The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

390 pages

"QUILL PREVAILS WHEN THE STRONG SURVIVE

Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their graves.

On the day of the Purge, identical twins Alex and Aaron Stowe await their fate. While Aaron is hopeful of becoming a Wanted, Alex knows his chances are slim. He's been caught drawing with a stick in the dirt--and in the stark gray land of Quill, being creative is a death sentence.

But when Alex and the other Unwanteds face the Eliminators, they discover an eccentric magician named Mr. Today and his hidden world that exists to save the condemned children. Artime is a colorful place of talking statues, uncommon creatures, and artistic magic, where creativity is considered a gift...and a weapon." -Back Cover

So, on the front cover of this book there's this statement by Kirkus Reviews: "The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter." Having finished this book, I feel like that review set up some unfair expectations for this book from the very beginning, because when you compare a new series to two of the greatest series of all time, you give that new book some huge, nearly impossible shoes to fill. About halfway through this book I felt like this one wasn't living up to that at all. Artime is the main land in this book as Alex goes there early on. It is an interesting place. Mr. Today is not Dumbledore by any stretch of the imagination, but he has created a unique land, with a mansion that can grow to accommodate the numbers living there, tubes that can take you anywhere within that mansion, magical creatures that guard its gates and its forests, and professors who teach various magical arts classes. Some of those teachers are magical creations of Mr. Today's, like Ms. Octavia who has the mouth of an alligator and the body of an octopus. Simber is a stone cheetah with wings. Most animals in Artime are a combination of two or more animals.

The children arrive there thinking they're going to be killed. To the outsider, all they see is a large iron gate, a small, dark building, and a bubbling lake of oil. Then they walk through a mirage of sorts to see what Artime really is--a safe haven for them where they can develop their creativity and also learn to use it as a weapon. There's a beautiful mansion, lake and forest. Alex's new and old friends quickly graduate to their Magical Warrior Training while Alex continues to be held back and work on art. That delay causes Alex to withdraw from his friends and spend as much time alone as possible working on his pictures, trying to impress Ms. Octavia enough to let him start his training. Alex's magical training is delayed due to concerns over his connection with his twin Aaron and the fact that he sneaks into Mr. Today's office to watch Aaron on the blackboards that show the viewer live feeds of Quill.

I liked that magical weapons are developed according to creative ability. Those with theater strengths learn soliloquies and poems that can freeze or otherwise harm their enemies. Those with art skills make stuff like paper dragons that can attack an enemy and use paint brushes for blinding and invisibility spells. Eventually after Alex starts his training he learns to create 3-dimensional doors that take him to other places and he visits his brother. Mr. Today watches Alex as he works to visit and warn his brother but despite the advice of the teachers refuses to intervene because he doesn't want to take away free will. He refuses to punish someone for something he thinks they will do but hasn't actually done yet. The residents of Artime know that eventually their secret will be discovered and they will be forced to fight Quill, but Mr. Today refuses to make the first move. Instead, he has the residents of Artime train and prepare themselves for war.

What I didn't like is that Quill is supposed to be the Hunger Games part of the story. Justine is evil but you don't really get to see what makes her that way or what she does to maintain her power. The reader doesn't get to spend enough time in Quill or with the characters there to really abhor it. The Unwanteds families immediately forget them and life goes on as normal. I would have liked to have had more time in the beginning of the story where Alex helps the reader know just how bad things are there especially considering this is a series.

This is a good middle grade book. Once the battle started there were some interesting plot points revealed that helped the story pick up a little more suspense and interest for me as an adult. I'll read the next book. The third doesn't come out until this fall. I really think I would have liked it more, however, if it hadn't had that pressure put on it of living up to the other two series. On the other hand, it's also sort of what made me want to read it in the first place.





{SPOILER ALERT}
Just so I remember for the next book...
Mr. Today and Justine are twins. Mr. Today supported Justine's plan in the beginning until he realized what was really happening and then he spent the next 30 years secretly working against her. Justine knew magic which she kept secret. It was Lani's spell that killed her but only she and maybe her father know that it was her because she was invisible when she cast it. Lani's dad, General Haluki, second in command to Justine, was actually working with Mr. Today for all those years because they were friends. He let Mr. Today cast a wolf spell on him so he's the huge wolf that Alex sees in the forest. He traveled back and forth between Quill and Artime.

