Books › UnWholly
UnWholly
550 pages
A chilling, high-stakes exploration of bodily autonomy and what it means to be human, wrapped in a relentless dystopian thriller.
What it feels like
A tense, dread-soaked continuation of a terrifyingly plausible dystopian world, this book grips you by the throat and refuses to let go. The pacing is relentlessly propulsive, driven by high-stakes survival and chilling corporate conspiracies that make your skin crawl. Shusterman balances heart-pounding action with deep, unsettling philosophical questions about bodily autonomy, the nature of the soul, and the commodification of human life. The prose is sharp and cinematic, shifting between desperate fugitives and the cold, calculating forces hunting them. It is a dark, thought-provoking read that will thrill fans of intense, morally complex YA dystopias. You will find yourself racing through the pages, equally terrified and captivated by the resilience of its young protagonists fighting against a monstrous system.
- Mood
- tense
- dread-soaked
- chilling
- desperate
- Tone
- urgent
- philosophical
- dark
- suspenseful
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- bodily autonomy · the nature of the soul · corporate greed · survival and resistance · identity and personhood
- The writing
- Sharp, accessible, and cinematic, blending fast-paced action with chillingly detached philosophical interludes.
- The arc
- Moves from desperate survival and fractured isolation to a terrifying realization of systemic corruption, culminating in a fierce, unified resistance.
- Who it's for
- Fans of dark, thought-provoking YA dystopias who enjoy grappling with complex moral questions alongside high-octane survival stakes.
Content notes
- body horror
- medical trauma
- violence
- death
- kidnapping
About the book
"Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa, and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp, people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens and, in the same stroke, providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but expand, allowing the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished. Cam is a teen who does not exist. He is made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds. Cam, a 21st century Frankenstein, struggles with a search for identity and meaning, as well as the concept of his own soul, if indeed a rewound being can have one. When a sadistic bounty hunter who takes "trophies" from the unwinds he captures starts to pursue Connor, Risa and Lev, Cam finds his fate inextricably bound with theirs"--
Description from Open Library.
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