The Unwanteds

July 18, 2011
In her foray into middle-grade fiction, McMann (Cryer's Cross) delivers a fun mix of magic and science with a retro SF novel whose setting echoes classic artificial dystopias of the 1960s like Logan's Run and Make Room! Make Room! In the city of Quill, all signs of creativity are shunned, and any children who so much as sing or draw are declared "Unwanted" when they turn 13 and sent off to be killed. When Alex is culled from his family and sent to die, he is surprised to discover that the Unwanteds are actually taken to a hidden city called Artimé, where they are not only trained in the traditional arts, but also in the magic that these arts unlock. McMann juggles a handful of point-of-view characters nicely (focusing largely on Alex), showing their fear and wonder as they learn more about their world. The subplotsâincluding young romance and murderous conspiraciesâare skillfully interwoven, and if some of Quill's harshness borders on caricature (the city makes Sparta seem decadent), it serves the story well. Ages 8â12.

Narrator Simon Jones expertly takes on the world of Quill, in which teenagers are classified as "Wanted" or "Unwanted" and expected to refrain from showing any emotion or creativity. Jones's deliberate pacing builds tension as twin brothers Alex (Unwanted) and Aaron (Wanted) await the yearly "elimination" of the Unwanteds. Jones's characterizations--from the scared, conflicted Alex and the cold, confident Aaron to the various members of this secret magical world--are a big part of the mesmerizing effect of this story. His skilled storytelling ability makes each twist and turn compelling as the brothers find themselves in a battle--in which they must fight each other. E.A.B. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine