The Way It Is With Twins (Contains Spoilers)

 The Way it is With Twins

“‘Aaron’s eyes filled with contempt, ‘Get out of my sight, you filthy, useless Unwanted… you are all deserving of your horrible fate’”. The book called The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann is set in a fictional world on the island of Quill. Quill is a colorless town dictated by a cruel and paranoid leader named Justine who created the kingdom along with her brother named Marcus. Her brother's job is the Death Farmer who “eliminates” the children who have shown any signs of creativity, but little does Justine know, Marcus betrayed her long ago and has been rescuing the children to a magical land called Artimé. One of the children he saves is named Alex Stowe who has a twin brother named Aaron that did not get eliminated and is fiercely loyal to Justine. The Unwanteds was brought to life through the switching perspectives of the magical, friendly, and colorful Alex and the cruel, cold, and calculating Aaron.

Throughout The Unwanteds the narrative switches many times between Alex and Aaron, which allows the readers to read and see their, oftentimes opposing, thoughts. Lisa McMann beautifully used this technique to show an incredible amount of detail including the most finite and insignificant features that provide the story with an almost immersive experience. Her writing style gives rise to scenes such as one in the beginning of the book that describes how Alex felt when he first walked into Artimé, “here in Artimé, all of the colors felt warm, from the deep, forestry greens of plants to the soothing blues of the sky and sea…The beach… was clean and white with tiny bits of silver and gold sparkling in the sunshine”. As I read this book I found these pieces so fascinating and engaging that every time I tried to put the book down, I would read a part like Alex entering Artimé for the first time and would inevitably pick it back up again. The vividness and finesse caused by the two POVs of the twins is one of the main factors why I read this book over and over again even though I know it like the back of my hand. 

The twins' differing points of reference also provide an outlet for the readers to see Alex’s and Aaron’s emotional journey throughout the book. When showing these emotions, the readers form connections to both characters (although one maybe more than the other), especially when their emotions/actions clash or when said emotions align. Shown multiple times in the beginning  of The Unwanteds , Alex and Aaron occasionally feel the same way about each other, but as the novel progresses their opinions of each other deteriorate, “Alex couldn’t help feeling like Aaron was somehow different because of their birth link. That maybe… Aaron was mourning for him " "several times since the purge he’d awakened, horrified and feeling terribly guilty because not only had he dreamed about something, but that something was his brother, Alex”. As the readers become more emotionally invested in this twin frenemy relationship, the book gains immense amounts of interest, depth, and becomes unputdownable.   

(Spoiler Alert) The vividness and emotional aspects brought by the shifting perspectives come to a head in the scene alluded to in the introduction. In this scene Alex creates a magical doorway that leads to Aarons bedroom, but when Alex tries to get Aaron to leave Quill behind and join him in the land of Artimé, Aaron rejects Alex and disgraces him. Although a devastating scene that I think many readers feel, this moment clearly reveals the perspectives of both brothers, demonstrates Lisa McMann’s extraordinary writing skills, and the motive you need to read The Unwanteds if you haven’t already.

Work Cited

Wiki, Contributors to The Unwanteds. “Aaron Stowe.” The Unwanteds Wiki, Fandom, Inc., theunwanteds.fandom.com/wiki/Aaron_Stowe?file=Alexandaaron-glowingink.png. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.