Persy -- Unwind by Neal Shusterman

In the future, a terrible war is fought over abortion. It ended with a compromise: that once a child had been conceived, that child was legally alive and illegal to terminate, but between the ages of thirteen to eighteen, a child's parents could sign him or her over to be unwound. It's not technically killing a child, they claim, since every part of the child is bound by law to be reused for someone else. The Unwind is still alive, just in many parts.

Connor Lassiter discovers that his parents have signed him over to be unwound, and resolves to run away. During his escape, he turns a tranquilizer gun on a juvey-cop (police assigned especially to Unwind runaways) and earns the nickname of "The Akron AWOL", and so becomes a legend among Unwind runaways.

He also meets up with Risa Ward, a ward of the state of Ohio, and Levi (Lev) Calder, a tithe. Tithes are children raised to be Unwound. They grow up hearing about how they're "special" and are a tenth of the family, so they are given to God. Trying to save Lev, Risa and Connor kidnap him and they end up on the run.

First of all, this is Neal Shusterman we're talking about, so of course it's going to be awesome. What I forgot about when I started this book, though, is that Neal Shusterman is also creepy as heck when he wants to be. This book was puh-retty disturbing at times.

In the beginning, none of the characters are all that awesome. Connor has a bit of an angery issue, Risa's just meh, and Lev is annoying. But as the story progresses, they all gain more depth and I think they actually mature as they continue on their journey. I have to applaud Mr. Shusterman on not only making his main characters round, but giving orotundity to the less important ones as well.

At first I really couldn't see where the plot would go. It seemed like the trio would just wander around eternally and never get anywhere, but there's a reason they call Neal Shusterman "The Storyman". Several points in the story felt a bit strange, but other than that, it was all smooth and perfectly paced, never dragging out boring scenes or rushing over something too fast to figure out what was going on.

I don't want to say too much about the ending, because I really don't want to ruin it, but let's just say it was fantastic. About three quarters of the way through, I had no idea how it was going to end. It was all set up for an unhappy ending, but... well, I'll let you find out for yourself.

It's also written in present tense, which can be confusing at times. After about two seconds, you get used to it and it's fine, but sometimes it'll abruptly pop out at you and you'll have to pause to orient yourself. In my opinion, only really good books can get away with present tense, so thumbs up to Neal Shusterman.

This isn't my favorite Neal Shusterman novel, but a not-as-awesome Neal Shusterman novel is still really awesome. It's one of those science fiction/futuristic novels that's not the space kind of science fiction (in case you didn't get that from the summary), so I wouldn't recommend it to fantasy or hard sci-fi fans. Also, I wouldn't put it in the hands of anyone under thirteen.

Now, you might remember a Wednesday Scrolls (http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2010/08/persy-wednesday-scrolls.html) mentioning Unwind being made into a movie. It's still set to come out in 2012, but I haven't found any new news about it. You can still check out the movie website (http://unwindmovie.com/UNWINDMOVIE/UNWIND.html) for various contests, links, and such.

After reading the book, I'm not sure if it'd make the kind of movie I'd really enjoy. I can certainly see it as a movie, but it seems like there's a bit too much thoughtfulness in there to make anything other than a "meaningful" movie without a lot of diologue, if you know what I mean. So I'm a bit apprehensive... but still hopeful. I guess we'll just see in 2012.

-Persy

Persy -- Wednesday Scrolls

So do you want the good news or the bads news first? Let's go with the bad.

Justin Bieber is writing a book.

Are you okay? Need some CPR, advil, a tree to bang your head against? That's kind of how I reacted too.

A press release said it would be a memoir, but Justin Bieber himself said he's "A little too young" to be writing a life story. Which I quite agree with. Instead, it's going to feature never-before-photos of Bieber taken backstage at various performances etc. etc. I saw on http://www.roflrazzi.com/ that the book would be made up of tweets and doodles as well, but so far that's unconfirmed for me. Duck and cover, people, the Bieb is moving on to the book industry...

