"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event courtesy of Breaking the Spine that showcases much anticipated upcoming releases.

from goodreads: 08/28/2012

Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa — and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp — people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simultaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished.

Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself.

Rife with action and suspense, this riveting companion to the perennially popular Unwind challenges assumptions about where life begins and ends—and what it means to live.

If this were just about any other series, I would probably say that it should have stopped at Unwind. That the story was complete and that any further exploration will hamper its genius and impact. This is not any other series, and this is not any other author. If you've read Unwind (and also Bruiser) then you know that Shusterman isn't creating a second book just to do so - it's because there is still a story to tell.

Unwind is one of my very favorite books, and this isn't even a book that I can pre-order online because I need to have it release day. I'm so grateful for this series and the potential it has for far-reaching discussion. Is it August yet?

Note: You can find my review for Unwind here.

Author: Jeri Smith-Ready

Publication Date: 05/01/2012

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 416

Source: Publisher

Life can change in an instant, and no one understands that better than Aura. It’s been almost a year since her boyfriend tragically died. She’s finally letting go of Logan’s violet-hued ghost, but not her search to uncover the truth about her past.

As the first in a generation that can see ghosts, Aura is convinced she has a connection to the Shift. She’s trusted Zachary, ever patient and ever by her side, with all that she knows. But when the government threatens his life in an attempt to learn Aura’s secrets, she will stop at nothing to protect herself and the one she loves...even if that means betraying her own heart.

Please note there will be minor spoilers for Shift (Shade #2).

With Logan now a ghost, Aura can begin to wrap up the mourning process that began almost a year ago - this time for his ghost. Safe in the knowledge that Zach and his family are on a plane home to the UK, Aura is ready for as normal final year of high school as anyone can be when you're able to see ghosts. Then Aura gets a call that changes everything, unwinding a thread that begins explains Aura being the first and Zach being the last over the course of a harrowing adventure.

I'd been looking forward to Shine ever since I finished Shift, although I have to say there was a bit of trepidation coming into this one. There were some things in Shift that really didn't sit well with me, the biggest being the blasé outlook toward physicality. I know the whole point of, for example, things that happened between Logan and Aura exist to display the conflict that she's going through, but the few interchanges between Aura and Dylan just rubbed me the wrong way. I was slightly nervous that this book would carry that on and that, perhaps, Logan would never fade.

Thankfully that wasn't the case with Shine, and to be fair, I enjoyed this installment much more without Logan. In fact, my favorite Logan moment in the series appears at the end, which was a rather nice way to tie everything up. Aura definitely had the opportunity to explore herself more, even if it was in the setting of chasing down information. Aura is an enjoyable MC for me as she has that appealing headstrong quality without being overwhelming, but also the sense to merely observe if the matter calls for it. Not to mention that Smith-Ready has Aura's voice down perfectly; a lot of times it's difficult to get into a character, despite how strong of a character they may be, if the right presentation of words isn't there. It's very easy to fall into Aura's head, which makes the progression of the story much swifter.

My favorite thing, though, about the book, is the world building. I know that this is something I discuss quite often (especially with dystopian novels), but this series is a great example of where the premise of the story (Aura's and Zach's history) wonderfully sets the background without beating the reader over the head with it. We know why Aura lives where they do (Maryland), we know even a bit about her lineage (her Italian grandmother lives in Philadelphia) and there are relevant hints back to this as the story unfolds that is a pleasant connection of information. What brought me to this series is the idea of a Shift in the first place and the way it was so seamlessly integrated into a recognisable present-day society. What kept me was that, with this last book, we know why it happened and what, if anything, can be done about it. A well-done tying up of events with an interspersion of characters that take the story and run with it in a good way.

Shine is my favorite installation of the trilogy, and was truly a wonderful way to finish the series. If you're looking to read a paranormal without instashipping, partnered with a well-researched and well-integrated premise and story then you'll definitely enjoy this series. Thanks again to Simon & Schuster, and I'm looking forward to what else Smith-Ready will create in the future.

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Publication Date: 02/21/2012

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 341

Source: Purchased

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

 Rhine Ellery has escaped from the House Governor's mansion in Florida, and together with Gabriel, is en route to Manhattan to find her twin brother Rowan. Life on the outside is much different from the too-convenient mansion, and Rhine finds herself in the uncomfortable place of occasionally comparing her life within to the everyday struggles of the real world. Vacillating between anger at having been Gathered, being separated from her brother, and at the world for giving her this disease in the first place, Rhine learns that wanting something is important, but in this uncertain world where parents outlive their children, is that enough?

Fever starts almost immediately after the end of Wither, with Rhine and Gabriel on the run. The book begins with an exploratory feel, and I found myself having to reel back a bit after remembering the frenzied events at the end of the previous book. This hesitant tone fits well within Rhine's mindset as she reacclimatises to being on the outside. However, the two aren't alone for long before they find themselves ensnared in another situation of entrapment. I love what Lauren does with words - and what she isn't afraid to do with them - in order to convey Rhine's feelings of being caged and frustrated. (This is done at times to, what I feel, is the detriment of Gabriel - though he is always with Rhine, sometimes I don't get the feeling that he's there at all, a lack of presence.) The pacing of Fever runs parallel to Rhine figuring out her situation and how she's going to deal with it.

The issue for me, again, is that there's not enough information. I still don't know why this is happening, and that lack makes it difficult for me to suspend disbelief as much as I would like. We know there is a disease that affects all newly conceived children, and we know from haunting descriptions (the disappearance of the outer boroughs to the Atlantic is chilling for me as a New Yorker) that the Eastern seaboard and Europe are vastly redefined. These subtle descriptions do much in the way of setting the feeling for Rhine's America, but I still need to know how this disease came about. In order to affect children but not the parental hosts it has to be incredibly specific genetically. I also have difficulty accepting that people would readily embrace this new world instead of fighting and doing everything they can to find a cure.

We're introduced to a handful of new characters in this book, though I almost feel as if the characters were more inherent to the setting. Maddie, a physically handicapped child who does not speak, is perhaps the most telling. In Rhine's society such a child is dubbed 'malformed' and would ordinarily be killed. It continues to highlight what I found strange about Wither; that people would kill children when the existence of these children, even with their shortened lifespans, is all the human race has. Girls who aren't considered beautiful enough are killed by Gatherers and children who don't have ten fingers and ten toes are similarly considered disposable.

The main thing, aside from the lack of why, is that very little happens plot-wise here. I enjoyed the descriptions and the character movement, but I'm unsure as to how the series, with only one book left, will be able to tie everything together in a way that's going to be satisfying as a reader. Fever is a great development upon the first installment in that we get to see what exactly makes Rhine tick, and I'm curious to see how everything will unfold in the final book; curious enough that I'll pick it up when it's released.