure: I got the set as a present and I love these books.

[shellypya · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After the destruction of the Graveyard, Connor and Lev are on the run, seeking a woman who may be the key to bringing down unwinding forever while Cam, the rewound boy, tries to prove his love for Risa by bringing Proactive Citizenry to its knees.

[ohsillytwigg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book seemed slower than the preceding novels. Seems like we're building to something big.I LOVED the flashbacks to the scientific and political beginnings of Unwinding and that that part of the story was told from an adult's point of view. The main characters were either very young or not even born yet when Unwinding started. This part of the story needed to be told by someone who really remembered it.Every book seems to add more characters but Shusterman is absolutely amazing at really differentiating their voices and experiences that you never mix them up. He also has a trick to quickly remind the reader who each person is. For example, the beginning of Nelson's chapters always mention that he was once part of the Juvenile Authority.

[jrlibrary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Really loved the first book in the series. Didn't enjoy this one nearly as much, but I suspect much of that is because I waited so long between books that much of the characters, their motivations and circumstances had just escaped my mind. I feel that to really give the book a fair review, I should go back and read book one and two JUST before I'm reading Unsouled.

[thepageturners · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the third book of the series. The government is allowing parents to sign over their unruly teens to be unwound for their tissue and organs. Our heroes Conner, Lev and Risa are trying to save as many teen from being unwound, while trying to bring down the Proactive Citizenry who created a new being from the best tissue and organs they could get their hands on by any means possible, whether the black market supplied by the parts pirates or harvested from the many harvest camps.

[reneenmeland · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow. Seriously. I am convinced this series will go down in history with the likes of 1984, The Time Machine, Brave New World...the fantastic and brilliant list goes on. If you love a series that makes you think, disturbs you, entertains you, and that you can't wait to talk to your friends about, this is it. I finished it a couple weeks ago and I still can't shake it. READ THIS NOW! That wasn't very polite, sorry... PLEASE read this now! You'll be glad you did. I will be waiting in stitches until the next book comes out. Mr. Shusterman, you are a genius.

[indygo88 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure why I continue with this series, because I seem to find a lot of things to criticize with each book. As with the first two in the series, the storyline is interesting & thought-provoking, but I just don't think the writing is very good. This book in particular took me longer to get through, I think because it was a little more slow-moving than the first two. While I don't particularly mind a story told through various points of view, there were just too many of them in this one. And the "advertisements" scattered throughout the book....not sure that they added a lot. I especially found them annoying being thrown smack in the middle of chapters. I wouldn't have minded them so much if they'd been placed between each chapter -- that would've made more sense.However, after saying all that, I was intrigued by where the story was heading toward the end of the book, so now I have to know what will happen in the next & will inevitably start it shortly.

[josp-7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Like the other books in this series, this book is great. It seems to be all about giving each character a reason to make a final stand, thus setting up the next book. And based on all the motives, challenges, and concerns from each of the different characters, the next book will be explosive.

[ninelarks-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a solid book. It was a necessary transitional book that made me want to scream and tear out my hair at the end because NOTHING WAS RESOLVED.

We follow book two Unwholly relatively closely in this book. As usual, Shusterman does a great job juggling the different perspectives of all the characters. It transitions the story well without any unnaturalness.

This books was basically trying to converge all the storylines. Connor and Cam meet. We reunite with Risa and Sonia. New characters relevant to the story are introduced. Starkley is emerging as a potentially big bad underling. Eh, and I guess Lev kinda gets his own storyline again.

But at the end, NOTHING HAPPENED. It's like I was waiting for action or a climax and all I got was the revelation that this world has 3D printers. Yay.
Okay, yeah, stuff happened. But it was a character development, really. (Which I am a fan of, yes, but balanced with action! C'mon!) Bah.

