Midnight Unwind Order

Mason Starkey, a storked child always on the edge of rejection, is awakened in the dead of night by Juvey-cops. His parents have signed the order: he is to be unwound, retroactively erased from their family. Starkey's anger and sense of injustice boil over as he's dragged away, but he refuses to go quietly. In a desperate, violent escape, he kills a Juvey-cop, becoming both fugitive and legend. His journey as an AWOL Unwind begins, setting the stage for a new kind of rebellion.

Storked and Abandoned

Starkey navigates a world where storked kids—those abandoned at birth—are second-class even among Unwinds. He learns the rules of the underground: trust no one, avoid traps set by bounty hunters and Juvey-cops, and use every trick to survive. His cunning and ruthlessness help him rise through the ranks of safe houses, where he begins to gather a following of other storks, all hungry for respect and revenge.

The Graveyard Sanctuary

The Graveyard, a sprawling airplane salvage yard in the Arizona desert, is the last refuge for hundreds of AWOL Unwinds. Run by Connor Lassiter—the legendary Akron AWOL—and his partner Risa, it's a place of uneasy order. Connor, scarred by his past and burdened by leadership, tries to keep the peace and protect the kids from the ever-present threat of the Juvenile Authority. But cracks are forming: supplies are short, the resistance is unreliable, and internal divisions are growing.

The Rise of Starkey

Starkey, now in the Graveyard, uses his charisma and cunning to organize the storked kids into the Stork Club, exploiting their shared sense of injustice. He manipulates Connor's trust, gaining power and sowing seeds of division. Starkey's vision is not just survival, but vengeance and recognition for the storks—no matter the cost.

Tithes and True Belief

Miracolina, a tithe raised to believe her unwinding is a holy offering, is kidnapped by the resistance before she can fulfill her destiny. She is brought to a sanctuary for ex-tithes, where Lev—the clapper who didn't clap—serves as a reluctant messiah. Miracolina's struggle to hold onto her faith, even as she's "rescued" against her will, exposes the deep psychological scars unwinding inflicts on both the willing and unwilling.

Cam: The Rewound Boy

In a secret mansion, scientists unveil Cam, the world's first fully composite human, built from the parts of nearly a hundred Unwinds. Cam's fragmented mind struggles to cohere, haunted by the memories and traumas of his many donors. As he becomes a media sensation, Cam's existence raises profound questions about the soul, identity, and the ethics of unwinding.

Resistance and Betrayal

Connor's inner circle is riddled with secrets. Trace, his trusted security chief, is revealed to be a double agent for Proactive Citizenry, the shadowy organization pulling the strings behind unwinding. The resistance, once a beacon of hope, is exposed as disorganized and compromised. Connor's sense of control slips as betrayals multiply and the threat of a raid looms ever closer.

The Stork Club Revolution

Starkey's Stork Club, emboldened by his leadership, begins a campaign of "liberating" storked Unwinds—burning down homes and leaving chaos in their wake. Their actions provide the Juvenile Authority with the excuse it needs to move against the Graveyard. Starkey's ambition spirals into open mutiny, fracturing the sanctuary and setting the stage for disaster.

The Composite Human Unveiled

Cam is introduced to the public as a miracle of science and a symbol of unwinding's "promise." His relationship with Risa, herself a survivor and now a reluctant spokesperson for unwinding, is orchestrated for maximum media impact. But Risa's conscience and Cam's search for meaning threaten to unravel the carefully constructed narrative, exposing the monstrous reality behind the miracle.

The Raid on the Graveyard

The Juvenile Authority, armed with riot squads and live ammunition, storms the Graveyard. Connor's desperate defense buys time for some to escape, but the plan is sabotaged by Starkey's mutiny. Chaos erupts as kids are rounded up, killed, or forced to flee. The dream of sanctuary is shattered in a single night of violence and betrayal.

Mutiny and Mass Escape

Starkey hijacks the Graveyard's only escape jet, filling it with his loyal storks and abandoning the rest. The overloaded plane, piloted by Trace under duress, crash-lands in the Salton Sea. Many die, but Starkey and his followers survive, vowing to become a guerrilla force that will take vengeance on the world that rejected them.

