In my story Unwind by Neal Shusterman is a genre fiction about kids who are being sold for their body parts. They have to find a way to solve their problems and just simply survive until they reach the age of eighteen, where they will not be eligible to be ‘unwound’. The three questions that I have chosen to respond to are as followed: which audience did the author aim this book towards, and what are the weaknesses of this book?
Question: For what audience is this book, and how can you tell (in other words for whom would you recommend this book?
If I had to choose a main audience for this book I would choose the audience as young adults. The two reasons why this is true are because of the language that the kids use and the sort of trouble that the runaways are faced with in their journey to escape.
The reason that I chose language as one of my reasons is because it seems like Shusterman uses slang and urban vernacular all around the book. Some of the words and phrases that he uses that he used are ones that us kids use in our everyday conversations such as ‘totally’ and ‘it was a piece of crap’. I predict that he uses word and phrases like this to draw young adults into his book and make us feel that he is sort of like us. One example of this is here
“How much is ransom?” Lev asks. “Ransom? There’s no ransom”, says the crazy kid. “I took you to save you, Idiot!”
This quotes explains how when Connor captures Lev and their journey starts. Lev thinks that he has been kidnapped by some psycho and is being held hostage. Notice that Shusterman uses the word idiot. If this book were directed towards and older audience such as adults he probably would have used the word idiot because it is a more youth friendly word. With the use of more words like these it appeals to the audience because it makes them think that this book might be worth reading and not be boring.
The second technique that Shusterman uses is adding situations that the young adults of today can relate to. This is exemplified when the group finds that abandoned baby, and Connor explains why they can’t just leave it. He then goes on to tell a story about how this is how he got two of his brothers and sisters. Connor was not treated as well as his brother and sister who were both ‘storked’ (which means they were left on another person’s door step at birth to have the other people have to take care of them). They then decide to take in the newborn as if it is their own for a while. I think that the young adults of America can relate to this because as time goes on it seems like the age for teenage pregnancy and parenthood is dropping like crazy. Even today there is a show on MTV called Sixteen and Pregnant, which I think is wrong on so many levels, that shows how your life will be if you have a baby at this age. Having the reader be able to relate to your story is crucial if you are looking for a certain type of audience.
Language and situations are a very important part of appealing to the right audience, and if you get them wrong the whole age target switches to a whole different age group. Since Shusterman is trying to target the audience of young people his language had to be correct, and I think he did a very nice job on making the reader feel relatable.
The second question that I chose to respond to was the one of the weaknesses of the book. I think that the main three are the attention that it demands, the character development, and the whole plot. I think that all of these parts were ok, but I think they could have easily been improved upon.
This book demands a lot of attention because it makes you really keep on reading. I have noticed that some parts of the book seem rushed or like they are just they there to fill in the story. The main example of this is when the kids first arrive at the graveyard. The author seems to just go on and on about how they have to do all of this labor intensive work and how they awkwardly always run into one of the main characters, Lev. In my personal opinion he could have left these parts out because they didn’t really supply and background to the story. Instead I would have made up some other little mini story within the story to help keep the reader wondering what would happen next.
My second problem was the seemingly lack of backstories to help develop the main character’s personalities. Instead of putting in all of these random little fill-ins he could have added these. I predict that if Shusterman had actually done this I would feel a stronger connection to the main characters. As of now I feel like they are all pretty bland and boring. Maybe one of them could have had some sort of disease that makes them physically inferior, which could reveal a whole new plot twist, or one of them could have some sort of dark secret that nobody knows about. For me character developing is a very important part of a story.
The final weakness was the whole plot. I wasn’t very weak; I just think that he could have easily expanded on the whole thing. By taking the steps I added above the whole plot could have thickened and made it a much more enjoyable book for me, the young reader, to read. All in all it was good, but it just felt like it was lacking in the plot department.
Unwind was a great book and I would recommend it to anybody who is looking for an easy summer reader, or just a book to read in their spare time. Like I said earlier his language was very catering to a younger audience, but it felt a little forced, and there were many things I think Shusterman should have added and taken out. If you are looking for a semi-sci-fi novel to read, this is the one for you.
