Unwind

Very rarely does the mere concept of a story creep me out even the slightest bit. This... definitely qualifies as one of those times...

THE BASICS: In the craptastic future (The Future is always lame in books), there exists "unwinding" in which an individual between the ages of 13 and 18 can be sent by their parents to be unwound (this law was set in place to be an alternative to abortion, which is now completely illegal). Unwinding is basically the taking apart of a person and giving said parts to other people who need them. For transplants and such. The unfortunate teenager isn't dead, they're just... in a different state.

Or so they say. No one actually really knows.

THE CHARACTERS: There's a boatload, but there are three recognizable mains: Connor, your typical bad boy who's parents sign the order for his unwinding, Risa, who's orphan status combined with budget cuts seals her fate, and Lev, who's extremely devout, religious parents raised him to be a "tithe" (they had ten children so...). I love these guys' interactions, although admittedly it's mostly a two-sided story with Connor and Risa on one end and Lev on his own. The former two are a bit predictable in their personalities (he's your basic jerk with a heart of gold, she's the resourceful, tough girl) but I liked them all the same. Lev was fascinating though- he's totally okay with being unwound because he's been raised knowing it'll happen all his life. He considers it his duty, his honor even.

I smell brainwashing!

It's not a spoiler to say that his opinion soon changes drastically, which makes for some great stuff later on. He goes a bit off the deep end, to put it mildly.

TECHNICAL STUFF: The book switches perspectives a lot, but it works since it was such a fast-paced story. The chapters tend to be pretty short too, so it reads pretty fast. It meanders a bit from the main plot because of this, but funnily enough, that's totally okay. The book isn't about the characters persay (they're still fabulous though); in many ways they're more of representations of different senarios that might occur in said craptastic world. There're a lot of "what about...?" and "well, what if-?"s that happen as you're reading (Where do unwanted infants go anyway? How would giving someone else part of your brain work? Would they remember anything? Do these laws apply to disabled people?) but I can honestly say that the book covers pretty much all it's bases. You understand this world by the time you're done. You may not like it, but you definitely get it.

THE THEME: Extremism- 'tis a bad, bad thing. Also, don't compromise with terrorists. Bad things happen like, oh, say, unwinding maybe?

OVERALL: Fab, fab, fabulous book. I was honest-to-goodness never bored- not once- and that is majorly rare. It sucks you right in- from it's nightmarish premise to it's "seriously, holy crap, edge of your seat" ending. Love it.

GRADE: (I've decided to stop giving grades. I mean, let's say I don't really like a book. Not because it's bad or anything, it's just not my thing. So I give it a "C". But what if it were your kind of book? What if it was a "B" or "A" in your mind? I don't want to accidentally dissuade anyone from reading something they might actually enjoy...)

But for what it's worth, this one was definitely an "A".

Author: Neal Shusterman

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

I got it for my birthday- I put off reading it. My friends told me I'd love it- I didn't care. Ms Twilight Author endorsed it- repelling, to say the least.

*sigh* But then I got sick and thus bored, so I caved in and read it.

And... it wasn't actually half bad.

'Cause of Magnus. All because of Magnus.



THE BASICS: Turns out, Clary Fray's a sorta important person in a magical world (*another sigh* I've heard this premise somewhere...). After she witnesses the murder of a (she later finds out) demon, she gets caught up in a world she's more connected to than she thinks. But anyway, the previously mentioned murderers, actually called Shadowhunters, are Isabelle and Alec (two siblings with no personality) and totally smokin' gorgeous sexy-on-a-stick* Jace who I hated for most of the book.

But anyway, sorry, the plot. There's this mystical goblet thing called the Mortal Cup- it holds the power to create more Shadowhunters- that disappeared years ago because this evil dude named Valentine wanted it. There was a battle, he was "killed" (you know, the way all major villains are killed in the exposition), and the Cup disappeared. People are still looking for it, obviously, since it would be bad if it fell into the wrong hands.

Oh, and there're demons and other nasty creatures that live in our world. Hence, the Shadowhunters.

THE CHARACTERS: Clary's surprisngly okay for a protagonist. I mean, her general obliviousness bothered me at times, but I could look past it. Jace was annoying at first, but he got better later when his cockyness was simply part of his personality, and not his entire personality**. Most of the other side characters are pretty okay, that is, except for Alec- who's only purpose is to whine and gaynst- and Isabelle- who's only purpose is nothing. Seriously, she does nothing to or for the plot.

And then, there's my favorite part: Magnus Bane!

He's this warlock dude who, *tear* only shows up for a chapter and a half *'nother tear*. But hot dang, if that isn't the most entertaining chapter and a half ever! Seriously, I love this guy. He's just.. I dunno, the perfect mixture of insanity, funny, and general awesome maybe? Also, he glitters. Magnus brought sparkle-back (and made it cool, to boot).

(According to my sources, he becomes a vital part of later books. "And there was much rejoicing" seems an appropriate quote.)

TECHNICAL STUFF: Whatever it's other faults, the dialogue is hilarious. Humor can hide a lot of bad things. The story is decent. I think I've heard it before... but I can't actually name the sources so that's a plus. Predicatable? A bit, but I think that's only because I already know a lot of the secrets, as spoiled by friends and such (no hard feelings, I'm just stateing a fact).

THE THEME: Generic, but "things aren't always as they appear" come to mind. Ironically, "things are always as they appear" (predictability, it makes me cry) also seems to fit in a few parts, so maybe they cancel each other out. Hmm... "Grass ain't always greener"? "Be careful what you wish for"? Somethin' like that.

OVERALL: The good and lame sorta cancel each other out. It's not a bad book by any stretch- however, I wouldn't consider it a particularly great one either. Should you read it? Sure, go ahead- if only for Magnus' sake.

GRADE: C

*K, even the back of the book puts enormous emphasis on how beyond attractive this dude is. Part of the reason I disliked him was because of how pressured I felt to adore him like most of the fanbase probably does.

**Anyone who says "Unfortunately [name], my one true love remains myself" is cool in my book. One thing I can say for Jace is that he's got some great comebacks.