Island of Silence (The Unwanteds)

This review has spoilers! If you don't want to know please do not continue reading past this point. This series so far has a lot of lessons for young ones to learn. I decided to use this book series as a part of my homeschool curriculum. As we delved into the second book we were excited with the magical aspects of the book. The way the children create the magical spells and how they were used was very creative and different from what we've seen in other places. The battle of good vs evil and brother against brother kept us intrigued. There were deeper themes that ran through the book that as a mother and educator I could appreciate. Not all things in this world are good and or easy. How you choose to handle those challenges ultimately builds your character which is clearly shown in these books as you follow along with Alex, Meghan, Lani, Samheed and Aaron. The good versus evil battle not only found between the two cities but the brother against brother is particularly interesting and heart breaking. The ending was extremely sad with the loss of their leader, but, this gives the kids something else to learn. Another obstacle to endure and overcome. Ultimately, you are left feeling hopeful that they will figure things out and rebuild their community. We will be reading the next installment. I've already purchased the books. I will say even though this book is a middle grade book, it had my full attention. I was hooked and wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. I would definitely recommend this book to you or your children. Happy reading!

Book 2 was even better than the first! However, get your box of tissues ready! The characters in this series are fantastic. You love them or hate them or both because McMann constantly keeps throwing twists at you. I don't want to giveaway much but this book definitely got me hooked even more than the first. Be prepared to go on an emotional rollercoaster. Though even during the worst moments, you can't put the book down. I have a feeling there will be lots more tears shed and just as many shouts of joy, anger, or triumph! My only complaint and dislike so far of the book was Gondoleery being mean to the stray dog.

This book was so good. I love how she took her son and made him Alex and took her daughter and made her Lani.

I am an avid reader, and must admit that I find it very easy to loose my myself in many "Young Reader/Teen Reader" books. I read the description of the first book in this series, and I took a chance and ordered it, along with the next 2 books. I finished the first book in a couple of days, and although I did find some parts a bit slow (I must come clean...I am 40 plus years old, so perhaps it isn't all that surprising that I find many books that are written for a target reading audience 25 to 30 years younger than me to be somewhat slow in sections !), I was surprised at how much I liked the book. I started reading this book, and I had just finished reading page 118 when I discovered a major screw up - the next page was actually page 263 ! I thought that perhaps there was just a printing error on that particular page, but after flipping through page by page, I found that pages 263 thru 294 appear two times in the copy of the book that I bought ! Pages 119 through 150 are completely missing, and in their place are pages 263 thru 294. My book then continues with pages 151 thru 406. I haven't finished reading this book yet, but I have to say that I am a bit ticked off that this gross error occurred, and I'm sure that I am the only person who has purchased a book with this problem. Having said this, I will say that I am finding this book to be an easy read, and it allows me to temporarily leave behind my day to day problems and escape into the world of "The Unwanteds". I will probably finish this book in the next couple of days, and will then continue on with book #3 in this series. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the third book doesn't have the same kind of "printing" problem that my copy of the 2nd book had.

I’m reading this with my elementary school age son and we are both loving this series. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, and we’ve been entertained! We are actually on book 3 now and plan to read them all!

After meeting the author I bought the first book for my son (14 yr old fantasy reader). He couldn't read it fast enough and the second book is just as good. I am sure he will be begging me for every one in the series as they all get published. The books are so good that my husband (very reluctant reader) picked it up and actually read the whole book as well. I have ordered this series for the school library I work at as well, I know it will be a big hit.

This book will leave you with your jaw on the ground... and frustratedly looking for the next installment! It was an amazing story... realistically sad, with moments of triumph and amazing strength... but also, the darkness of the human soul. The Amazon release date for next book is 2030?? Reallly?? It was definitely a book worth reading.... and I will be waiting with bated breath for book 3! Let's just HOPE it really WON'T take that long!

Island of Silence was the second book of Lisa McMann's that I've read. (The Unwanteds being the first.) I love both books. I read them back to back, had a hard time putting them down to do other things. When I finished the second book, I felt angry at the author for not having the next installment of the series ready for me. I originally picked up the first book because of a review comparing it to both Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, both of which I enjoyed. I assure you, this series quickly proves to have a great identity all its own. This book is awesome...but come on with the third book already. I have to know what happens next.

my sister bought me the first book for my birthday, but it didn't look like much, so i put of reading it for months. then i had a fall and had to start maternity leave early, so started reading.... once i'd read the first book, that was it, i read the whole series in 10 days! i just wish there was more!

My son asked me to buy this book for him. He loved it and is begging me to buy the next one in the series. I didn't know that he could read as quickly as he did and he was finished it in no time! Although I'm not the one that read it, I can recommend it for other parents with young teens.

These books can't come fast enough for my daughter! She got the first book, The Unwanteds, for Christmas, and finished it in no time, and so ordered the second book, Island of Silence, for her 12th birthday in January. Now I have ordered the third book, Island of Fire, for Easter....if she can wait that long!!! Just to give you an idea of area of interest for those thinking of ordering this series, my daughter is a Harry Potter and Hunger Games fan, and REALLY enjoyed The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer (Glee star), as well.

Comme la description!

Good to know I can get the rest of the series.