Kate, Michael, and Emma have passed from one orphanage to another in the ten years since their parents disappeared to protect them, but now they learn that they have special powers, a prophesied quest to find a magical book, and a fearsome enemy.
This may be a series I read just to see how the next 2 atlases are found. I liked this book, see the appeal for young readers, it’s got a little magic, a little mystery, a little time travel. It is being called a new Narnia for tweens, and that seems accurate enough, with just a bit of Harry Potter tossed in. I want to discover the identity of the mastermind behind it all.
The Unwanteds is one of this year’s Mark Twain nominees. It is the story of the land of Quill where every year there is a sorting of thirteen year olds. Some become Wanted and go on to positions of power and influence, some become Necessaries who do the manual jobs, and some are Unwanted who are purged and sent to their deaths. In actuality, the Unwanted are taken to a magical land where their talents of creativity and imagination which had doomed them are cultivated and nurtured. But their world can not remain hidden forever. I really liked the ideas of this book but found the premise to be much more promising than the execution. The world building was very spare and the characters not very well developed. A lot of fluff and very little bones.
