Hello friends! Happy Wednesday! I hope you’re all having a good week! Today I’m going to be posting my reviews of Lisa McMann’s The Unwanteds series.

The Unwanteds by: Lisa McMann: In Quill, every year thirteen-year-olds get sorted into two groups, the Wanteds and the Unwanteds. Twins, Alex and Aaron find themselves among the group, but Alex isn’t so sure he’ll be part of the Wanteds. Instead, he finds himself with a magician named Mr. Today who has created a world to save the children who have become condemned as Unwanteds. This was definitely a fast-paced novel full of magic worlds and the true meaning of inclusion. McMann has created this little world that readers find themselves quite transfixed with and enjoying. The world building was a good introduction to a world that is full of so much potential. It’s with the addition of other novels to this series that the reader hopes McMann will dig deeper and expand on it even more. The plot was well thought out, and well put together. The overall story was beautifully told and it had a lot of teachable moments, and lots to take away from it, especially for a middle grade novel. The characters were fun and enjoyable to read about; they may not all be relatable, but they were still good, rounded characters who have lots of room for growth. This was a fun beginning to what seems is going to be an exciting series.

Island of Silence by: Lisa McMann: The two worlds are merging, the Unwanteds in Artimé, and the Wanteds in Quill and things couldn’t be more tense. The two have a lot of resentment and unfinished business between them and things are only beginning to heat up. Alex is faced with a challenge like no other, whereas his twin, Aaron, has set out to create this plan to gain power. This novel sure packs a punch with all the action, and it’s non-stop throughout that leaves the reader turning the pages. The worlds are definitely opening up in this novel. In the first novel we got a taste of Artimé, but in this novel we get both Artimé and Quill and we get to see the two different sides. Not only did this lead to some rather interesting plots, but it gave us different character dynamics. In the first we learned that Alex became an Unwanted sentenced to Artimé, his twin Aaron a Wanted living in Quill, but in this novel the worlds come together to see these characters in a new light and it’s written well. The characters are deeper and we get to see more sides of them. The fact that the chapters alternated points of view kept things moving and left plots really intriguing. What McMann had in store for her readers was intense, and quite frankly, not quite ready for, but that left it open for the next book and all the possibilities that can unfold. This installment only left the reader with uncertainty as to where things are headed, and the reader looks forward to the next book to find out more about the Unwanteds.

Island of Fire by: Lisa McMann: Alex Stowe is now the ring leader of Artimé. The Unwanteds are out of food and water and are slowly losing hope; it’s up to Alex to fix all these problems and to restore Atrimé to the way it was. On the flip side his twin, Aaron, is still building his army on Quill to end the Unwanteds, but it looks like there could be some complications. This novel really finds characters and plots getting ready and preparing for bigger things. It was great to see characters evolve a bit, but the overall plot arch didn’t move along much. The writing was fast-paced and easy to read, which made it a pleasurable read. The things the reader did learn are going to help move the plot forward, in the next book. The way the characters interacted with one another in this novel was fun to read; McMann did a great job of capturing young teens and the things they find important. The ending of this novel leaves the reader re-invested in the series and wants to know where these conflicts are heading and what this ultimate battle is going to entail.

Island of Legends by: Lisa McMann: Artimé is under attack and Alex must prove that he is capable of being assigned the leadership role, while his twin brother Aaron is nowhere to be found. Not caring to help his brother, he’s set out to the jungle in hopes to get the power he so desperately thinks he deserves. The fourth installment in McMann’s the Untwanteds series takes the reader through many new adventures. This continues right where the previous one left off; they’re still in the middle of a battle that is going to expand through the entirety of the series. This novel didn’t feel like it moved a lot of the overall series arc, but it was still entertaining to read and there were a few subplots that progressed the story for the next book. In this novel, the plot was written well with lots of action, the main characters were always on the move trying to fight or protect and this left it really easy for the reader to dive right in and be immersed in the world. There were new characters introduced and they really helped move the story along. They were created very well and the reader can tell that McMann put a lot of thought and time into them and giving them lots of background. It really helped develop them and fit them into the story. This ended on a bit of a calm note but there is definitely more to come, and the reader can’t wait to find out.

Island of Shipwrecks by: Lisa McMann: Alex is out at sea when things take a turn for the worst and the ship he’s on starts to fall apart leaving him to wonder if he’ll make it back to Artimé. On the flip side, Aaron is making alliances with unlikely people all to gain more power to overthrow Artimé, but could his power be too much and start to destroy more than he expected? This novel has to have been the best in the series yet. It was fast-paced, it held the reader’s attention and left them wondering what was going to happen as plots thickened, back-stabbing and betrayal occurred. It’s unfortunate it took five books in for the plot to be really worth it. McMann really livened up the series by giving characters these backstories that really played out and gave the reader a chance to see what their motives were. The reader has gotten attached to these characters so the way this novel ended really shocked and left us unprepared for what was about to go down. It’s understood that plots need to progress and characters have to be stronger because of it, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t sad and really tugged on the heartstrings a bit. All these new conflicts really spiced up the story and gave it a breath of fresh air. Now with only two novels left the reader is at the edge of their seat trying to figure out who is going to win this battle.

Island of Graves by: Lisa McMann: Everything that Aaron had built up on Quill has been destroyed; his life almost came to an end, now he has to beg for food and shelter to stay alive, while Alex on the other hand knows something has happened to his twin, goes off in search for him. The two have bigger problems now as the new ruler of Quill has set to destroy everything. This novel goes through a lot. The plot is all over the place, yet it works. At first the reader is confused as to what is happening, the reader feels suspicious about character motives, but as the story plays out everything starts to make sense and it’s fun and exciting to see the story take this turn of events. The characters are all changing and evolving and it’s really fascinating to watch. The way this novel ended, at first, felt really sad and made the reader mad because after how the last novel ended, this was going to end the same way, but the major plot twist really surprised the reader. This novel really started to close off plots and the reader can feel the series coming to an end. McMann did a good job of creating the plot so that the last novel should, from the looks of things, go off with a bang. As for this novel, this was good installment that took the reader to new places and was an overall, entertaining read.

Island of Dragons by: Lisa McMann: The end is near, but first Alex must get his new friends together to explore new lands and to fight off their enemies who have been secretly plotting against them. They must fight to save Artimé one last time. This was one last adventure and it was a good one. The combination of thrilling writing, with a stellar plot, and some fun characters really set this novel off on the right foot and kept it going until the very end. Seeing the characters come together, after all they’ve been through, was truly an experience, even when there was still some deceiving, it was all crafted in a way that was done for the greater good. The plots took the reader to new places one last time, and left them feeling satisfied when it was all said and done. This novel wrapped everything up nicely, although the reader could tell that there was set up for potentially new adventures in the future with newer characters, but it was done subtly enough that it didn’t feel forced, or make the reader feel obligated to continue reading. This whole series was definitely a magical experience, the way McMann set everything up from the first novel and kept the steady pace throughout was really enjoyable. This was definitely a great adventure to read at any age, well worth the read.