BOOK CLUB - JAN - Unwind by Neal Shusterman

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.

Ø Could this situation happen? Do you understand how policies are made in government?

Ø What character do you relate to the most? What are the roles that Connor, Risa, and Lev played in this story?

Ø What kind of parent would choose to have their child unwound? Why?

Ø Where does life begin? Where does it end? What does being “alive” mean? Should Unwinds be considered “dead” or “alive,” or something else?

Ø Explain CyFi’s situation. What happens to him, and what do you think happened after he confronted Tyler’s parents?

Ø Describe what takes place during Roland’s last scene with Connor. What is it meant to show about Roland? Is it meant to imply anything about being an Unwind? (Can unwinding take kids that are somewhat deviant and make them far worse? Had the circumstances been different, would Roland have been the same kind of person? “He was a decent kid, protecting his mother like he did, and then his whole situation turned him into a self-centered, power-hungry bully, still with that core of decency that prevented him from committing murder.”)

Ø How did you react to Roland’s final scene? How did you react to Mai’s last scene?

Ø What are your thoughts on the Admiral? Does he redeem himself in the end?

Ø What do you think the ending of the story brings to the story as a whole?

Ø Where there parts of the story that you feel like you missed? Why do you think the author chose to tell the story from three separate points-of-view? How did some of the stories overlap?