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Alex and his brother Aaron live in Quill, an ordered place where each year, those 13-year-olds who are considered to be Unwanteds are sent to the Great Lake of Boiling Oil to die. Aaron is named as a Wanted, but Alex, who committed the offense of drawing, is Unwanted. When he and the other Unwanteds arrive at the lake, they are surprised to find that they will not be killed. Mr. Today, aka the Death Farmer, hides the Unwanteds with magic so they don't have to die. Now Alex is free to learn to us
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First up, my bookgroup kids gave it an unanimous 10 out of 10 - they loved it, and it made a great discussion book. What they really loved was the concept - the magical, artistic world, fighting with origami dragons and paperclips and paint. I'll admit that I read for character and writing style more than I read for plot, and those were the places where the book fell flat. The plot isn't original, but the pace is quick and the story probably feels original to the intended audience. I got tripped
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I read this to preview for my 9 yr old son. It is a cute story, written at the tween level I think. He read it in a few hours and enjoyed it. Had a nice discussion with him from it about several topics. Seems like a nice series for kids to enjoy.
a plot-driven, world-building middle grade dystopian fantasy that booktalks itself. (I'll try to remember to post my booktalk here next time I am at work.)
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The eldest nephew loved this - can't recall who recommended or if I just found it myself.
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Read this on the advice of Noah 10 years, he was right , I loved it.
I found this reminiscent of "The Mysterious Benedict Society" more than Harry Potter or the Hunger Games.
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Mar 01, 2012
Meredith Fickes
added it
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Aug 27, 2010
Lisa
marked it as to-read
Sep 04, 2011
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
marked it as to-read
Oct 23, 2011
Debbie Barr
marked it as to-read
Oct 18, 2013
karen
marked it as soon-to-buy
Jul 15, 2020
Danielle
is currently reading it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
middle-school,
vivian
Sep 27, 2025
Magda
marked it as to-read
