65 pages • 2 hours read
Neal ShustermanA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Shusterman’s Unwind series, like other dystopian series that feature strong yet emotional teenagers, explores how being a hormonal adolescent can hinder saving the world. Shortly before being killed by a clapper, Pastor Dan says to Lev, “Most fourteen-year-olds aren’t actively trying to fix the world. Cut yourself some slack and try dealing with normal fourteen-year-old things” (181). Despite Pastor Dan’s words, Lev and his friends aren’t “normal” to others because they should be unwound and are fighting against this process. When Shusterman’s teen characters try to change a world that has demonized them and legalized killing them, they unsurprisingly encounter emotional and intellectual setbacks due to adolescent tendencies.
Major issues for several teen characters include anger management and ego. When the Admiral and the ADR left Connor in charge of the Graveyard, it was essentially making a “problem kid responsible for hundreds of other problem kids” (243). Connor, and other Whollies, are known for being troublemakers. Starkey initially idolizes Connor because of the trouble he caused in Book 1 as the Akron AWOL; Starkey “longs for the kind of notoriety that Connor Lassiter has” (10). While Connor eventually takes on a martyr complex (tries to go down with the Graveyard ship like a captain) and learns that not every situation merits causing trouble or giving into anger, Starkey is willing to incite violence and sacrifice others to gain fame for aiding storks.
By Neal Shusterman
Bruiser
Neal Shusterman
Challenger Deep
Neal Shusterman
Downsiders
Neal Shusterman
Dry
Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman
Everlost
Neal Shusterman
Full Tilt
Neal Shusterman
Game Changer
Neal Shusterman
Scythe
Neal Shusterman
Tesla's Attic
Neal Shusterman, Eric Elfman
The Dark Side of Nowhere
Neal Shusterman
The Schwa Was Here
Neal Shusterman
The Toll
Neal Shusterman
Thunderhead
Neal Shusterman
Unwind
Neal Shusterman
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