Set in a future America following a civil war that ended with a disturbing compromise — that human life is inviolable from conception until age thirteen, after which unwanted teenagers can be legally 'unwound,' their bodies harvested for parts — this young adult dystopian series follows teenagers who have been marked for unwinding as they fight for survival and eventually for systemic change. The series is provocative, fast-paced, and raises deeply uncomfortable ethical questions through its central premise.
In a future America where a second civil war was ended by an agreement allowing parents to have unwanted teenagers retroactively 'unwound'—their body parts harvested for others while the law maintains they are technically still alive—three teens on the run from the unwinding process must find a way to survive. A viscerally disturbing and philosophically provocative YA dystopian novel. One of Shusterman's most acclaimed works.
The AWOL movement grows as Connor, Risa, and Lev navigate the politics of Graveyard while a boy named Cam—assembled entirely from unwound teenagers' parts—questions what he is, and a new and dangerous figure threatens the fragile resistance. A strong second installment that deepens the series' world and moral complexity.
Connor and Lev discover information about a secret project that could end unwinding entirely, while Cam continues to wrestle with his assembled identity; the conspiracy around the unwinding system goes deeper than anyone suspected. A tense penultimate installment with major revelations.
The Unwind Dystology concludes as all the series' threads converge on a climactic confrontation with the unwinding system itself, requiring genuine sacrifice and moral complexity from every character to bring about any form of resolution. A satisfying and emotionally honest conclusion.