The Unwanteds

Title: The Unwanteds
Author: Lisa McMann
Level: 8-12
Location: J McMann L.

The Kirkus Reviews blurb on the cover of The Unwanteds is,” The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter.” I would say it’s mostly Harry Potter as the leader of the country creates a dystopian world, but outside of their country the rest of the world is still functioning the same as always. In Quill thirteen year olds attend the annual Purge where the high priest Justine classifies them as wanteds, who attend university, necessaries who become the laborers, or unwanteds, who are shackled and put on a waiting bus for the ride to their deaths. The unwanteds are shocked when upon reaching the Death Farm and being turned over to the eliminators the entire area changes. They are welcomed to Artime by Mr. Today, an amazing wizard, who tells them they were unwanted because they are creative and imaginative which someone reported to the government when they displayed it. The government finds creative thinkers to be a weakness. In Artime the unwanteds have a chance to nurture and develop their creative skills as they also learn to fight with magic. They all know if they are ever discovered Quill will do it’s best to kill them so they can never contact their families. But what if you had a twin who made it through the Purge and was still in Quill? What would you do?

I thought The Unwanteds was a thoroughly imaginative story with characters that grew as the story progressed. I couldn’t help but feel for the teens as they tried to get past the betrayals that brought them to Artime and those that occur later. The family relationships will make you wince and silently cheer. Mr. Today was superb. He is the kind of teacher and leader we would all like to have in our lives. The magic is amazing.

Bottom Line: The Unwanteds has more magic than you can wave a wand at. You may wish you could perform some of the fantastic imaginative spells. Mr. Today is perfect as the wizard who gently leads the thirteen year olds on their journey of learning their creative crafts and reconciling their feelings for the families who let them go so easily. Join the world of Artime with the teens who thought they were going to their death and instead found a creative paradise. The Unwanteds will keep you enchanted.

Bag of Bones

Title: Bag Of Bones
Author: Vivian French
Level: J
Location: J French

Bag of Bones is the second book in the Tales from the Five Kingdoms series and it's another good story. I felt readers would need to read the first book Robe of Skulls to really know what is going on in this one since there really isn't any explanation for why things are the way they are or background on the characters. Something is brewing in this story. Deep magic isn't practiced in the Five Kingdoms, but a witch gets in that does try to practice deep magic. I say try because her spells don't always work the way she wants. Of course, this can only be trouble as the crones' loom begins to stain. There is a ball planned where Queen Bluebell is to announce her successor. The only problem is her only child ran away years ago.

Gracie,Gubble,Prince Marcus, Marlon and his nephew Alf are all part of the action again. I do wish Marlon had more lines. He was so funny in the first book, but has a smaller part in this second one. There are a few new characters which include an orphan named Loobly and some rats. Some of the rats are kind of funny. Once again it is very clear who the good and bad characters are. The deep magic witch will have you routing for the good guys even more than Lady Lamora did.

Bottom Line: Bag of Bones , the second of the Tales from the Five Kingdoms series,is another good read with likable characters you'll cheer for and characters you'll love to despise. It's humorous and has a twist on a classic fairy tale with a prince who would never fit into the Disney realm. I recommend it to both boys and girls. Even children who aren't reading chapter books yet can enjoy this story if it's read aloud.