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.

In 1959, John Howard Griffin dyed his skin in an experiment. He decided to see what life would be like as a black man in the racially divide South of the United States. Without changing his name or the details of his life, he travelled around, even meeting people he knew who did not recognize him. He was entirely unsurprised to find that he was treated differently, poorly.

Junior is a 14 year-old teen living on an Indian reserve in Spokane. Life is hard and dysfunctional -- his father is an alcoholic, his sister has run away and he is regularly bullied. When his teacher urges him to find a better life by leaving the reservation, junior decides to enroll in a high performing, wealthy, all-white high school, where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Despite the racism and social stigma, Junior eventually finds himself making friends with both geeky and popular students and starting on the basketball team.
While the narration by Junior is sarcastic and funny -- filled with self depreciating humor, witty comments and cartoons (drawn by Junior), the focus here are issues of prejudice, marginalization, friendship, with very serious events such as suicide, sister dying in a fire, grandma killed by drunk driver.

In Erik's world, everything from resource allocation to conflict resolution is determined and decided by how successful and how skilled you are in the game of Epic.  Everyone participates in this online role-playing game (think World of Warcraft type MMORPG game) so that the society and Central Allocations (CA, the governing body) can enforce the one fundamental rule on this New Earth: absolutely no violence allowed.

Erik, his family and his whole village is not doing well, and many are in danger of being relocated to work in the salt mines. He is frustrated and he is beginning to see the pattern: a family needs something, they go challenge CA in a battle, they lose. No one ever beats CA in the game. They're rich and they can adorn their characters with the most powerful weapons and potions and strengths. Not only that, he is about to graduate but his character keeps dying and he is not gathering enough wealth and resources to move ahead. But worst of all is the fact that his dad refuses to fight and won't tell him why. The only way to catapult to instant success is to find a way to slay the dragon and take his treasure, so Erik spends his time studying the game, and he just might have figured a glitch and a way to defeat the dragon.  Can Erik succeed? And what is CA going to think about all this?

I wasn't 100% sure if I liked the book or not when I was reading it, but it's a pretty well constructed novel. It's got a great conflict, a great diverse cast of characters, both on the good and the "evil" side, and the ending is surprisingly satisfying and provides a genuine resolution, despite the fact that this is book one in a series. No cliffhanger, thank goodness!

I'd like to see the writing tightened up a bit, 'cause it took a bit too long for the catalyst to set off the chain of events that forces Erik and his friends to challenge the Central Allocations, and there are a few things mentioned that could be exploited a bit more (like the Executioner, who is supposed to be this invincible secret weapon of CA, but it doesn't do that much, or that the game itself becomes sentient and aware that it is a game).

The one thing I can't figure out is the vampire.  Yes, there's a vampire, the traditional scary seductive "I'll suck your blood" kind.  I love him as a character and he  became a great villain in the book, and there is this one dramatic scene with him that I felt like I was holding my breath the whole time, but I felt like he took over as a villain and CA kind of faded to the back.

Anyway, it's a good ride. Sequel: Saga and Edda