In Quill, every child is sorted at the age of thirteen into one of three categories -- Wanteds who will go on to university, Necessaries who will take up training for a job, and Unwanteds who are taken to the Death Farm to be thrown into the lake of burning oil. Even though Alex's twin Aaron is selected as a Wanted, Alex is deemed an Unwanted. He's completely shocked to discover that the Death Farm doesn't actually have a burning lake of oil. Instead it is a gate to the magical world of Artime where the Unwanteds will be trained in various types of art and magic. There they will be safe as long as nobody from Quill every discovers they are still alive. But Alex can't stop thinking about his twin Aaron and wishing that he was able to bring him to Artime also.
This is a 2013-2014 Twain nominee book. It's being described as "Harry Potter" meets "The Hunger Games". While I enjoyed listening to the book, I do not think it is anywhere as good as either of those series. It is an intriguing concept with good characterization throughout, but it also seemed a little heavy-handed in its moralizing. Even though I enjoyed the book, I don't feel compelled to finish out the series.
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