The Forgotten Five
The Forgotten Five Series is a fantasy series by Lisa McMann. Some readers may be familiar with her Unwanted Series. This series is a newer series with books still being added. I had a few misgivings about the first book, but I have read through book five thus far. Please check out my reviews. You will find that this series started fairly clean, but in book four and five other elements reflective of secular culture have made their way into this middle-grade fiction series.
Book 1: The Forgotten Five: The Map of Flames (no audio review)
“Only the five kids remained in the hideout built by their supernatural criminal parents. Forgotten and alone. And they had a lot to talk about” (p.4).
Originally created and published in 2022:
Lisa McMann has an uncanny ability for fantastical stories from unusual places. If you are familiar with the Unwanted series, you already have an idea of what I mean. The Forgotten Five: Map of Flames is the beginning of a new fantastical series with the children of supernatural criminals at the core.
In truth, the opening of the story is a little slow for about the first half of the book. The storyline is intriguing, but unless you have an avid reader willing to push through, they may sputter out. Knowing this is the beginning of a series, it is clear that McMann is laying the foundation for the other series. Strong and astute readers might understand this, but a more struggling reader will certainly put it down and claim it is “boring.”
The premise of the story centers around a set of four criminals who are known for heists all over the city of Estero. Most of these found a life in crime after being rejected by society for their supernatural abilities. The criminals have been hiding for 14 years on an isolated peninsula where they have raised children. The children have grown up hearing stories of their parents’ past and the horrors they faced in Estero. Unfortunately, over the last three years, the parents of some have “disappeared” and Louis, the last parent with the children, has died. His last wish was for his daughter to find her mother and give her the map.
Aside from traveling and entering a world the children have only heard horror stories about, most of the children also have supernatural abilities that they must keep hidden. Tenner, whose parents are actually not nice people, has the ability to see and hear with an animalistic ability, as well as hold his breath for a prolonged amount of time under water. Seven’s ability camouflages his skin to match the surrounding scenery. He has no control and struggles with being invisible. Birdie is able to communicate with animals through mind messaging and feelings. Birdie’s brother Brix is able to jump and bounce in acrobatic ways while also remaining unharmed through quick healing. Cabot is the only child to not have any supernatural abilities, as far as anyone can tell. However, she does have a photographic memory and is extremely intelligent.
Despite fear and trepidation, all five children end up in Estero and begin to unravel something more sinister than the task of simply rescuing Birdie and Brix’s mother. The story is full of adventure, mystery, and certainly sets up the beginning of a series quite well.
Some families may object over the premise of the book where criminals and supernatural abilities are at the heart of the story, and I am sure there are a myriad of ways people might read into it. However, I will be curious to see where the storyline goes as the story does pose thoughts that those who appear to be good or trying to do good, might actually be deceptive and participating in criminal behavior unbeknownst to others. From a Biblical perspective, I think this book does offer an opportunity for conversations of how our behaviors and attitudes impact others. Do we see others as a threat, do we see them as unworthy, or do we realize that all humans are image bearers of the living God? My daughter is eager to read this book, and I know that this is a conversation I plan to have with her as she finishes it up.
The supernatural abilities and elements could be something that some families may choose to abstain from. I know that I personally do not care for my children to read the Harry Potter series, for which I have read every book. I have nothing against the storyline per se, but I’m at a point in my walk that I am more aware of exposure to or an endorsement of witchcraft and sorcery. Nevertheless, this story does mention that flames on the map are the result of a “flame charm” Louis put on the map to keep it safe (p.20).
A few other mentions:
Tenner struggles with the fact that his parents were not nice people, and his father in particular was abusive. He fears meeting his father again, but his bones are found in the forest and Tenner also struggles with the emotions of his father’s death. Page 36 mentions that his parents were “crappy.”
“Perhaps the lure of fame or infamy or the addiction of thievery was stronger than the love Troy and Lucy had for their children. Or maybe they’d never loved him at all...He was tired of returning to that same thought. But it wouldn’t let him go” (p.228).
There are a couple mentions of Seven going without clothes since no one can see him. He refuses to do this until later in the story in order to save Birdie’s mom. He is uncomfortable with the suggestions and thoughts. (Page 64, 70)
On page 221, after finding proof their parents had made it to Estero, Birdie says “Holy expletive.” You may have a reader ask what the work expletive means.
In their adventures, the children become friends with another supernatural child living in Estero. She is on a mission to change the opinions and views of supernatural people. In a plea to get help from the five she states “Supernatural people need to be respected members of society. They need jobs. They shouldn’t be punished for their gifts—they should be valued” (p.368).
Overall, I enjoyed the story. I’m intrigued by where the storyline will go. I was a little put off with some of the supernatural abilities at first, but if you are someone who is into comics and some of the Marvel or X-Men movies, then there isn’t too much more there than that.