Let me just apologize if there's a Justin Bieber fan reading this. I personally don't like him (in case you hadn't figured that out), but if you do, you go ahead and go read his picture book.

And NOW for some news -I- find fabulous!

Neal Shusterman's, who is the author of Everlost, the Dark Fusion series (http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2010/07/arty-dread-locks-by-neal-shusterman.html), Full Tilt, What Daddy Did, and more, Unwind is in the process of being movie-ified. I haven't actually read this one yet (though it's now at the top of my list), but everything I have ever read by Neal Shusterman has been amazing. Everything. Generally, there's at least one or two novels by an author I dislike, but that is not the case with Neal Shusterman. This guy's just amazing.

The movie's ETA is currently set for 2012, but who knows if it'll actually come out then. You can visit Neal Shusterman's Unwind Move website (http://unwindmovie.com/UNWINDMOVIE/UNWIND.html) for more info.

The novel is about a world where unwanted teens get salvaged for body parts. Three teenagers, all with their own circumstances that will lead to being unwound, are drawn together and attempt to survive until their eighteenth birthday, when they can no longer be harmed. I am definitely looking forward to this.

And for our last bit of Wednesday news, Meg Cabot, author of the Princess Diaries and Airhead (as well as other series' and novels writing as Jenny Carroll), just released a vampire novel listed under horror (on Fantastic Fiction, anyway). If you're like me, this wasn't something you'd expect Meg Cabot to write. When I think of Meg Cabot, I think of sparkly pink covers featuring tiaras or catwalks and strange stories about reincarnation (Avalon High). But her vampire novel, Insatiable, which was released in June, actually looks rather interesting.

Meena Harper doesn't believe in vampires, and is sick of hearing about them, but her bosses make her write about them anyway. She also has the unique gift of precognition and knows how people will die. Now here's where it sounds more like the Meg Cabot I know: Meena falls in love with a modern day prince with a dark side, who *gasp* is already dead! Meena's desperately in love with him, but he might turn into something of a nightmare... dun dun dun.

Insatiable is now on my reading list, but it could be a loong time before I actually get around to it. To be honest, it doesn't sound especially unique or overly interesting, but I suppose we'll see.

Thanks for reading this week's Wednesday Scrolls! Please pop in for this Saturday's book review!

-Persy

Arty -- Dread Locks by Neal Shusterman

I have to admit it, I was skeptical when Persy gave me this book to read. It looked like some angsty teen romance with lots of violence and forbidden love. But that's why there's that adage - Don't judge a book by its cover.

Parker Baer is bored of his rich family and their constant un-delayed gratification. They get everything they want, whenever they want. Parker's parents even gave him a statue for his birthday - of himself.

Then Parker finds Tara.

After making herself at home to the Baer house and even trying out Parker's bed, golden-haired, sunglasses-wearing Tara makes herself at home at their whole school. Soon the charismatic stranger has half the school 'wrapped around her little finger.'

When some of the students start developing freakish habits and cravings, Parker knows Tara is to blame. But how? And when Tara starts affecting Parker himself, will even he be able to end her game?

The first book in Shusterman's Dark Fusion series, Dread Locks combines the myth of Medusa and the bedtime story of Goldilocks. Unlikely? Yes. Amazing? Oh yes.

At 176 pages, Dread Locks is short and very, very sweet. There are no subplots, no real character development except for Parker and Tara. You would think this would work against the book, but it doesn't. The continual tension between those two characters is more than enough. The story happens to the other characters; Parker and Tara happen to the story.

The writing is tight, with very few unneeded words and phrases. Dialogue is realistic. The plot is engaging. The ending blows you away with its unexpectedness. A subtle moral that you absorb more than read. There's really not much more to say for Dread Locks - except that any fan of mythology, fairytales, or fiction in general should read this book.

It is a dark, intense, at times horrifying book. You will probably not laugh while reading it. I know I didn't. Readers seeking more light-hearted takes on fairytales and mythology should check out the Sisters Grimm series (fairytale) or the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (mythology). But if you're not afraid of a good, dark book, then Dread Locks is a must-read.