summary

This book takes place in a society that has just undergone a civil war over the topic of abortion. In order to please both sides, the government enacts a new law that outlaws abortion, but enables a new process called "unwinding". This process consists of a 13-17 year old getting euthanized and their body parts being taken apart and donated to science or for other people's use. The decision over being "unwound" is decided upon by the parents of the child. If a child lives to 18 and hasn't been unwound, they can't be. The main characters join up with other marked children in order to run away and hide until they reach 18.

Connor is a 16 year old boy who is "marked" to be unwound per his parents' decision. He is a troublemaker in school with a temper, who gets into fights often. Connor decides he doesn't want to be unwound, and teams up with two other marked kids, who run from the police to avoid getting unwound. Connor becomes a "celebrity" of sorts for his resistance tactics.

Risa is an orphan that has lived in state homes her whole life. She is ordered to be unwound due to overcrowding in state homes. Her fate is saved when her bus crashes- this is when she joins with Connor and Lev, where they all attempt to escape their fates.

Lev was born into a very religious family that chose him to be their "tithe"; this means that his family had 10 children, with the intention of donating one of their children (1/10th of their belongings) to the church. Lev grows up knowing he will be unwound when he turns 18, and he accepts it and believes it is his destiny. He turns on Connor and Risa after they save him from being unwound, but after his pastor tells him to leave, he changes his stance on being unwound. He ends up saving Connor and Risa, and deciding that he too, deserves to live.