The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann: Review by Ahana Sil

 Book Review by Ahana Sil

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

A thrilling fantasy tale beginning in the desolate land known as Quill. In a place where creativity and artistic ability is looked down upon, those showing any signs of exhibiting these traits are deemed “Unwanteds” and are executed during the state’s annual purge, which consists of a brief ceremony in which all of the state’s 13-year-olds are gathered and sorted into categories: the Wanteds, the Necessarys, and the Unwanteds, based on each child’s prior behavior. Alexander Stowe already knows his fate even before hearing his name announced by the High Priest, and can do nothing except watch as his twin brother Aaron is claimed as a Wanted, blank expressions on all parties involved. None of the Unwanteds are allowed to speak on the bus ride to the Great Lake of Boiling Oil where they will all be submerged and killed, and they all sit quietly, resigned to their fates. But imagine their surprise when just before the culling is supposed to take place and the Eliminators are to force them into the lake, a giant winged tortoise appears and the children are transported into the magical and artistic land of Artimé, where a man named Marcus Today informs them that this is the place where all Unwanteds have gone before, and he will help each and every child train their magic and achieve incredible things. The premise is exciting and I very much did enjoy reading it, but some parts later on fell flat and didn’t quite live up to their potential. If you’re just in it for the action, you would have a great time reading this book. It’s a good book and the plot is interesting, but I ended up slightly disappointed. I really enjoyed seeing the conflicting relationship between the twins, but a lot of the other characters didn’t shine as much as they could have. I liked the idea of two opposing realms, but the worldbuilding could have been fleshed out more. I also wished they described and explained some of the magical elements a bit more, as it was cool to read, but also slightly confusing. In the end, I enjoyed the book a lot, but there were many flaws that can cause it to fall apart.