  | Unwanteds (Unwanteds) Author: McMann, Lisa | |
| Price: $24.48 | ||
Summary:
Book 1--In a society that purges creative 13-year-olds, identical twins Aaron and Alex are separated, one to attend University while the other, supposedly Eliminated, finds himself in a place where youths hone their abilities and learn magic.
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| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.70 Points: 11.0 Quiz: 146290 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 6-8 Reading Level: 5.70 Points: 17.0 Quiz: 53765 | |
Common Core Standards
Grade 3 → Reading → RL Literature → 3.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 3 → Reading → RL Literature → 3.RL Craft & Structure
Grade 3 → Reading → RL Literature → 3.RL Integration & Knowledge of Ideas
Grade 3 → Reading → RL Literature → Texts Illustrating the Complexity, Quality, & Rang
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Range of Reading & Level of Text Complexity
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Craft & Structure
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Integration & Knowledge of Ideas
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → Texts Illustrating the Complexity, Quality, & Rang
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → 5.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → 5.RL Integration & Knowledge of Ideas
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → 5.RL Range of Reading & Level of Text Complexity
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → Texts Illustrating the Complexity, Quality, & Rang
Grade 6 → Reading → RL Literature → 6.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 6 → Reading → RL Literature → 6.RL Craft & Structure
Grade 6 → Reading → RL Literature → 6.RL Integration of Knowledge & Ideas
Grade 6 → Reading → RL Literature → 6.RL Range of Reading & Level of Text Complexity
Grade 6 → Reading → CCR College & Career Readiness Anchor Standards fo
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → 5.RL Craft & Structure
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (04/15/11)
School Library Journal (08/01/11)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (10/11)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 08/01/2011 Gr 4–7—A young teen leaves his mundane world for a school where he will learn magic under the direction of a kindly head master. A precocious girl reads extensively and thus discovers spells unknown to her friends. McMann takes these familiar elements and makes them her own through the creation of two realms. In the dystopian land of Quill, 13-year-old Alex is judged by society to be an Unwanted and is sentenced to be cast into the Lake of Burning Oil, which is hidden behind a gate that is unlocked but once a year. He is stunned when the Death Farmer reveals himself to be, in reality, a benign mage and, rather than face a painful death, Alex and the other Unwanteds are welcomed to the magical world of Artimé. There they are instructed in the arts, which are forbidden in Quill, and eventually learn magical skills. Alex can't stop thinking about his twin brother, who is living as a Wanted in Quill. Aaron is rising quickly at Wanted University and becomes a protégé of High Priest Justine. In Artimé, McMann has created a world of magical whimsy full of talking blackboards; intelligent statues; and spells that are sung, painted, and recited. There's never really a sense of menace as the Quillians are more mean-spirited than frightening, and their technology is pitiful. This is a good starter fantasy or dystopia without the darkness in titles for older readers.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI - Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Bulletin for the Center... - 10/01/2011 In this dystopia geared for a younger audience than many, very young children get sorted into two groups: Wanted and Unwanted. The unwanted kids are doomed fairly early on, as even small mistakes or divergences (like artistic interest) tally up quickly against them. Aaron and Alex are unusual in that they are twins, but they are fairly certain going in that they will not end up on the same list. Aaron, indeed, ends up with the bad kids, and he boards a bus that’s ostensibly carrying all of the unwanteds to their deaths. Happily, the children are instead introduced to a hidden world where their creativity, individuality, and resistance to arbitrary rules is celebrated and carefully nurtured. Most kids are happy to never look back, but Aaron longs for his brother, and he worries about some of the other children left behind; he knows that the government of Quill cannot be allowed to keep the citizens in such fear that they would reject their own kids each year. It’s a lot for one small novel, and the glowing descriptions of Artime (the hidden artistic community) occasionally cross into schmaltzy territory, but the genuine tugs between family and individuality, safety and ethics are compelling places on which to ground this novel. Readers will likely be so relieved that the first chapters don’t end with the mass killing of the flawed (and therefore interesting) kids that they will forgive the stark black and white division between the increasingly grim Quill and the always nifty Artime. While this is certainly a departure for McMann, it may hook some new fans who, in a few years, will find her other books worth pursuing. AS - Copyright 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