Samheed and Will Blair are bitter about being Unwanteds in the beginning. Will knows that it was Aaron that reported him and got him sent to Artime. He spends the whole book plotting revenge against Aaron and he and Samheed study Alex to learn everything they can about him. Towards the end of the book Will, an acting talent, transforms himself into Alex and sneaks into Quill. The Quillitary bring his body back at the start of the war. He has obviously failed in his attempt to kill Aaron. Samheed was also reported by Aaron but he realizes he's made a mistake consorting with Will and helps Artime win the war. His father is also a general and they have a confrontation on the battlefield where Samheed realizes that his father is willing to kill him and almost does until a teacher throws an enchanted spear from a tree.

After Alex visits Aaron in his dormitory room, Alex realizes just how committed Aaron is to Justine and to Quill. Alex can't convince him to come to Artime where he'll be safe from Will's attempt to kill him. Aaron follows Alex back through the 3-D door and he, Alex and Mr. Today have a conversation in Mr. Today's office. Mr. Today and Alex fear that he will expose them. Aaron has had a few brilliant ideas that have promoted him to Justine's Assistant Secretary. While trying to solve the problem of Quill's rundown vehicles, he thinks about the lake of bubbling oil and suggests its use to Justine but wants to visit it first so he, Justine, and a few generals head out. Because Justine has always given 6-month's notice before making a visit, Mr. Today is unaware of her arrival and is talking to all of Artime out on the lawn when they open the gate. He doesn't have time to hide Artime with magic so their secret is revealed but it makes Aaron look complicit because Mr. Today acknowledges him by name. That ruins his position with Justine and makes Aaron willing to do anything to get back in her good graces.

Mr. Today, Alex and Simber leave the battle to use the secret passage to Justine's palace and seal it off so she has nowhere to escape to. Aaron is there and throws a killing spell at Alex that would have killed him if not for his enchanted vest that all of Artime's residents are wearing. Simber takes both of them back to Artime but drops Aaron in the ocean. It's revealed about halfway through that Quill is actually an island, surrounded by other islands inhabited by good people. Quill has walled itself off from all outsiders. Aaron makes it back to short and then puts on a vest and pretends to be Alex since they are identical twins. He's determined to kill Mr. Today. Ms. Octavia senses something is off as she talks to him as Alex but it's not until Samheed realizes that he's holding his throwing star in the wrong hand that they figure out he's Aaron instead of Alex. They stop him in time.

The book ends with the wall being torn down between Quill and Artime with people free to come and go but knowing that most won't. General Haluki is now in charge of Quill but Alex doubts that will last after Aaron is freed and returns to Quill, bitter and angry. The Purge still continues because that's what the people want (?)  but Artime always has room for every Unwanted. You know that there will be other showdowns between Alex and Aaron in the future.

Human.4 by Mike A. Lancaster

231 pages

"ALERT: Humanity has been upgraded. You are now obsolete.

Kyle Straker volunteered to be hypnotized at the annual community talent show, expecting the same old lame amateur acts. But when he wakes up, his world will never be the same. Televisions and computers no longer work, but a strange language streams across their screens. Everyone's behaving oddly. It's as if Kyle doesn't exist.

Is this nightmare a result of the hypnosis? Will Kyle wake up with a snap of fingers to roars of laughter? Or is this something much more sinister? Narrated on a set of found cassette tapes at an unspecified point in the future, Human.4 is an absolutely chilling look at technology gone too far." -Dust Jacket

This was a really entertaining read. I was honestly sort of surprised by how much I liked it. I think the thing that I liked the most about it was how it was told. Being a "transcript" of cassette tapes was a really interesting way to tell Kyle's story, especially considering who the editor is and why he says he put Kyle's cassette tapes in book form. After a few pages in, it seemed like this story probably takes place in England. There are some references and words that most Americans don't use, yet there are also several references to American TV, so sometimes it's also ambiguous. The editor's commentary is fun and it was a great addition to have him reference research papers and books written about the Straker tapes.

There is a sequel to this book but it is also a great stand-alone book. There is no big cliffhanger at the end and the story could easily end there, letting the reader imagine what happens next.

An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo

199 pages

"Lizzie and Karl’s mother is a zoo keeper; the family has become attached to an orphaned elephant named Marlene, who will be destroyed as a precautionary measure so she and the other animals don’t run wild should the zoo be hit by bombs. The family persuades the zoo director to let Marlene stay in their garden instead. When the city is bombed, the family flees with thousands of others, but how can they walk the same route when they have an elephant in tow, and keep themselves safe? Along the way, they meet Peter, a Canadian navigator who risks his own capture to save the family. 

