Now that I've finished reading books for the Cybils Awards Picture Book and Board Book panel (see my post here if you're interested in what I learned), I'm so happy to be back to reading middle grade fiction. This one was published in 2014 and I wonder how I missed it! The idea behind this story is so intriguing.
Description from
the publisher:
The
city of Ark is the last safe place on Earth. To make sure humans are able to
survive, everyone in Ark must speak List, a language of only 500 words.
Everyone
that is, except Letta.
As
apprentice to the Wordsmith, Letta can read all the words that have ever
existed. Forbidden words like freedom, music, and even pineapple tell her about
a world she's never known.
One
day her master disappears and the leaders of Ark tell Letta she is the new
Wordsmith and must shorten List to fewer and fewer words. Then Letta meets a
teenage boy who somehow knows all the words that have been banned. Letta's
faced with a dangerous choice: sit idly by and watch language slowly slip away
or follow a stranger on a path to freedom . . . or banishment.
The List by Patricia
Forde was published by SourceBooks Jabberwocky in 2014.
Why you want to
read this book…
There
are lots of tense moments in this story! I was intrigued by the idea that
language is limited and some words were forbidden. I loved the writing style
and the detail in this story.
“The
words danced in front of her eyes just as they had when she’d been a small
child. She remembered lying in bed with all the words she’d learned in school
flying about her head, fireflies from some magical place, red, electric
fireflies.”
If you’re a
writer…
You
might study this book to see how the author integrated Letta’s thoughts and
feelings into the story. The setting is also a big part of this story – I
wanted to visit the wordsmith shop and the old pumphouse.
“Inside,
behind a counter made of solid oak from trees from another time, Letta could
see row upon row of shelves honeycombed with cubbyholes. The cubbyholes cradled
the vanilla-colored, four-inch square cards, and the cards held precious words.”
If you’re a
teacher…
There
are opportunities for interesting discussions or reflections about censorship
and the importance of language in our lives, as well as thoughts about the
future and the depletion of resources and water. There is some violence in this
novel, including torture and murder, but the descriptions of these events are
not overly graphic.
“Without
words, we will be imprisoned in the here and now forever.”
Opening Line:
“Letta,
the wordsmith’s apprentice, buried her face in her hands, exhausted.”
