Mr. Shusterman's books reward the reader with a rich bounty of things to think or wonder about that are sometimes intense, sometimes humorous:
Bruiserby Neal Shusterman, 2010.
In Bruiser, Mr. Shusterman has taken an intriguing concept and built a supernatural story that may leave you thinking long after the final page is turned. What happens when any pain, physical or emotional, is taken away? While reading this book I kept thinking of the Bible phrase, "he taketh away the sins of the world." And then wondering - Is there a flip side, a dark side, to salvation? Brewster Rawlins aka Bruiser is described as a sasquatch, a hulking teenager of 16 years, with eyes that are an ugly pea green. Voted by his classmates as "Most Likely to Receive the Death Penalty." What no one knows, since Brewster keeps to himself, is that if he cares about you, he automatically takes away your injuries or pain as his own. Bruiser is told from four points of view; Tennyson and Bronte who are twins, and Brewster and his brother Cody. Tennyson and Bronte live with parents on the verge of divorce, and Brewster and Cody live with their abusive Uncle Hoyt. Brewster's point of view is told in free verse. The first chapter starts with Tennyson's point of view when Brewster asks his sister Bronte out on a date to play miniature golf. Every book I've read by Neal Shusterman has been a thought-generating, and a gratifying read. Bruiser is no exception. My rating: 3 and a half stars
Everlost by Neal Shusterman published in 2006 is the first book in the Skinjacker Trilogy. Everfound, the third book in the Skinjacker Trilogy, is scheduled for publication in May 2011. Everlost begins with two cars that accidentally crash. A passenger in each car dies; Nick and Allie. As they feel themselves moving through a tunnel towards a light, they bump each other off course and don't get to where they are going. They wake up in Everlost, an in between place for lost souls where there are only children and teenagers. Nick and Allie take different approaches to the people and circumstances of their new existence. Will they choose complacency, choose to be in Everlost, or will they find the strength to get to where they are going? Everlost is a terrific adventure-fantasy in an unpredictable setting. My rating, so far, for this trilogy: 4 stars
Unwind by Neal Shusterman, 2007. Unwind takes place in a dystopian society where organ harvesting of every part of the body is not viewed as death for the donor. In this future society a war was fought between the Pro-life and the Pro-choice armies over reproductive rights, and now there is no
abortion. A "Bill of Life" was passed that ended the war. The Bill of Life gives parents
the right to choose, when their child is between the ages of 13 and 18,
to have them "unwound". Every part of the body is used to help someone else, including brain parts, skin, nerves, limbs, etc. so that technically the unwound person is still living. One of the horrifying parts of this story is that that the person being unwound is awake and conscious (pain-free) during the whole procedure. Sometimes the body parts retain a memory of skills, thoughts, or emotions, that the recipient then experiences. This is a story of dismembering as well as remembering. Three teens, Connor, Risa, and Lev, who do not want to be "unwound" try to escape. Unwind is a science fiction thriller that gives one serious moral issues to think about as we move out of the current infancy of organ harvesting. My rating: 4 stars Unwind movie website
Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman, 2008.
I have not read this - write your review in the comments section below. Library Catalog Summary: Fourteen-year-old Anthony "Antsy" Bonano
learns about life, death, and a lot more when he tries to help a friend
with a terminal illness feel hopeful about the future.
Darkness Creeping: Twenty Twisted Tales by Neal Shusterman, 2007. A collection of horror tales. Tell your tale, write your review in the comments below! Library Catalog Summary: Imagine being trapped forever in someone
else's nightmare, with no means of escape. Or caught on one of the most
terrifying roller coasters of all time, when suddenly the tracks ahead
just disappear. Enter the world of Darkness Creeping, where hollow-eyed
skulls arrive in the mail and nothing is as it seems... a collection of masterfully
creepy stories so horrifying, you may have to read them twice to remind
yourself they're not real.
The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman, 2004.
I have not yet had a chance to read this book. It won the 2005 Boston Globe Horn Book Award. Library Catalog Summary: A Brooklyn eighth-grader nicknamed Antsy
befriends the Schwa, an "invisible-ish" boy who is tired of blending
into his surroundings and going unnoticed by nearly everyone. Write your review in the comments section below.
