Unwanted (Men and Monsters, 1)

Not the best suspense I’ve read but definitely provided an interesting and quick read. It was dark and kind of depressing during times but it made it feel real. I think overall the plot wasn’t twisty enough for me as it was missing a shock factor.

“The Montana Department of Justice has been made aware of an unknown number of illegal and highly disturbing programs…being operated around the country using children who have been removed from the foster care system under false pretenses and/or babies who are bought from mothers who are members of social programs, most especially drug or alcohol.” The children are “placed and studied in harsh environments to determine survival skills…in remote areas miles from civilization. They’re being sold to those who wish to use their talents…Unwanted kids being trained in underground camps to be…elite soldiers…To achieve improvement in society, we turn to The Hunger Games…A modern-day Roman coliseum.” “There are many benefactors and bidders who understand that the unwanted children of addicts and thieves only bring forth a society’s downfall.” “You have to understand your enemy to fight them. Or, in this case, even find them.” And the prime suspect is Jak, “this combination of wild and…innocent…Thoughtful…Sensitive…He grew up on dirt and snow and class notes on The Count of Monte Cristo…He was a complete dichotomy–wild and sensitive, uneducated and astute”–and he fascinates wilderness guide Harper Ward to no end. “Jak was a wild card, unpredictable, uncivilized…Harper was unfocused and emotionally unstable…Who could truly say what they’d done or why?” “A mystery woman, murders, bows and arrows, an abandoned boy, a sister who thought her brother was an ‘pervert,’ government-run social studies…a modern-day Spartan.” “This story has an abundance of moving parts…the mystery, the romance,” an unusual character in an unusual setting, “Something about it felt so…decadent…in a sparse wood cabin in the middle of the forest, not a scrap of luxury to be found…Too quick, too much too soon, too risky in so many ways, too…oh, so many ‘toos,’ but it was true.” Mia Sheridan’s Unwanted is “dirty. In all the best ways.”