Brad About Books: UnSouled by Neal Shusterman

Read from September 11 to 12, 2013

UNSOULED
Published: October 15, 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
Format: ARC
Page Count: 403 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review
Series: Unwind, #3

This review is entirely spoiler free, even if you haven't started this series.

Okay, sure. Dystopian is immensely enormous right now, and though I personally adore the genre, I just can't seem to escape it. However, the Unwind dystology is one of the most original and shockingly incredible dystopian series I have ever. I've never came across a series like this: this powerful, this captivating, this authentic. And UnSouled was a fantastic addition to this series.

We've been through so much with these kids throughout the first two books. And you might be thinking to yourself, 'There is no way that this can get any worse.' If you thought that, you were wrong. New questions and stakes are raised in this third volume, and (once again) Shusterman does an exceptional job at building up this world and adding even more foundation to it. More action flies at the reader, the writing is incredible, and the character development is brilliant. From the characters that we first met in Unwind to the new characters added in UnWholly and UnSouled, each character evolves in some way to make them either better or wicked; and I loved that.

If I had to knock the series for anything, it would have to be that there are way too many characters and points of view. I liked having multiple characters in the beginning, but we have to be following at least ten different characters in UnSouled. Some have many chapters, others a few here and there. The "here and there" character chapters are what bugs me: with having to keep up with other characters, it was very hard for me to try to remember what happened to a character that we saw 200 pages ago. That's my biggest issue with the series. It grew on me towards the end of the book, but it was definitely a struggle to keep up with so many unique characters.

I thought that the Bill of Life dilemma was settled at the end of UnWholly, but Shusterman threw a plot twist on me in UnSouled that I didn't see coming. More dilemmas are ascending, and the tragedies keep adding up in this world. I have to say, UnSouled is my personal favorite of the series so far. There's mystery, romance, suspense, action, and mind-blowing endings. I can't wait to see how everything turns out in the next book!

Overall, UnSouled is a very nice addition to this ever epic saga. Wholly unique and addictive, I couldn't get enough of UnSouled!

M Y    R A T I N G