BEING ALONE
 “From the moment his parents had signed those papers, Connor was alone.” –
Page 10
 “Mr. Durkin does not come. This hurts Risa most of all.” (page 25)
 “He [Levi] often wonders if being chosen always leaves a person so isolated. Or
was there something wrong with him?” pg 32
 “Unwinds exist in the constant shadow of betrayal.” Pg 84
 “This is the true meaning of being alone: Levi Jedediah Calder suddenly realising
he no longer exists.” Pg 90
RELIGION
 “I remember thinking, if a baby was going to be so unloved, why would God want
it brought into the world?” pg 74
 “But I want to be tithed! I need to be.” Pg 79
 “After all of his (Pastor Dan’s) sermons and lectures, after all that talk year after
year about Lev’s holy duty, it’s all been a sham.” Pg 80
 “And the man who convinced him this was a glorious and honourable fate doesn’t
believe it.” Pg 80
 “Would you rather die or be unwound?” ‘Not me,’ says Emby. ‘Because if you die, at
least you go to Heaven.’ “ pg 167
 “Heaven? Thinks Connor. More like they’d go to the other place. Because if they’re
own parents didn’t care about them enough to keep them, who would want them
in Heaven?” pg 167
 “Maybe an Unwind’s spirit stretches out, kind of like a giant balloon between all
those parts of us in other places.” Pg 171
 “Their white silk outfits are so bright in the Arizona sun … like they were
adolescent versions of God himself.” Pg 273
 “That notion of giving the finest of the flock back to God is a tradition as old as
religion itself.” Pg 280
SOCIETY
 “But this isn’t a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is.” – pg 75.
 “With a life so full of rules and regiments, it’s so easy to forget that’s (unwinds
being human) what they are.” Pg 83
 “How can you be raised in a state home and still trust people?” pg 93
 “Connor had known other kids at school who disappeared … one day they just
didn’t turn up. Teachers would say they were ‘gone’ or ‘no longer enrolled.’ “ pg
95
 “Which was worse, Risa often wondered – to have tens of thousands of babies that
no one wanted, or to silently make them go away before they were even born?” pg
115
 “it’s not like racism is gone completely, but as my dads like to say, the veneer of
civilisation got itself a second coat.” Pg 122
 “If there wasn’t unwinding, there’d be fewer surgeons, and more doctors … they’d
go back to trying to cure diseases instead of just replacing stuff with someone
else’s.” pg 169
 “It’s comforting to know there are others in the same situation, but troubling to
think her own life is just one of a thousand pirate copies.” Pg 176
 “Even among Unwinds there’s prejudice and pecking orders.” Pg 200
 On the Heartland War: “On one side, people were murdering abortion doctors to
protect the right to life, while on the other side, people were getting pregnant just
to sell their foetal tissue.” Pg 223
 On the Bill of Life: “It didn’t take long for ethics to be crushed by greed.” Pg 224
ORGAN DONATION
 “Funny, but the Bill of Life was supposed to protect the sanctity of life. Instead it
just made life cheap.” Pg 53
 “…she thinks how wonderful it is that she can get a second chance. How
wonderful that she can dismiss her responsibility so easily.” (pg 55)
 “Once the unwind orders were signed, we all became government property.” – pg
57
 “Better to be broken up on the outside instead. That way their divided spirits
could rest, knowing that their living flesh was spread around the world, saving
lives.” [pg 68)
 “Which means Lev is probably gone. Unwound into nothing – his bones, his flesh,
his mind, shredded and recycled.” Pg 148
 “ ‘If I’m unwound,’ says Haydon, ‘I want my eyes to go to a photographer – one
who shoots supermodels. That’s what I want these eyes to see.’ “ pg 175
 “Of course, if more people had been organ donors, unwinding would never have
happened … but people like to keep what’s theirs, even after they’re dead.” pg224
UNWINDS / UNWINDING
 “Unwinds didn’t go out with a bang – they didn’t even go out with a whimper.
They went out with the silence of a candle flame pinched between two fingers.” Pg
95
 “I want to know how it happens. Does it happen right away, or do they keep you
waiting? Do they treat you kindly, or coldly?” pg 104
 “You unwinds are all the same. You think that because no one love you, then you
can’t love anyone.” Pg 108
 Cyfi “And this kid – he doesn’t even understand he’s a part of me,’ Cy says, ‘It’s like
those ghosts that don’t know they’re dead.” Pg 139
 “Because Unwinds aren’t really dead. They’re still alive … sort of.” Pg 167
 “If every part of you is alive but inside someone else … are you alive or are you
dead?” pg 167
 “If it wasn’t for unwinding, there’d be bald guys again – and wouldn’t that be
horrible?” pg 168
 On the Bill of Life: “We thought it would shock both sides into seeing reason – that
they would stare at each other across the table and someone would blink. But
nobody blinked.” Pg 224
 “Everyone was so happy to end the war, no one cared about the consequences.” Pg
224
 Juvey-Cop to Risa & Connor: “Doesn’t it ever occur to you Unwinds that you might
better off – happier even – in a divided state?’ pg 256
 “By law we’re required to keep you conscious throughout the whole procedure.”
Pg 288
SYMBOLS
The Power of Stories:
 Humphrey Dumphee – symbolises what both adults and children are scared about
the process of unwinding.
 Pg. 45, 105, 106
 “That Humphrey Dumfee thing,’ says Mai. “It’s just a story, right?” [pg 107
 “Why don’t you go ask all the pieces of Humphrey Dumfee how painless it was?”
pg 168
 The Akron AWOL
 The stories among the tithes
Clappers:
 “ ‘I hear they’re anarchists.’ ‘I hear it’s some weird religion.’ ‘I hear they just do it
to do it.’ The threat of clappers is so effective because no one knows what they
really stand for.” – pg 90
 “Lev was terrified of these people, yet felt a kinship with them.” Pg 284
 “They understood the misery of being betrayed by life.” Pg 284
 “They weren’t just messengers, they were the message.” Pg 284