When asked about his favorite books, sixth-grader Chance Buns is quick to reply with several. Of course, there’s Eragon, a fantasy novel about an orphan who finds a blue stone, only to realize that it’s a dragon egg. Then there’s The Unwanteds series, in which children caught showing any kind of creativity—whether in writing, music, or art—are sent away because they’ve broken the law in their country. One of the questions the book tries to answer is why the arts—music, visual art, drama, and writing—matter. What would life be like without them?
