Title: UnSouled
Author: Neal Shusterman
Publisher/Year:  Simon & Schuster 10/14/14
Length:   401Pages
Series:  Unwind Dystology #3

Overview

Teens fight for their humanity in this thrilling third book in the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology by Neal Shusterman.

Connor and Lev are on the run after the destruction of the Graveyard, the last safe haven for AWOL Unwinds. But for the first time, they’re not just running away from something. This time, they’re running towards answers, in the form of a woman Proactive Citizenry has tried to erase from history itself. If they can find her, and learn why the shadowy figures behind unwinding are so afraid of her, they may discover the key to ending the unwinding process forever.

Cam, the rewound boy, is plotting to take down the organization that created him. He knows that if he can bring Proactive Citizenry to its knees, it will show Risa how he truly feels about her. And without Risa, Cam is having trouble remembering what it feels like to be human.

With the Juvenile Authority and vindictive parts pirates hunting them, their paths will converge explosively—and everyone will be changed.

My Thoughts

The saga continues and it’s a wonder how our author was able to come up with the complexities that we’re facing.  If you’ll remember at the end of the last installment, Connor had made a discovery that there was far more to the initial story than anyone knew, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.   that’s basically where we are taken through this 3rd book – figuring out how to get to the core of the technology and then figuring out what to do from there.

Like the previous book, we are taken through chapters by various characters – understanding what they are going through at any given point in time, while also getting the backstory and flashback from the Rheinschilds – the creators of the tech for both unwinding and something that was earth changing post that bit which never came to fruition.

The Graveyard has been compromised even more so than anyone thought possible, and what was thought to be an opportunity to make a planned departure turns into a blood bath and a flight.  Starkey takes control over things, and you know that’s going to end poorly given that he has a very different view on what it is to be a hero.  He likes death and destruction, and be warned that there is plenty of that to come after him.

We get to see how Cam grows and develops now that he’s being thrust into the public eye as not just an example of what the tech can do, but as an example by Proactive Citizenry of what THEY can do.  Along with that, he gets his wish for Risa to be beside him, which as you can imagine comes with a lot of stress given that she’s forced into a situation that she’s not happy with and that she despises.  Where she goes from there will be a place that only time will tell.

Then there’s Lev – he’s alive – barely, and is in the care of his brother since he’s on house arrest.  That’s too easy though, and others come after him, some bad and some good – and his life then becomes a roller coaster – getting reunited with old friends, some of whom are still on his side and some of whom would rather he be dead.  He’s put in a position to lead a ‘cult’ of sorts, and when that doesn’t sit well with him, you can only imagine the shenanigans that ensue afterwards.

All in all, there’s a LOT going on. the realization that Proactive Citizenry is behind everything comes as a shock.  Then there’s the issue of what are they doing next now that Cam has been deemed a success and what will that mean for the future of mankind.

Cam, Connor, Lev and Risa are all on the run again trying to figure out how to make the world ‘whole’ again – and then there’s the wild card of Grace that’s been thrown into the mix.  She’s typically counted out since she’s deemed to be a bit stunted in the intelligence area, but she’s proven to be quite strategic and i think that she’s going to be a key in the next installment.

I guess the questions that we have remaining are who’s going to stay alive, and what is going to happen with all the technology tied to Unwinding and what ever it was that Sonia and her husband had worked on.  I think that it’ll be really interesting to see what comes of it all since it means a very different future for all teens.  Then there’s also the question of the love triangle that’s out there so i hope that we get a resolution of sorts when Connor/Cam/Risa deal sort itself out.  On that note – have a good day all and i’ll be back!