This is such a cute Middle Grade novel. I enjoyed the characters and the close-knit family these kids form after being (basically) abandoned by their birth parents. It did take a very long time to establish the plot - you have a lot of pages dedicated to introducing the kids and their powers and their lives so far - until we finally get to see them interact with the outside world.
In comparison, the end came rather quickly and didn´t engage me as much as I had hoped.
All in all a fun adventure story about friendship and fitting in (even in your own family).

This is such a middle grade gem of a novel. I enjoyed all the characters, the plot and the suspense. I think this would be such a fun hero's journey or quest novel to use in the classroom.

Five supernaturally inclined kiddos are "orphaned" on an island after their only adult caregiver gets sick and passes away. The plot twist: these are the children of eight supernaturally inclined super villains who pulled off a major heist and then disappeared into the mist. As his dying request, Luis tasks Birdie with finding her mom and delivering a map; turns out he had double crossed his super villain friends and hidden their pilfered treasure. The children are divided about leaving the tropical hideout they have called home all their lives; so Birdie and Tenner set off across the ocean to find Birdie's mom while Brix, Cabot and Seven remain on the island. However, Birdie and Tenner take a long time researching, figuring out how the world works and trying to avoid unwanted attention. The other three can't wait any longer and set off to find them. The rest of the novel is a series of fortunate and unfortunate events that leads into one massive-scaled prison break. Can the kids pull it off?

What I loved: the humor - this novel was hilarious in describing modern life and how modern day amenities we don't give a second thought to work; the librarian - everyone need a librarian like the one in these pages in their lives, the powers each kid has, the twist that these are the kids of super villains - this is the first middle grade novel I have read with a cast of morally grey main characters.

I flew through this book and am eager to read book 2! This was a well-told middle grade adventure that I can't wait to share with my students.

At first the story was a little slow, there wasn't a lot of explination about what was happening, but the further it got into the story the action picked up and the reader is able to deduce the reasoning for the kids to be the "forgotten five." This book is a good opening for a series.

In a world that has "natural" and "supernatural" people, this group of children have been living along on a hidden island for years. Their parents were all con people who used their supernatural powers to do heists and steal from others. They all escaped with their children, and raised them on this island, trying to teach them about the outside world but then most of the parents want to go back, whether it's for the loot or because they're sick of living on the island, Louis is left alone with the five kids, until he gets sick and dies. Birdie has a note from her father Louis, telling her he has moved the loot and that her mother is alive and Birdie needs to find her. Birdie decides that she's going to go to the city of Estero, find her mom, find the stash, and then come back to the island for the rest of the kids. Birdie has the ability to talk to animals, and uses this to get a whale to take her across the ocean. Tenner, who has super heightened senses, goes with her because his parents weren't that great and he wants to show he's not like them at all. Brix, Birdie's younger brother, has the ability to bounce and higher healing abilities, Seven whose skin changes to whatever he is around, and Cabot who doesn't seem to have an ability but has an amazing memory and math skills, all decide to stay behind on the island. Until they discover a letter from Louis admitting some things he did before they went into hiding. Birdie and Tenner head off and realize they were not prepared at all for the real world, but there are some nice people that help them along the way. This has a lot of great moments between the characters of actually discussing what they're feeling and how they're treating each other. It's a decent adventure book, even if it can take a long time to start the adventure. The ending, which I know was done to set up for the sequel, was unsatisfying to me. I'm not a big fan of books in series that can't stand on their own, and while technically it could, there's too many unanswered questions. A fun read with fun characters, great for middle schoolers.

