The Island of Silence by Lisa Mcmann is the sequel to The Unwanteds. In the previous book, we are introduced to the main character, Alex, as he is sentenced to his death while his twin brother, Aaron, is celebrated for becoming a Wanted. Alex and his brother hail from the kingdom of Quill in which all creativity is banned and those who display it are sentenced to death. All of the citizens in this kingdom are sorted into 3 different classes, the Wanteds, Necessaries, and the Unwanteds. In this social pyramid, the Wanteds are on the top, the highest class, Necessaries are the lower to middle class, those who perform menial tasks and manual labor. The Unwanteds are the people who get caught performing an act of creativity like any type of art. Alex, an Unwanted, is sentenced to death when he is saved by the very executioner who supposedly killed all the Unwanteds and learns that every Unwanted was transported to the magical land of Artime before they were killed. Artime is the polar opposite of Quill, it is a colorful world that encourages arts and the pursuit of new knowledge. The author juxtaposes Alex and Aaron’s lives by showing Alex trying to fit in in a completely new world away from everything he's ever known while showing Aaron naturally rising through the ranks and excelling in everything he tries. As the story progresses both boys find their respective places in their worlds and find happiness but eventually, their paths cross. Artime is discovered by Quill and a war begins and in the end the ruled or Quill is killed and a truce is made. The destruction of Quill throws Aaron’s perfect life into a state of chaos. As Alex is prepared to be the next leader of Artime The Island of Silence begins
So far into the story, the characters were written so well that the readers could really identify and connect with the character. This made it so much harder to lose such an amazing character. After the loss of Mr. Today, the entire land of Artime is thrown into disorder as Alex is torn between his responsibility to his friends and his responsibility to his people. In the end, we leave Alex struggling to keep his people together as he questions if he truly is even worthy of leading Artime. This book writes the characters in a way that we can identify with their struggles and ask ourselves what would we do in that situation. Alex’s character is tested so much in this book and the struggles he faces are ones that the reader could easily identify with.
This book explores many different moral themes that the reader finds themselves thinking deeply about. It shows how the pursuit of revenge can lead to ruin in the long run. Aaron who initially only wanted to improve the lives of the citizens now finds himself fighting for the same corrupt principles his predecessors instilled in him straying from the path he wanted and becoming a warped and distorted image of what he wanted to become. Fighting not for the people but just to get back at those who once wronged him.
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