Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the chance to review the ARC. I received the copy for free and was not paid to review the book. (This review was written by Marianne Su, a writer and reader who loves a good dystopian story.)

When you find a middle grade book that can entertain, it’s great. When that book also has a message to share, it’s even better. The Unwanteds by bestselling author Lisa McMann does both.

Alex is an Unwanted in a cruel dystopian world that demands a total lack of emotion, imagination and the practice of the arts. Anyone who doesn’t fit in is sent to their death as part of an annual purging. Everything changes for thirteen year old Alex when he discovers on the day of the purge from Quill that it is not the death sentence he feared. Instead, it is just the beginning. Alex and the other Unwanteds are surprised when they are taken to Artimé, a hidden place that was created to secretly save the Unwanteds. In Artimé they are free to study drawing, painting, drama, music…and magic.