Lisa McMann, author of the popular teen series The Wake Trilogy, moved into the kidlit world with her Unwanteds series. The first book, which came out in August 2011, introduced us to a town called Quill where creativity is forbidden and anyone showing signs of it will be named an "unwanted" and sent to die at the Death Farm. Alex, one of the Unwanteds, thought he's going to die at the age of 13, unlike his twin brother Aaron, who is going to attend a prestigious university to be trained to be a government official. Instead, Alex discovered the secret world of Artime, right next door to Quill but cloaked by magic, where residents embrace their creative powers, train them up and transform them into combat skills. At the end of the first book, with the archvillain defeated and the Quill government overthrown, there's no need to hide Artime anymore.

The second book begins with Alex struggling with his new responsibilities and believing in himself, being singled out as a possible successor to his mentor Marcus, the creator of Artime. Meanwhile, his twin Aaron, who has lost all power because of the co-existence of Quill and Artime, is plotting his revenge against his brother and all of Artime by inciting all the disgruntled Quill residents.  And in the midst of the brewing conflict are a boy and a girl, who came to Artime unconscious on a sinking raft, each of them wearing "a thick band made of metal thorns that weave(s) in and out of the skin around their necks". Where did these mysterious visitors come from?

Even though the promo quote on the cover says this book is "Hunger Games meets Harry Potter", the magical part is more prevalent throughout the two books. Awesome covers and generous spacing between lines will appeal to readers who like fantasy but don't want to feel overwhelmed, and once the story is set into motion, it is non-stop action and chaos and you can't read fast enough to find out what is going to happen next and who can be trusted. It does take some time for things to get started, but I think the characters are likable enough that you wouldn't mind getting to know them a bit more. Eagerly waiting for the third book.

It's weird how some books look like issues books, but either hide it really well or aren't issues at all.  Trash is a good example, because while it is set in the landfills of an unnamed Asian nation (probably the Philippines based on various clues in the novel) and features large populations of homeless people living in those dumps, it's pretty much a straight adventure-mystery.  I expected a lot more commentary on the plight of the people, but while you do get the sense that life sucks for thee people, it's not what the story is about.

Chaos Walking Series Book One

What if people can hear what you are thinking right now?  That you can be saying something and they can just look at you and know if you're telling the truth or not? That's the kind of world Todd Hewitt lives in. Noise, they called it. Everyone's thoughts are broadcasted to everyone else constantly. When the settlers first arrived on the planet, they fought a war with the natives, who released a germ that killed all the women and made the men hear each other's thoughts.  Animals talk too, but as Todd pointed out, there's a reason why they shouldn't. His dog Manchee seemed to only have a few things to say: "poo, Todd, poo", "squirrel", "run". That's pretty much it.
A month before he turned 13 and could finally become a man like everyone else in his town, Todd was taking Manchee for a walk and he heard a silence. A silence, like a hole, in all the noise. Excited, Todd tried to walk back home as calm as he could as if nothing had happened, but as you can imagine, there is no such thing as a secret in Prentisstown. As he walked past the church, he could hear Aaron the preacher asking for him in the Noise. Todd ran back home, and the minute his guardians Ben and Cecil saw him, they knew it's time for Todd to leave the town. They produced a bag that was packed long ago and told him to go. Run now, Todd, and don't come back!
A heart-wrenching read. A don't-talk-to-me-I'm-reading read.  Ness' writing is impeccable for the story. Nothing flowery, just raw emotions. All the characters are as good as you can get, and Booklist called Manchee "the finest talking-dog characters anywhere". It's also one of the best fugitive stories I've read. So good, you've got to read this.
And now I'm scared. I'm scared to read the sequels. What if it ruins it like other sequels do so often?
p.s. Came across Frank Cottrell Boyce's (author of Millions and Cosmic) review of this book in the Guardian. I like his comments about the young adult genre.