UnWholly

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.