The Unwanteds series is a series of young adult dystopian fantasy books by Lisa McMann. When the children of Quill turn thirteen, they are sorted into one of three categories. Wanteds, the most favored outcome, are selected for positions of honor and future leadership in the Quillen government. Necessaries are slotted for roles needed to keep society running, such as cooks and farmers. Unwanteds are undesirables who engage in illicit and illegal activities such as dancing, art, and telling tall tales. These dissidents are purged from society, and sent to be executed in the Great Lake of Boiling Oil...or at least that's what everyone believes. In truth those selected as Unwanted are shepherded into a hidden world where they can train their creative talents and hone them into a form of magic. It contains the following books:
- The Unwanteds (2011)
- Island of Silence (2012)
- Island of Fire (2013)
- Island of Legends (2014)
- Island of Shipwrecks (2015)
- Island of Graves (2015)
- Island of Dragons (2016)
These books contain examples of:
- All of the Other Reindeer: The Unwanteds in Quillen society.
- Art Attacker: Magic is channeled through creative expression, such as painting yourself invisible, creating an origami dragon to breathe fire on your foes, or delivering a monologue so scathing that it compels your opponent to run away.
- As Lethal as It Needs to Be: Some forms of magic can be dialed up or down in terms of lethality by the use of certain phrases or passages.
- Black Cloak: Just after forcibly taking over Quill as High Priest, Aaron dons a black cloak that belonged to an evil ruler.
- Culture Police: All forms of creative expression are banned in Quill.
- Death Faked for You: Mr. Today for the Unwanteds.
- Evil Twin: Aaron Stowe acts as this through the majority of the series.
- Faction Motto: "Quill Prevails when the strong survive" for Quillen society as a whole. The Quillitary has the additional motto of "Die a thousand deaths".
- Heel–Face Turn: Aaron Stowe undergoes this. At the end of the series, he's so different from who he used to be that his brother wonders if he has a concussion.
- Lack of Imagination: Quillens are forced to act this way. Those who display signs of creativity or imagination are punished.
- Magic Music: one of the ways magic can be used.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: Mr. Today acts as a mentor to Alex Stowe (and all the other Unwanteds, to some extent). He is killed in Island of Silence by Aaron Stowe.
- Released to Elsewhere: The old in Quill are sent to the Ancient's Sector...to be put to sleep.
- Twin Telepathy: There is a connection between Alex and Aaron.
- Pinned to the Wall: Scatterclips can be used in this fashion as a non-lethal deterrent. Alex also has a longer lasting variant where he uses clay balls to create shackles that can keep someone in place for days.
- Wizarding School: Artimé
