The Quick Review:
Why are there so many haters of this book! The Goodreads and Amazon review have some tough critics on this one. I Loved The Unwanteds. It is a real page turner. Like the cover said it is a mix of Harry Potter and Hunger Games; The Unwanteds is a little less intricate and in-depth as those series. Because of that it fits well in the Juvenile Fiction genre. It is a really fun Dystopian-Magic fantasy that is well suited for 8-12.
The Longer Review:
I think it is great that McMann mixed 2 popular YA sub-genres into one story. A magic dystopian novel is not something you come across often. I think it is very original and executed decently. The magic is performed by using art techniques, rather than the usual wand or staff. A lot of the magic used creates technology, like talking TV’s; a nice twist compared to Hogwarts, which contained no technology what so ever.
McMann took a pure form of child imagination and brought it to life. Reviewers complain that the lack of math and science in the magical realm is unrealistic. Let’s not forget that Harry Potter learned no math or (muggle) science at Hogwarts. As a child, you do not imagine a magical world where you can do math and science, you imagine a world where you can do magic and fly and defeat evil.
The differences between Quill (the dystopian world) and Artime (the magical free realm) are completely black and white. Some readers don’t like this. I enjoyed the concept, not every story needs a grey area or ambiguity. Some young readers (like me when I was young) tire of a large novel like Harry Potter. This novel gives you all the magic and adventure you need for children with shorter attention spans or children who are not avid readers.
My one major critique is that there was not enough back-story to why Quill was so bland and structured. From what the book says it went from a normal country to a fascist, oppressive government in one lifetime. I know this has happened in actual history, but it wasn’t explained enough for the land of Quill. And the story makes it seem like there was no opposition or resistance to the oppression what so ever.
My other minor critiques were the varying levels of character depth and that there was a lot of explaining, rather than action. More on these below.
The Writing:
The story is written in the third person. There is a lot of explanation mingled with conversation. The book was a little heavy on explanation, but it wasn’t too much of a detractor. The story had minimal foreshadowing; most of the time you can figure out what is coming. However, this might be on purpose based on the transparency and honesty of Mr. Today, Artime’s ruler. And a 10 year old wont read into a foreshadowing like an adult reader would.
The Characters:
I thought Alex, the main character, was well developed. His Reponses to the situations he was put in seemed real and appropriate. I thought his progression through Artime was great because it didn’t fit the common mold of a main character. He actually had a stressful and hard time after arriving in the free and magical world of Artime; almost forcing him to wonder about life before Artime.
Alex’s twin brother Aaron could not be more his opposite, and it was hard to see why at times. They both had the same upbringing, but Aaron is portrayed as power hungry and conniving from the start. What was the spark that created this drive in him? I cannot say.
The rest of the cast have varying depths of character. I would not say they were one dimensional, but not fleshed out either. I hope they become more developed in the second and third book.
Conclusion:
Definitely a read for middle school boys and girls. I think McMann wrote it very appropriately for the intended audience. More experienced reader might find The Unwanted too juvenile, I still found the book to be an exciting read.
Zero2Fiction 