UNWINDJahzeel Arreola, Marty Rogstad, Sean

Teraoka, Tyler Matthews

AUTHOR

• Born Brooklyn, NY• Nov. 12, 1962• Avid reader• Age 16 moved to

Mexico City• Attended University of

California

Author’s other works

• Novels– Dissidents– Downsiders– Full Tilt– Piggyback ninja– 11 other novels

PLOT

• Three kids

• Going to be “unwound”

• Find each other

• Stick together

• Trying to escape death

SETTING

• Set in the future– After second civil war “the heartland war”– Updated technology

• Various places– The forest, protective houses, motels

• Eerie mood

“In a perfect world mothers would all want their babies, and strangers would open up their homes to the unloved. In a perfect world everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn’t a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is.” (p. 75)

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

• Connor– Starts as an isolationist– Becomes more and more trusting

• Risa– Started very self protective and guard up – Then worked towards helping others

• Lev– Wanted to be unwound; very brainwashed– Connor and Risa did not trust him

• "Which was worse, Risa often wondered - to have tens of thousands of babies that no one wanted, or to silently make them go away before they were even born?" (p.115)

LITERARY QUALITY

• Entertainment• Similes, metaphors• Third person narration• Basic use of words but strong sentences• Chapters switch between characters

• "Sure, I can talk like you but I choose not to. It's like art, you know? See, if you paint wrong because that's the best you can do, you just a chump. But you do it because you want to? Then you're an artist.“

-CyFi (p. 125)

THEMES

• Individual vs. Authority

• Life vs. Death

• Power

RECOMMENDATION

• Adventure• Suspense• Junior high and beyond