I’ve never had to make assumptions about where life begins and ends, or what it means to live. Although,  award-winning author, Neal Shusterman,  made me feel as if I was there in the corrupt future of the United States, after the Heartland War. The outcome of the war gave parents the power to voluntarily authorize their children to be taken to harvest camps as unwilling organ donors by an unwinding order. As an intense sequel to the dystopian novel, Unwind, the story is continued in the perspectives of brave teens trying to survive, and those who are trying to bring “justice” to society by unwinding runaway teens, known as AWOLs.

Neal Shusterman’s writing is the reason I love this book. He has won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and many other literature awards. Each time the setting changes, he describes it so in depth that the reader feels like they are witnessing the event firsthand. As the characters’ point of views change, he describes the setting in a different perspective than the last. For example, “It's February, and the walls are halfheartedly hung with Valentine's Day decorations that are supposed to add a sense of festivity, but just seem sadistic, because in an all-boys' detention center, only a select few are finding romance this year.” Each character's struggles are defined in such a way that sets each character apart as individuals.

Unwholly is full of fascinating characters, but the most important character in the book is Cam. His creators took the best parts from all of the best unwinds and they pieced them together to create Camus Comprix, but he prefers to go by “Cam”. Not a single part of him is his own because it all belonged to someone else first. Although, Cam has come to accept what he is and wants others to accept him too. Cam is a character that will make you consider life and whether a soul is what makes a person a person. The mystery of Cam is one of the reasons you want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next in Unwholly.

Risa Ward, the unappreciated hero of the book, tries to speak up about the truth of unwinding, but a contract stands in her way of bringing justice to the teens between the ages of 13 and 17. In an interview with Cam, she courageously betrays the Proactive Citizenry, by sharing with the world what they truly are and what they stand for. Her act of courage endangers not only herself but the 700 AWOLs living in the Graveyard. They become the targets of the Proactive Citizenry and the Juvey-Cops.

The larger theme of the story is about sacrifice, but not all the characters are willing to make the sacrifices needed to show the world the truth about unwinding. Conner and the Holy of Whollies are willing to sacrifice their lives for the 700 AWOLs in the Graveyard, but when the time comes for them to make that important sacrifice, they change their minds at the last second. In the world that they live in, they are raised from a very young age to fear the government and to behave. For example, “If you care so much about it,” she asks him, “then why did you run?” “Their work is good,” he says. “It just isn’t mine.”  This is a reason why Unwholly is so realistic because the human race is very selfish because they only worry about their needs.

Even though Unwholly takes place in the future, the struggle for equality and ethics could be a possibility for the government of the United States today. In the United States, every citizen should have freedom to choose how to live their lives. If you want to know what happens to Conner, Risa, Lev, Cam, and the rest of the AWOLs who live whole or divided in Unwholly, you'll have to discover for yourself.