Risa's Impossible Choice

Captured and paralyzed, Risa is offered a deal by Proactive Citizenry: accept a new spine and become the public face of unwinding, or see the Graveyard destroyed. To save her friends, she consents, sacrificing her principles and becoming a pawn in the propaganda war. Her public support for unwinding devastates Connor—until the truth comes out.

Lev's Redemption

Lev, once a symbol of both faith and rebellion, escapes captivity and returns to the Graveyard in time to save Connor from capture. Haunted by guilt and seeking forgiveness, Lev finds it in Miracolina, whose own journey from zealot to survivor mirrors his own. Together, they embody the possibility of healing in a broken world.

The Fall of the Sanctuary

The Graveyard is no more. Hundreds are captured, many are killed, and the survivors scatter. Hayden and a handful of others make a final stand, choosing death over unwinding, but are ultimately saved by a desperate act. The era of hiding is over; a new, more radical resistance is born from the ashes.

The Storks' Flight

Starkey leads his battered but loyal storks into the wilderness, determined to wage war on the system that made them outcasts. Their survival is uncertain, but their resolve is unbreakable. The age of passive resistance is over; the age of the storked avenger has begun.

Truths Unraveled

Connor and Lev, fugitives once more, uncover the erased history of Janson Rheinschild, the scientist whose work made unwinding possible—and whose conscience tried to prevent its abuse. They realize that the true enemy is not just the law, but the corporate and political forces that profit from division and fear.

The New Uprising

As the world reels from the fall of the Graveyard and the exposure of Proactive Citizenry's manipulations, a new resistance takes shape. Hayden's defiant words on live television—"To the new Teen Uprising!"—become a rallying cry. The fight is no longer just for survival, but for the soul of a generation.

Hope in the Ashes

In the aftermath, Connor, Lev, and Risa—each transformed by loss, love, and sacrifice—set out to find Sonia, the last link to the truth about unwinding. Ordinary people begin to show extraordinary kindness, hinting that the world is ready for change. The story ends not with victory, but with hope: the promise that even in a world built on division, wholeness is still possible.

Characters

Connor Lassiter

Once the infamous Akron AWOL, Connor is the de facto leader of the Graveyard. Scarred physically and emotionally, he struggles with the burden of responsibility, the trauma of his past, and the fear that he is becoming as ruthless as those he opposes. His relationship with Risa is strained by guilt and self-doubt, and his trust is repeatedly betrayed by those closest to him. Connor's journey is one of painful growth: from impulsive rebel to thoughtful, if flawed, leader. His greatest strength is his refusal to give up on others—even when he cannot save himself.

Risa Ward

Once a state ward and now a symbol of resistance, Risa is paralyzed by choice—literally and figuratively. Her refusal to accept an unwound spine makes her a martyr, but when faced with the threat to her friends, she sacrifices her principles to save them. Manipulated into becoming the public face of unwinding, Risa's internal conflict is profound: she is both victim and collaborator, hero and pawn. Her journey is one of self-forgiveness and the search for agency in a world that commodifies bodies and souls.

Mason Starkey

Storked at birth and rejected by all, Starkey channels his rage into leadership of the Stork Club. He is both a champion for the marginalized and a dangerous demagogue, willing to use violence and betrayal to achieve his ends. Starkey's psychological complexity lies in his need for validation and his willingness to sacrifice others for his vision. He is a mirror of the system's cruelty, turning its logic against itself.

Lev Calder

Once a tithe, then a clapper, Lev is a living contradiction: revered by some, reviled by others, and never at peace with himself. His journey is one of atonement, as he moves from self-destruction to self-sacrifice, seeking forgiveness from those he has hurt and from himself. Lev's relationship with Miracolina, another tithe, becomes a path to healing, showing that redemption is possible even for the most damaged.

Camus Comprix (Cam)

The world's first composite human, Cam is a patchwork of nearly a hundred unwound teens, struggling to forge a coherent identity from their memories and traumas. He is both a scientific marvel and a moral horror, celebrated and reviled. Cam's longing for love and meaning is genuine, but he is manipulated by those who see him as a tool. His relationship with Risa is both real and artificial, a reflection of his own existential uncertainty.