Five children and 4 sets of supernatural parents, living on a secluded beach for 13 years after the parents flee from their life of crime and discrimination in Estero City. Now Birdie, Tenner, Seven, Cabot and Brix are alone, but before the last remaining adult died, he left his daughter with a map and instructions to return to Estero, find her mother, and retrieve a stash of cash. Author Lisa McMann (The Unwanteds, Unwanteds: Quests, and Going Wild) starts a new action/adventure-fantasy series that will intrigue middle grade readers. The five main characters are distinct and unique in abilities and personalities and each one must learn to depend on the others’ skills in order to successfully get back to the city and, once there, navigate the technology and tools of a world that is completely foreign to them in order to locate and rescue Birdie and Brix’s mother plus learn who among the other parents might also be alive. Less mature readers may have a bit of trouble sticking with this series opener as much background information must be laid out before the quest for Birdie and Brix’s mom begins but the time is well worth it. Recommended for lovers of Riordan and Riordan Presents books as well as series such as Story Thieves and those by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Text is free of profanity, sexual content and any significant violence. Characters have a variety of skin tones but race is not a factor in the plot, however discrimination towards a group of people, in this case, supernaturals, is critical.

New Spin on Superpowers

X-Men meets Spy Kids in the new middle-grade series from the New York Times bestselling author, Lisa McMann (The Unwanteds).

Fifteen years ago, eight supernatural criminals fled Estero City to make a new life in an isolated tropical hideout. Over time, seven of them disappeared without a trace, presumed captured or killed. And now, the remaining one has died.

Left behind to fend for themselves are the criminals’ five children, each with superpowers of their own: Birdie can communicate with animals. Brix has athletic abilities and can heal quickly. Tenner can swim like a fish and can see in the dark and hear from a distance. Seven’s skin camouflages to match whatever is around him. Cabot hasn’t shown signs of any unusual power—yet.

Then one day Birdie finds a map among her father’s things that leads to a secret stash. There is also a note:  

Go to Estero, find your mother,and give her the map.

The five have lived their entire lives in isolation. What would it mean to follow the map to a strange world full of things they’ve only heard about, like cell phones, cars, and electricity? A world where, thanks to their parents, being supernatural is a crime?

I don’t read a lot of middle age books but I found the premise of this one too intriguing to pass up. I am grateful I took the chance on it. It is an incredibly engaging and new twist on super powered beings with a unique world and outlook. Lisa McMann has developed a world that is a blend of modern technology with the feel of fantasy all with superpowered teens. The story is engaging, fast paced, and leaves you wanting more. 

One of the reasons it’s so interesting is the characters. With the five children in the novel, we get the viewpoint of each of them in turn. While that could bog down the reader with too many points of view, Lisa McMann manages to keep the story flowing through those perspectives with very smooth transitions. 

The plot is simple. Birdie and her friends, all super powered, have been kept in isolation in the wilderness. While they don’t understand the world they came from, they are happy for the most part until Birdie’s father dies and he tells her to find her mother. This gives the characters plenty of motivation to leave their isolated safe home. Birdie and the others are smart but also real children who make mistakes and are less than perfect. Lisa McMann gives us each child’s point of view so we understand their motivations. As readers we engage with each teen and we root for them. And you fall in love with them.

While the story leaves me wanting more, it is clearly book 1 of at least two books, possibly more. If you love quests, if you love superheroes, if you love a new twist on all of these things, plus a blend of fantasy style setting with a modern world, you will love this book.  It is fun, it is riveting, and it will keep you reading until the very end as you can’t wait for more. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 heroes.

A great MG Read. It had a bit of a slow start but it got more interesting and picked up the pace. This starts with their Dad dying and he leaves a note and a map to send them on a journey to get their mother and go on an adventure. This is a fun and entertaining story similar to X-men.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group/G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for letting me read and review this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is an excellent start to a new series from beloved author Lisa McMann. Five kids with supernatural abilities have been raised in the wild by their supernatural (and criminal) parents who are on the run from an oppressive government. All but one parent had gone to the city three years ago but never returned. When the last parent dies, the kids ranging in age from 10-13 must decide what to do next. Despite their superpowers like talking to animals and quick healing, these are real kids with real emotions, character strengths and flaws, and relationship problems. This book had a lot of world and character building with an underlying mystery and a few action/adventure scenes. I recommend this to fans of series like the Unwanteds or superhero sagas.