Book 2: Invisible Spy & Book 3: Rebel Undercover (click on the title for the written review in pdf form)
Book 4: Dangerous Allies (Click on the title for the written review in pdf form)
Book 5: Operation Chaos Updated 2.19.25
Forgotten Five: Operation Chaos is book five in the Forgotten Five Series by Lisa McMann. Despite the terrible installment of this series in book four, I committed myself to continue reading the series to uncover what else might be subtly added to this series for young readers. Ever since I started this series, it has always sat uneasy with me. I’m not sure if there are meant to be undertones that speak to something in modern society or if McMann is just using a particular aspect of society as a model for events in her world of Estero. This continues in book five and is still something I’m wrestling with. However, I am going to be on the more charitable side and assume she is using it as a model.
Now, if you have not followed the other reviews for this series, you may have no idea what I am referring to. The Forgotten Five series is a fantasy series in which “supers” are discriminated against in society. The first in the series opens with the children of notorious super criminals needing to return to the City of Estero in order to find their missing parents, thus entering a world they have never known. Supers are people who have special abilities such as X-Ray vision, communicating with animals, invisibility, etc. Everyone is slightly different. The current President of Estero (also secretly a super and recently outed as one) had laws in the past that criminalized being Super and has since changed the laws to decriminalize being super. Meanwhile, Magdalia is running against President Fuerte in the upcoming election hoping to make a better world for Supers. There is A LOT I am leaving out, but that essentially summarizes the main plot point of the series.
Book four introduced the character Cabot as binary. In addition to the added LGBTQ angle added, the novel was listless and pretty boring until the final scene with a battle at a rally for Magdalia. Book five opens with the follow up to this event with Birdie waking up in the hospital and being arrested for her part in the rally. On her way to the prison detention center, she is actually rerouted and returned to the monastery and no one is the wiser since the Commander of the Police is on their side.
This installment, like book four, continues to focus on particular character development more so over action, but there is more action in it this time. Ten-year-old Brix and Seven receive the main focus and character development in this novel. Seven reunites with his mother and is learning to navigate his feelings and the whole situation. Brix, on the other hand, is the mastermind for most of the novel - and oddly, adults are taking advice and wisdom from him, not the other way round.
The team is running out of money and seeks to recover the stash from the money hidden by the parents originally. This money is in an elephant statue in the museum. Brix develops the plan to recover this money. The Librarian is taken prisoner by Fuerte’s team and Brix is again the one to develop the plan to get her out. Unfortunately, when they do things do not go exactly as planned and Seven is left behind in the chaos. Lada returns and teleports him out, but up until that moment no one is sure if it will work since it is beyond anything she has actually done in the past. The novel ends with the Librarian and Birdie hosting a small gathering at the monastery to get everyone on the same page and to essentially set the stage for book six.
While I no longer care for this series and would not recommend it, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised that there was really no objectionable material in book five. I was fully expecting more along the lines of what was presented in book four. Not once is anything like that mentioned, and Cabot, who was pretty detestable in behavior in book four, is using her ability for good now and plays a quieter supportive role in this book.
A few things of note:
There are still mentions of the “Kids first, always” mantra a few times throughout the book (page 5 is the first time it is brought up).
E-Kat reveals to Lada her story and that she (E-Kat) is Lada’s mother.
In preparation for this reveal, E-Kat is struggling for timing. “E-Kat would have to painstakingly lay out the story as it had happened, being especially gentle and careful about the hardest parts. And that would be difficult for her–someone who’d spent her whole life hiding her true self [...]. She’d never stopped hiding everything about herself from those who wanted to punish her for being different” (44).
Budding romance continues to be a thing between Lada and Tenner (45) and Seven and Birdie. Seven and Birdie’s relationship is more developed after the event with Seven being left behind and two embrace after the scary event and confess that they “like like” one another (270-271). They also hold hands on page 214.
Tenner and Troy’s relationship develops in the positive way in this particular novel and Tenner is working to forgive his father and it seems to come to fruition by the end when Troy gives the group one million dollars from his book deal.
Paithoon (a child) gives advice to Magdalia (his adoptive mom) in the chapter titled “Coming to Terms.”
Seven confronts his mother, Magdlaia in the chapter titled “Dealing.” While she has changed for the better, Seven is still struggling with who she used to be and their reunion didn’t go exactly as planned.
On page 189 in an exchange between them Magdalia says, “Martim and I both failed a lot as parents. But I’d like to try again if you’ll let me” [...] “I wish we’d never gone to Estero. It hasn’t been easy.”
[...] “If you hadn’t gone to Estero, you’d still be the same selfish person” (189).
This is another instance in which the child is giving wisdom/advice to the adult.
Brix, aside from being the mastermind behind the action in the novel, also convinces Sabine to go against her father with a recorded interview with a news reporter. I believe it is meant to come across as advice to her, because ten-year-olds are wise, but I felt like it came across more manipulative. Brix in speaking to Sabine says, “Your dad is the one who wrecked things. He won’t let you do anything without telling you exactly how to do it. He’s been controlling you to an extreme” (283).
Lastly, The Librarian in the final gathering states, “‘The election is less than three months away. We must elect Madalia Palacio and defeat President Daniel Fuerte, and bring equality for supers to Estero.’ Then she added, ‘And one more thing–something we haven’t addressed yet. We need to remove the super-hating police officers from the force’” (305).
In short, I’m still adding this series to my “Not to Read” list, but I will concede to McMann that she did a better job in this book than book four.
