Book: Undivided by Neal Shusterman

Published October 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers|366 pages

Source/Format: borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: Unwind Dystology #4

Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Dystopic Thriller

What It’s About:

Teens control the fate of America in the fourth and final book in the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology by Neal Shusterman.

Proactive Citizenry, the company that created Cam from the parts of unwound teens, has a plan: to mass produce rewound teens like Cam for military purposes. And below the surface of that horror lies another shocking level of intrigue: Proactive Citizenry has been suppressing technology that could make unwinding completely unnecessary. As Conner, Risa, and Lev uncover these startling secrets, enraged teens begin to march on Washington to demand justice and a better future.

But more trouble is brewing. Starkey’s group of storked teens is growing more powerful and militant with each new recruit. And if they have their way, they’ll burn the harvest camps to the ground and put every adult in them before a firing squad; which could destroy any chance America has for a peaceful future.

What I Thought:

I have such mixed feelings about UnDivided.  I really liked it, and yet I was also disappointed in how things ended.  It very much felt like it was added on to the series and yet it also felt like it was setting up something for a fifth book.  Which is weird considering the series is only 4 books.

We do see a lot of change, like a moratorium on unwinding, and things are definitely tied up.  I really wish we saw a little more of what things were like after the protest in D.C. and after election day, because I just couldn’t get over the fact that the book ends with Connor giving his family a second chance.

Overall, it felt like the book was missing something the other three books have.  And overall, you realize how fucked up the entire unwinding industry and Proactive Citizenry is.  There was this viable option, and everything humanly possible was done to hide it.  But I am glad that it is seen as an option again.

I did like all of the perspectives.  It’s really been one of my favorite things of this series, and I like that you gets so many different sides to it.  But…the multiple perspectives were a little much in this one, and I feel like there was too much going on, and it felt like some things were dropped or forgotten about.  I also really liked the articles scattered throughout the book, and how it connects real world stories to what’s gong on with the book.

I had a harder time getting into it and caring about everything going on.  I just wasn’t invested in it the way I was in the other ones.  I think part of it was the different perspectives and because it felt like it was added on.

Rating:

4 stars, because of how what we learn fits into the overall story and world but also because it felt like it was a random addition to the series that seems to be setting up a possible fifth book.