As Michael Morpurgo writes in an author’s note, An Elephant in the Garden is inspired by historical truths, and by his admiration for elephants, 'the noblest and wisest and most sensitive of all creatures.' Here is a story that brings together an unlikely group of survivors whose faith in kindness and love proves the best weapon of all." -Amazon

This is a fast, sweet story. It is inspired by a true story of a zookeeper in Belfast who kept an elephant in her backyard to save it after the zoo ordered all large animals shot in the event of a bombing. Another part of the story was inspired by the widow of one of the men who tried to assassinate Hitler. The author changed the story to take place in Dresden, Germany. The family is helped by a Countess who is the widow. It is told from Elizabeth's perspective (the daughter of the zookeeper) as an old woman living in a nursing home. She recounts the events of that time to a nurse and her son who looks a lot like Elizabeth's younger brother did at that age and who has the same name. Karl believes Elizabeth's story from the beginning but his mom takes some convincing. 

Elizabeth, her mom, her brother, a Canadian RAF pilot and the elephant walk hundreds of miles west of Dresden after it is bombed. The relationship with the elephant, who has experienced the loss of her mother, is a special one for all of them. In a way, it's the elephant that keeps them going as they travel at night and rest during the day. The story reads so fast that I felt like it was a little hard to really care about the characters because you didn't have enough time to get to know them, but I liked how the story ended and what the author had to say about elephants and people:

"There is a third inspiration for the story though: elephants themselves. I have always thought they are the noblest and wisest and most sensitive of all creatures. I think in my next life, I would like to be an elephant, please. Then I could write about people, who, as you can tell from this story, and from human history, are often not nearly as noble and wise as they should be, sadly." 

Beyonders: Chasing the Prophecy by Brandon Mull

504 pages

"When Jason and Rachel first arrived in Lyrian, all they wanted was to find their way home. Now they know that the roles they must play are essential to the final effort in the crusade against the evil emperor, Maldor--though the cost could be their lives.

In her final prophecy the Oracle of Mianamon saw many possible futures for the people of Lyrian. But among all of those futures, she glimpsed only one unlikely course that might allow Jason, Rachel, and the heroes at their sides to defeat Maldor and restore peace to Lyrian. Her vision calls for Jason's and Rachel's paths to diverge as they embark on their most perilous adventures yet. Will their journeys lead them home at last, or somewhere neither could have ever imagined?" -Dust Jacket

This is among the best books of good versus evil in my opinion. I'm so glad that I re-read the first two books right before reading this one. It would not have been the same otherwise. There are so many characters that I would have forgotten the little details about each one and spent a portion of the book trying to remember them instead of enjoying them.

I love that Brandon Mull wasn't afraid to sacrifice characters that you really love and care about. This book left me emotionally exhausted but totally satisfied. It's gut wrenching but realistic of an epic battle. The Oracle warned that victory would require great sacrifice. I was sobbing at the end and parts along the way. I love when a story does that to me. These are characters that you've loved for over 1,500 pages plus a few years as I've waited for the sequels. These are characters who are forced to make difficult decisions and who do so selflessly for the greater good and for their friends. Overall this is a story of friendship. I love that the Oracle's prophecy is just specific enough to give them an idea as to what they need to do, but vague enough that it requires faith to act. Galloran and Ferrin both have wonderful conversations with Rachel when she doubts the authenticity of the prophecy. Jason and Rachel are teenagers from another world, yet their courage and commitment inspire other heroes and together they accomplish the nearly impossible. Everyone has a part to play and I loved how everything came together.

{MILD SPOILERS}
Rachel winds up being a gifted Edomic, possibly the best in years, and she experiences the lure and exhilaration of her power. That gift makes the end of the story bitter sweet yet also leaves you feeling like it really couldn't have been any other way. That kind of power can often corrupt the wielder.  

I love that Galloran is the type of man that good men and women love and are loyal to. I have so many favorite characters in this book. Ferrin is right up near the top. He is torn throughout the whole series between who he was created to be--a servant/spy of Maldor--and who he wants to be--a true friend. I love his development throughout the story and his ultimate decision even though those close to him still doubt his intentions. When he's arrested after all he's done you want to shout at the Amar Kabal but you also understand exactly why they're doing what they do. I think his decisions more than any others held the most power to forever change the course of events. Drake, Jasher, Tark and Nedwin are also amazing. They are reminiscent of great literary characters like Aragorn and Faramir of Lord of the Rings, good men who do brave and valiant things for those they love. This book is full of non-stop action. Brandon Mull has done a great job visually creating the world of Lyrian and its beauty and dangers. The Maumet and Groddic chapters were awesome battles as were the duels with the torivors. Mull does a great job tying everything together. There are a few unexpected twists in this book which are like icing on an already delicious cake. Just don't forget your box of tissues.