Teen Review: The Unwanteds

What if being creative could lead to your execution?

The Unwanteds explores that possibility. The Unwanteds is written by Lisa McMann and is the first book in a series of seven books. The book follows Alex, an Unwanted who was separated from his twin brother, Aaron, who is a Wanted. Every year Unwanteds, 13 year old children who are creative, are sent to the death farm to be purged. However, Mr. Today, known to the people of Quill as the Death farmer doesn't kill the Unwanteds. He instead secretly saves them, and keeps them in Artime, unknown to the cruel leaders of Quill.

In Artime, Alex and his friends Lani and Meghan learn to use magic like invisible painting and spells that can freeze people. In the story, the Unwanteds meet magical creatures, such as statues that come alive. While he is in Artime, Alex keeps thinking about his twin brother Aaron. Will he go find Aaron and jeopardize the safety of everyone in Artime? Or will he stay in Artime for his (and everyone's) safety? You'll have to read the book to find out!

The Unwanteds is an amazing book with an interesting story-line. I enjoyed every second of it. The book moves between the colorful world of Artime and the dull world of Quill. Artime is full of spells and magic statues, while Quill is a place where dreams come to die. In Quill, the punishment for being creative is death. Even those without creativity aren’t completely safe. Once the Wanteds have fulfilled their purpose and are no longer useful, they are killed as well. In Artime, spells are learned and creativity is the greatest spell of all.

Both of the worlds are perfectly crafted. The worlds are described so vividly you feel like you are in them. The book is a fantasy story, but the characters act as real people in real life would. Lisa McMann expertly expresses the fact that this world is dangerous, while also adding aspects of humor. Every character or object in this book has a deep, well-written lore, all adding something to the story. My favorite character, Simber, lives in Artime and is a flying, talking stone cheetah. He is tough and brave. However, he has one weakness: he is terrified of water.

I met Lisa McMann at an event called Tweens Read and have heard her speak about how she came up with the idea for this captivating story. She was inspired to create The Unwanteds from her kids' experiences in school. One day, when they were 12 and 9, they came home and told her that their school was cancelling the arts programs because of budget problems. She said that it was like they were being punished for being creative. Then the idea for Unwanteds was planted.

Noah with Lisa McMann

I would recommend this book for fans of the fantasy genre. If you are looking for a series that has action throughout the course of it and has well written characters then this series is for you.

Noah

Teen Blog Writer