UnWholly

UnWholly (2012) by Neal Shusterman is Book 2 in the Unwind Dystology. Shusterman originally planned the series to be a dystopia trilogy, but the third book, UnSouled, was split into two for publication due to length. While it was nominated for several awards in Young Adult literature, it did not win any, in contrast to the first book of the series, Unwind, which won nearly a dozen awards and prizes.

UnWholly is science fiction, specifically YA dystopia with biopunk elements. YA dystopias tend to be published in trilogies, focus on romance (especially love triangles), and conclude with conclusive rebellion against the dystopian state that defines them. Biopunk is a derivative of the cyberpunk genre which focuses on the implications of biotechnology, in this case the discovery of universal donor capabilities, which allow 99.4% of an unwound’s body to be utilized. For reference, an unwound is an individual between the ages of 13 and 18 (later reduced to 17) killed legally by the government to harvest their organs. Organ transplants from unwounds are what fuel the economy in this series.

Plot Summary

The novel jumps between different characters’ points of view very quickly, often showing the same events from multiple perspectives.