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 through desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing all the while that their lives are hanging in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthdays, 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...Neal Shusterman challenges readers' ideas about life - not just where it begins and where it ends, but what it truly means to be alive.I purchased this because: I saw it on a book blog ages ago and it has been on my TBR for ages ...
Opening lines: "There are places you can go," Ariana tells him, " and a guy as smart as you has a decent chance of surviving to eighteen."
OH MY GOSH .... I love this book ..... and I think I have fallen in love with a new author ... I have already ordered other books by Neal Shusterman ... And I blame him for my bags under my eyes for making me stay up to the lil hours of the morning reading ....
The cover for this book is brilliant ... I have the first cover with all the body parts connecting ... It is sooo clever ... From the moment I read "The Bill of Life" at the front I knew this book was going to be interesting ... What did I love about this book .... Literally everything .... I loved how each chapter was dedicated to one of the characters .... Brilliant ... It gives you a real sense of how each character felt not just the one character telling the story ...
Basically the book is set in the United States where a war has just ended over the issue of Abortion ... Where a comprise is found on both sides stating that abortion is outlawed, and there is a place for every baby, wanted or not, either at one of the State Homes or on the doorstep of other families, who are legally obligated to take care of each of these "storked" Babies.
That is, until they are thirteen, at this point, any children who are unwanted can be, effectively, retroactively aborted. They're not exactly killed but instead have their body parts live on, thanks to medical advances that enable every single body part, from your hair to your feet to your internal organs. Can and will be donated to others who need them. So from the ages of 13 to 18, millions of children are at risk of undergoing this procedure, of becoming literally "UNWOUND"
So faces the dilemma of three teens ... Who for different reasons find themselves in the awful position of being "unwind" .... I fell in love with each of this three characters and got totally drawn in by their stories ...
How much is a life worth? .... And how far as a human race are we willing to go? .... Neal Shusterman will have you pondering and glued to your seat until you finish this novel ... And to think that parts of this story is based on facts is really scary .... This is a very thought-provoking book and will have you thinking about it for days and weeks to come ... I know my copy of the book as lots of post-it notes throughout .... Definitely one of the top reads for this year for me ... Highly recommend it ....
Some of my favourite quotes ( And there where loads :) ) ...."First rule of motherhood, dearie: Men are screwups. Learn it now and you'll be a whole lot happier" Pg 63
"You can be anyone you want to be now" Pg 90
"Unwinds didn't go out with a bang - they didn't even go out with a whimper. They went out with the silence of a candle flame pinched between two fingers" Pg 95
"How could it, when Unwinds aren't really dead?" pg 124
"Of course, if more people had been organ donors, unwinding never would have happened ... but people like to keep what's theirs, even after they're dead. It didn't take long for ethics to be crushed by greed. Unwinding became big business, and people let it happen" Pg 224
"It's amazing that something as simple as a kiss can overpower The worst of worries" Pg 234
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity: and I'm not sure about the universe" Albert Einstein Pg 315I rate this book 5 ***** - And if I could rate it more I would :)
