The mind of a teenager might seem like it’s a ball of yarn being thrown down a hill and I can say that might just might be true. I was a kid that didn’t really have any friends so I would spend most of my time just reading or playing games. It wasn’t until my freshman year of high school, I started to read as a form of enjoyment; I would finish books back to back and then go looking for something new that would pique my interest. Originally, I hadn’t planned to read for enjoyment because it had started as a way for me to feel more superior than my peers. My mindset changed the more I read new things, but one book in particular changed how I have lived my life to this very day.
I had just finished the Maximum Ride series, and my mind was unleashed to newer heights. It felt as if there was a mystery behind everything in society. At first, I would watch conspiracy theory videos and reading more things related to conspiracies; Alex Jones was my idol.
My hunger for mysteries wasn’t satisfied, so I decided to ask my friends, peers, and teachers if they knew any good mystery books. All I got out of them were titles like Goosebumps, The Nancy Drew series, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. I had already read most of the books recommended to me, and this didn’t really sound good to my mother, the person giving me books. So one day, she decided that we would go to Barnes & Nobles for a little shopping. We left the store with more than nine books that day.
On the way home, I decided to crack one open; the book was called Unwind by Neil Shutterman. I read the dust jacket, and it really caught my interest. Basically, the story was about a teenage boy in a world where if your older than thirteen, then you have the chance to be taken away by the government and used as an organ donor for adults. When I read that, I knew that it would catch my interest because a good government conspiracy is a good conspiracy. The moment I got home, I ran to my room and started reading the book. I was in for a whole new world.
As I slowly read the book, I started to notice similarities to me and the main character, Connor Lassiter. He was a kid that was failing school and didn’t really appreciate life to its fullest, but if he did try his best, he would achieve great heights. At first, it felt like I was reading my own biography because I would never do any school work, sit around all day, and I’d just never respect anything. We, the readers, later learn that Connor’s parents had set him up to unwound because they couldn’t “handle” him. I felt as if that could’ve been me if our world was a little bit different and I didn’t catch on quicker to life.
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The more I read, the more I realized that if I had lived in Connor’s world, I would’ve been unwound over and over until all that was left of me was probably some goo. That’s when it hit me; maybe being unwound is a symbol for boarding school or whatever. It hit me like a ton of breaks. I stopped reading the book right there and decided to work my hardest in life because I really didn’t want to go to some military school filled with muscular, hormone filled teenagers.
I came back to the book because I felt like the story might just have an amazing twist at the end. After two days of eating, sleeping, chores, and reading, I had finally gotten to the second to last page of the book. I paused and closed the book. I thought about it; what would I get out of finishing this book? Would I find a horrible twist, aa happy ending to Connors sad life, or would I finally find the meaning to life? I didn’t want an answer to the question every teen that has ever existed has had. What’s the purpose of any of it?
I finally decided to sell the book even though I never finished it. I don’t regret selling it because I think about every possible ending there could’ve been to this very day like could someone have killed Connor, Rina becomes a politician that changes the Bill of Life, or maybe Levi finally clapped. I’ll never know the ending, but it’s fun thinking about what could've happened.
All in all, this book changed everything in my life literally. I started to appreciate the things given to me, I respected people, and I tried to strive for bigger heights. If the teacher wanted to give out extra credit, I would take it, if there was a final exam I would study for it a month before, and sometimes I’d even try to write my own little novels.
If I had to give a book to a angry, hormone filled teen then I’d give them Unwind. I’d only give it to them because I wonder what it would do to their minds. I feel like it would change their lives just like how it changed mine. They might think about all the horrible things they ever done, how they treated someone or what they might think if they knew how people felt about them. I just hope that they awaken something new within themselves.