The ending made me narrow my eyes a little. Okayyyy. Interesting way to take the book to introduce a real life and current technology: 3D printers. I'm not sure if it's a plus or minus yet because it seems a little too easy. It just irks me a little bit because this is supposed to be a "what-if", dystopian world that has traveled in a different direction. It's clearly sci-fi because even though it boasts "science" with the unwinding, the retaining of memories from different body parts is scientifically debunked already. So I'm just a little startled to see a fictional world collide with our current and real world. I will withhold judgement about this strange collide until the next book though.

I am unwholly displeased that I have to wait for the next book for some lovely action.
A solid 3 stars. Definitely better than the second book, but not as great as the first. Looking forward to the next one in this series.
Recommended for those reading the series. Don't start here.

[mirandalg14 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great wrap-up! It tied all the parts together and got the situation headed into a more positive direction. It was easy to see how society could get caught up in the idea of the science and lose track of how it was changing their ideals and how they view the world. I could see how this may really happen if science ever advanced to that level.

[karconner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love this series. I am ready for the 4th one.

[carmenmilligan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very nicely done! This is the third book in the series,and I am already looking forward to the next one.

It had been a while since I read the second, UnWholly, and the characters were a little fuzzy to me. Shusterman masterfully integrated past action and events for those like me, without being pandering to those who read these books in quick succession. It was just the right amount of memory-triggers. The characters were more fully flushed out, which makes for a very satisfying story. Risa was a minor character in this one, but was robustly written. Connor and Lev, as well as Cam and Roberta, were very nicely rounded out. The addition of Argent and Grace were welcome, and didn't take away from the story (as is apt to happen when it gets character-heavy).

The books ends at a nice stopping point while preserving a palatable cliffhanger. It will be a long wait until the release of UnDivided, the last in the series, October 2014.

Recommended.

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 starsTrying not to give away too much info from previous books to summarize this one… Many of the potential unwinds are on the run. Many of the characters from the previous books in the series are running, or fighting back, or, in some cases, merely mentioned. Some chapters follow the scientists who invented unwinding, though they regretted it once they realized what it was being used for, as that was not its intent (from their points of view, anyway). A few new characters are introduced, ending up travelling along to hide, fight, or chase after those running. It was good, though I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first two in the series. It did get better at the very end, but it wasn’t quite enough to up my rating. I do love the way the author works in little advertisements in between narrations of the story. Those little advertisements do mean something, as well. The chapters switch on whose point of view we are following; there are a lot of characters and I had a bit of trouble remembering who some of the characters were, in some cases! But, as the story moved forward, I either remembered more, or at least learned enough to follow.

[dianekeenoy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Book 3 in the Unwind series. After I gave book 1 to my grandson when he was 13...the age of unwinding, I bought the box set for us both to read. But, he had already found the rest of the series and read them! I'm finally getting to them and thoroughly enjoying them!

[bell7_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

UnSouled is the third book in this series - ***spoiler warning*** for the first two books, Unwind and Unwholly.Connor and Lev are on the run from the mess that was once the Graveyard. Before he left, Trace had given Connor a bit of information about Proactive Citizenry – the group that seems to be behind quite a lot having to do with unwinding as well as the creators of Camus Comprix, the first person to be made with parts of the unwound – and a mysterious man named Janson Rheinschild. Following that up seems to be all he can think to do, now that Risa is gone who-knows-where. Meanwhile, Cam himself is determined to win Risa's love and trust by demolishing the very organization that made him.The more I read this series, the more I can believe the premise, that people could get so fed up with “feral” teenagers that they start to think that using them for transplants and saving lives would really be for society's good. In the midst of the future dystopia are real, recent news articles and clippings on related topics, such as black market organ donors and a politician who apparently wrote that he thought there should be a death penalty for rebellious children – not that anyone would use the option, mind you, but that it might scare kids into behaving. This just adds to the believability of what might otherwise sound completely nightmarish and over the top. The various complicated ways in which Proactive Citizenry is working and unwinding has become entrenched in society are further unfolded. I especially enjoyed getting more of Sonia's backstory, that of the woman who first took in Connor and Risa and started them on their way through the safe houses that brought them to the Graveyard. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the series comes together in book four, due to come out next year.