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surlyseahag 's review for:
The Unwanteds
by Lisa McMann
Welcome to the world of The Unwanteds! A futuristic world created by author Lisa McMann in which all 13-year-olds are separated into three groups – the Wanteds, the Necessaries, and the Unwanteds. The Wanteds are the most brilliant and desirable of the bunch, so they are taken to a university where they can grow into leaders and continue to shine. The Necessaries are just that, necessary. They are the lowly individuals who do the farming. They aren’t good enough to be anything more than laborers. Then finally there are the Unwanteds – they are the failures of the community, the useless individuals who have no place amongst society. Once a 13-year-old is deemed an Unwanted at the Quill ceremony they are immediately shackled and shipped off to be executed. All Unwanteds are killed. Or so it’s believed.
The Good:
- We see male and female leaders, male and female scholars, and male and female warriors. The girls aren’t placed in stereotypical gender roles and neither are the boys. And even though a boy is our protagonist, it was a girl who stopped the villain and saved the day. The Unwanteds is wonderfully free of gender stereotypes. There wasn’t an ounce sexism or traditional gender roles.
- A fun and interesting story with great characters. I really loved the idea behind this book. They story as a whole has loads of potential.
The Bad:
- The story isn't Harry Potter nor is it The Hunger Games as the title claims. It is a great story though. But not as rich as those two. I feel like The Unwanteds could have been executed a little better. It was very simplistic and just... lacking. It could have been more innovative. I mean, the lake of boiling oil is named The Lake of Boiling Oil. Blah.
- Too many point of views. The story is told from the POV of at least 10 different characters. I hate when authors do this. Sure we get to see everyone's side of things, but it makes the story slow and choppy.
- The "romance." Sorry, but a so-called romance between a 12-year-old and 13-year-old is just silly and unnecessary.
All in all, I did enjoy this book as a whole. It's an excellent read for kiddos, it's not a "boy" book or a "girl" book. Here’s hoping more authors write books free of gender roles.
The Good:
- We see male and female leaders, male and female scholars, and male and female warriors. The girls aren’t placed in stereotypical gender roles and neither are the boys. And even though a boy is our protagonist, it was a girl who stopped the villain and saved the day. The Unwanteds is wonderfully free of gender stereotypes. There wasn’t an ounce sexism or traditional gender roles.
- A fun and interesting story with great characters. I really loved the idea behind this book. They story as a whole has loads of potential.
The Bad:
- The story isn't Harry Potter nor is it The Hunger Games as the title claims. It is a great story though. But not as rich as those two. I feel like The Unwanteds could have been executed a little better. It was very simplistic and just... lacking. It could have been more innovative. I mean, the lake of boiling oil is named The Lake of Boiling Oil. Blah.
- Too many point of views. The story is told from the POV of at least 10 different characters. I hate when authors do this. Sure we get to see everyone's side of things, but it makes the story slow and choppy.
- The "romance." Sorry, but a so-called romance between a 12-year-old and 13-year-old is just silly and unnecessary.
All in all, I did enjoy this book as a whole. It's an excellent read for kiddos, it's not a "boy" book or a "girl" book. Here’s hoping more authors write books free of gender roles.