Miracolina Roselli

Raised to believe her unwinding is a sacred duty, Miracolina's faith is tested when she is "rescued" against her will. Her journey from zealot to forgiver mirrors Lev's, and her eventual act of forgiveness becomes a pivotal moment of grace in the story. Miracolina embodies the struggle between belief and autonomy, and her development is a testament to the power of compassion.

Trace Neuhauser

A former military boeuf, Trace is both Connor's right hand and a spy for Proactive Citizenry. His loyalty is ambiguous, but ultimately he chooses to side with the Unwinds, sacrificing himself in the Dreamliner crash. Trace's arc is one of divided loyalties and the search for redemption through action.

Hayden Upchurch

Hayden is the Graveyard's communications chief, using humor to mask his fear and pain. When the sanctuary falls, he leads a final, defiant stand, choosing death over unwinding. Hayden's psychological depth lies in his ability to inspire hope even in despair, and his final words become a rallying cry for a new generation.

Roberta

The scientist behind Cam's creation, Roberta is brilliant, ruthless, and convinced of her own righteousness. She embodies the technocratic mindset that justifies any means for a perceived greater good. Her relationship with Cam is both maternal and exploitative, and her manipulation of Risa reveals the moral bankruptcy at the heart of Proactive Citizenry.

Nelson

Once a Juvey-cop, now a parts pirate, Nelson is driven by vengeance and a twisted desire for wholeness—collecting the eyes of his victims. He is a relentless predator, representing the system's dehumanizing logic taken to its extreme. His pursuit of Connor and Lev is both personal and symbolic, a reminder that the machinery of unwinding is powered by individual malice as much as institutional evil.

Plot Devices

Multiple Interwoven Narratives

The novel employs a rotating cast of point-of-view characters, each with their own voice and agenda. This structure allows the reader to see the world of unwinding from every angle: the hunted, the hunter, the zealot, the cynic, the creation, and the destroyer. The fragmentation of narrative mirrors the fragmentation of bodies and identities in the story, reinforcing the central theme of wholeness versus division.

Foreshadowing and Irony

The story is laced with foreshadowing—Starkey's ambition, the fragility of the Graveyard, the dangers of technological hubris. Irony abounds: the resistance is compromised, the sanctuary becomes a trap, and the "miracle" of Cam is a horror. The characters' attempts to control their fates are repeatedly undermined by forces larger than themselves, highlighting the unpredictability of revolution and the cost of survival.

Symbolism of Wholeness and Division

The central metaphor of unwinding—dividing bodies to "save" others—echoes through every plotline. Cam's existence as a composite human literalizes the question of whether a soul can survive division. The Stork Club's rebellion is both a demand for wholeness and an act of further division. The story's structure, with its fragmented chapters and shifting alliances, reinforces the idea that only by confronting division can true wholeness be achieved.

Media Manipulation and Propaganda

The use of public service announcements, news interviews, and viral campaigns is a key plot device. Risa's coerced support for unwinding, Cam's orchestrated debut, and the media's demonization of AWOLs all show how truth is manufactured and weaponized. The battle for hearts and minds is as important as the physical struggle for survival.

The Hidden Hand of Power

Proactive Citizenry, the shadowy organization behind unwinding, manipulates events from behind the scenes. The erasure of Janson Rheinschild's legacy and the revelation of Sonia's true identity expose the deep roots of the system. The characters' quest to uncover the truth becomes a metaphor for reclaiming agency in a world built on lies.

Analysis

UnWholly is a searing exploration of a society that sacrifices its children for the illusion of order and progress. Through its interwoven narratives and psychologically rich characters, the novel interrogates the ethics of utilitarianism, the commodification of bodies, and the dangers of dehumanizing the "other." Shusterman's world is a mirror of our own, where fear and convenience justify atrocity, and where the machinery of oppression is maintained by both institutions and individuals. Yet, amid the horror, the story insists on the possibility of redemption, forgiveness, and change. The fall of the Graveyard is not the end, but the beginning of a new uprising—one that demands not just survival, but wholeness, dignity, and the courage to imagine a better world. UnWholly challenges readers to confront the divisions within themselves and their society, and to believe that even in the darkest times, hope can be rewound.

Last updated: May 7, 2025