112 pages 3 hours read

Neal Shusterman

Unwind

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2007

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Introduction

Unwind

  • Genre: Fiction; young adult dystopian
  • Originally Published: 2007
  • Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 740L; grades 8-9
  • Structure/Length: 69 chapters; approx. 384 pages; approx. 10 hours, 9 minutes on audio
  • Protagonist and Central Conflict: After the Second Civil War in a future United States, abortion is illegal from the moment of conception; however, parents can opt to have their children aged 13-18 “unwound”—where their bodies are dismembered and repurposed. Three teenagers, Connor, Risa, and Lev, flee their eventual fate and fight to prove that their lives are worth saving.
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: Abortion; abuse; foster care; physical threat of sexual assault; violence

Neal Shusterman, Author

  • Bio: Born 1962 in Brooklyn, New York; became a writer after his ninth-grade English teacher challenged him to write a story every month; moved from Brooklyn to Mexico City at age 16 and finished high school there; graduated from UC Irvine, where he studied psychology and theater; received National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (2015) for his book Challenger Deep
  • Other Works: Downsiders (1999); Full Tilt (2004); Unwind Dystology series (2007-2014); Arc of a Scythe trilogy (2016-2019)
  • Awards: ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2008)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

  • One Versus Many
  • What Is Morality?
  • Inner Versus Outer Strength

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will: