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Unsouled

Shusterman, Neal. Book - 2013 Teen Fiction / Shusterman, Neal, Teen Book / Fiction / Dystopian / Shusterman, Neal 2 On Shelf No requests on this item Community Rating: 4.8 out of 5

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Locations
Call Number: Teen Fiction / Shusterman, Neal, Teen Book / Fiction / Dystopian / Shusterman, Neal
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length Call Number Checkout Length Item Status
Downtown Teen, 1st Floor
4-week checkout
Teen Fiction / Shusterman, Neal 4-week checkout On Shelf
Westgate Teen Books
4-week checkout
Teen Book / Fiction / Dystopian / Shusterman, Neal 4-week checkout On Shelf

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.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

School Library Journal Review
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Summary / Annotation
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Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Okay, the first thing I'd like to say is submitted by sumnera on September 30, 2014, 3:35pm Okay, the first thing I'd like to say is: Holy crap! That cover is creepy!
Now, the cover is not the reason I picked up the book (I generally try to avoid things that might give me nightmares later), but the first two books in this series were SO good that I had to read the third one to find out what happened to the characters. So I mustered up some courage, bought the book, took off the dust jacket, and sunk into the world of the Unwind Dystology.

You may be asking yourself: What is a dystology? How many books is that?
Well, the author made it up. It's not a real word. It seems to me to be a play on the words "trilogy" and "dystopia"; however, after having read UnSouled I can definitely tell you a dystology doesn't stop at three books. This was not the end of the story. So maybe Neal Shusterman was leaning on the idea of a disrupted or broken trilogy... meaning not actually a trilogy but a word that sounds more edgy and unique and allows for as many books as he wants. My guess is that he got into writing UnSouled and realized he would need another book to finish the series, hence the made up word. It makes it sound more official and intentional. And has the added bonus of not pissing off all of the fans of the series who were expecting it to be three books in total. Honestly, it's a pretty creative solution to this problem.

On to my thoughts about the book itself! I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Admittedly, I haven't read anything by Neal Shusterman outside of this dystology, but based on this series I think the man is a genius.

My first reason for liking Shusterman is that he brings his characters to life in a way that is often missed in YA lit. They are relatable, but not flat or generic. They are realistic and deal with their problems and backstories in very real and human ways. Connor, Risa, and Lev are the three main characters that we follow throughout the story - each chapter showing pieces from their different points of view. This close third person limited point of view really brings out the personal emotions of the main characters and what they each deal with internally. Knowing their thoughts and the motivations for their actions makes you sympathize with them, even if you don't always agree with what they are doing. This is a hard skill to achieve in literature.

The second reason that Shusterman stands out in this series is that mixed throughout the novels are chapters and snippets from random side characters' points of view, including the "bad guys", and the media. I love that Shusterman incorporates propaganda and advertising into his story. We forget how much we are taken in by the media and how much of our information and opinions come from what propaganda tells us to think. It adds a whole new dimension to his books and brings the political commentary in the novels to the surface. He questions our society today by looking at one possible, yet fictional, future. He deals with the ideas of abortion, abandonment, abuse, adoption, big businesses in politics, corrupt government, Native American tribes and their roles in society, black market organs, stem cell research, medical advancements and the ethics involved, the public education system, what constitutes human life, leadership, group dynamics, fashion trends, mental disabilities, teenage rebellion and independence, religion, government coverups, and the role that advertising and propaganda play in and amongst all of it. This could be an amazing series to study at a higher level (college, grad school, etc.) because there is so much material to work with. I could go on and on, but I'm trying not to turn this blog post into a dissertation!

The third reason I am a fan of Shusterman is that this is the third book in the series (with more to come), and I'm still hooked. There are a lot of authors, especially in YA lit, that lose you around book two or three. I love that Unwind, the first book, could have stood alone. I didn't even know it was a series until I randomly found the second one at Barnes and Noble. It is hard to turn a stand alone novel into a series without making it feel forced. But Shusterman pulls it off. This book is intriguing and compelling. It really makes you question and think about what you believe about so many different subjects but doesn't lose you in the political mumbo jumbo.

Overall, I highly recommend this series and definitely this book, even with its creepy cover!

Rating
Overall, I give this book a 5 out of 5 hearts.

Amazing series submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on August 9, 2016, 9:48pm The third book in this phenomenal series really begins to dive deeper into the societal forces operating behind the scenes. Most dystopian YA touches on this... after all, how can the hero/heroine take down the system if we don't know there is a big, bad system out there that needs toppling? But Shusterman does it with a deft touch, while still telling the story from within the context of the individuals whose lives we are following. The characters continue to learn and grow, to be thoughtful and to act impulsively, to love and to hate and to wish that they could just live their lives.

This is the single best dystopian YA series I've read, and there really is a ton of it out there these days. Highly recommended for high school age folks, and for any & all adults. Be prepared, though. This is deep stuff that raises hard questions.

Read this series submitted by mrajraspn08 on August 19, 2018, 6:04pm Fantastic series. This is my least favorite of the four books--playing up some of the romance, which is normally very subdued, with just the right amount, and creating a love triangle that I'm never interested in. That said, still has all the good parts. The second book began having actual articles (you can look at the links and find true stories of how we are moving to the future portrayed in these books), which are always fascinating. The end is very good, and sets up part of the next book beautifully. Can't recommend this series highly enough.

Cover image for UnSouled

SERIES
Unwind dystology
3.
Unwind dystology
3.



PUBLISHED
New York, New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.
Year Published: 2013
Description: 404 p.
Language: English
Format: Book

ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
9781442423695

SUBJECTS
Fugitives from justice -- Fiction.
Survival -- Fiction.
Revolutionaries -- Fiction.
Identity -- Fiction.
Science fiction.