The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann J McM

Imagine a world where everything is gray and bleak... the entire world as you know it is surrounded by walls and above you is a barbed wire fence.  Now with how amazing that sounds imagine that you are a 13 year old kid who was caught drawing in the dirt with a stick or humming a song or telling a story to your friends.  What do you think would happen to you?  Why you are classified as Unwanteds and then sent to the Death Farmer to be eliminated of course!

Once the gate is closed behind you and you are inside the Death Farm and you are NOT eliminated... what crazy thoughts are going through your mind?  Being told that you can do whatever you want sounds like a scheme to get you to do something bad again right? WRONG!

Mr. Today is the "Death Farmer" also known as the mage of a magical land called Artime.  He has teachers (human and creatures) to teach the children how to be creative!  How to sing, dance, act, draw, paint and create.  Each child is assigned to a specific teacher that specializes in what that child is most creative in and help them thrive in creating.

Now imagine after learning that singing and drawing are good things that you can also learn how to do magic!  Now you are told that since the land you live in is a secret, you need to be trained and prepared to fight in case the secret land you live in is ever discovered.  This story was an amazing beginning to a series I'm excited to continue reading!