Five children, the oldest now 13-years-old, have grown up isolated from the world. They, and their parents, are supernatural, and thus feared and imprisoned in the outside world. Birdie can talk mentally with animals, Tenner can swim like fish and has super sensitive hearing and the ability to see in the dark while Seven’s skin is like a chamaeleon and makes him blend in with his surroundings whether he wishes to or not; young Brix heals super quick and can safely jump from a height while Cabot has yet to develop her talent. Their parents, discriminated against in the outside world, had turned to lives of crime until 15 years earlier they escaped their city of Estero and fled to this isolated peninsula. Three years earlier three of the parents left to return to Estero for items they could not source from nature and when they did not return four others went to find them leaving only one parent to look after the children. Now he has died and the children are alone. Birdie finds a map in her father’s belongings and a letter telling her to go to Estero and find her mother. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea to leave so Birdie and Tenner head for Estero on their own to find the parents but after they leave Seven discovers vital information they will need to be safe in the city so the other three set out for Estero themselves. And thus the adventure begins.
Part one is set in the camp where the children live. The characters, even the absent parents, are well fleshed out, the parents are not all goody two shoes and run the gamut from Louis, who stayed with the children and was a good parent, to other parents who are clearly not nice or trustworthy. We learn about the children, their abilities, and their personalities. Again these are well rounded characters with jealousies and insecurities and loyalties. Further, we get a glimpse of how clueless these children will be when they reach Estero, which is obviously a modern day city with tall buildings, cars, electricity and so on. Their whole world has been in this isolated camp with only 12 people. While they have seen planes sometimes fly over and their parents have told them about the outside world the concept of hundreds, maybe thousands or even millions of people in one place is a concept they really cannot envision. While there is money in Birdie’s father’s trunk they really have no clue how exchanging money for food or clothes works or how much things might cost. Eventually all five children reunite in Estero and learn the fate of some of their parents.
As the first in a series this does a good job in introducing the characters and the setting. While the current adventure wraps of satisfyingly there is room for lots more adventures. Middle school readers should find this a fun read as will their parents. Recommended

After her father dies, Birdie and her friends, Brix, Tenner, and Seven have been left to fend for themselves. When Birdie finds a map and a note from her father, saying to take the map to her mother in Estero, the friends travel across the sea to a world where being supernatural is a crime. Following the map, the group is led towards the stash from her father and eight other criminals’ last heist. Traveling across the sea and through a jungle, the group will discover secret allies and enemies at the highest level of society. Will the four friends succeed in their mission? The worldbuilding is a little wobbly, but will draw readers into the story. Told through alternating perspective, the author does a great job of bringing her complex characters to life. Plot is engaging, filled with magic, and fun to read. Fans of Brandon Mull, fantasy, adventure, and magic will want to pick this one up.

Thank you for allowing me to read Map of Flames...really looking forward to Book 2. The following is the review posted on my Middle Grade Book Review site https://ivyartz.com/mgreviews/mgreviews.php

Map of Flames is an adventure fantasy focused on five children who find themselves on their own after the father figure of the group dies. Their other parents left years ago in search of supplies among other things. The death of Birdie and Brix’s father set the group on a mission into civilization and in search of Birdie and Brix’s mother. The children have lived their lives in an isolated tropical hideout. Their parents, outcasts due to their supernatural abilities, became criminals who pulled off a major heist and had to go underground.

These are no ordinary children. They’re in this predicament because their families are different. Think X-Men for kids.

McMann’s characters are beautifully written. The adventure is exciting and the children, as well as some adults we meet, are interesting and feel real. I don’t want to give out any spoilers so I’ll stop there.

In the interest of a fully honest review, I do need to let you know there is a bit of an information dump at the beginning, but stay with it, because there is a lot you need to know. Also, the climax of the book came quick and I felt that very little was resolved. So, if you’re a reader like me you may want to wait until the second book in the series is out. That said, it’s a fun read and we need to buy the first book to make sure the second book gets published and we can find out what happens!

Grades 3-7

Map of Flames can be preordered at…
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/668144/map-of-flames-the-forgotten-five-book-1-by-lisa-mcmann/