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The List #1
The List
In the city of Ark, speech is constrained to five hundred sanctioned words. Speak outside the approved lexicon and face banishment. The exceptions are the Wordsmith and his apprentice Letta, the keepers and archivists of all language in their post-apocalyptic, neo-medieval world.On the death of her master, Letta is suddenly promoted to Wordsmith, charged with collecting and saving words. But when she uncovers a sinister plan to suppress language and rob Ark's citizens of their power of speech, s
384 pages, Library Binding
First published April 16, 2015
376 people are currently reading
7225 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Forde
55 books176 followersPatricia Forde lives in Galway, in the west of Ireland, with her husband Padraic and two teenage children. She has previously published Picture
Books and Early Readers for children in Irish and in English. She has written two plays and several television drama series for children and
teenagers. In an earlier life, she was a primary school teacher and the artistic director of the Galway International Arts Festival.
The List ( The Wordsmith in the UK and Ireland) is her first novel.
Books and Early Readers for children in Irish and in English. She has written two plays and several television drama series for children and
teenagers. In an earlier life, she was a primary school teacher and the artistic director of the Galway International Arts Festival.
The List ( The Wordsmith in the UK and Ireland) is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,128 reviews
June 17, 2019
Update: May 19, 2019
I have reread & completed The List and am settling on a rating of 3 stars. Though I adored the writing and structure of the world, the plot and characters ended up being a letdown. I wish the story had more development in almost all aspects (characterization, environmentalist themes, plot) and the ending felt rushed and unfinished. I really thought I had the potential to LOVE this book, but it was just okay!
DNF at 73%
Ultimately, I made a bad choice to listen to the audiobook with this novel. The audiobook narrator isn't bad, but the story in the audio format did not fit with me. I tried restarting the novel once and restarting chapters multiple times, but I could not grasp the full scope of the story. (Life has also been very chaotic at the moment so that also created bad timing for a tricky audiobook.) I feel I'd be doing a real disservice to this book by pushing to finish and giving a mediocre rating/review that was heavily influenced by factors other than the content of the story.
That said, I SERIOUSLY enjoyed what I read of this book and am completely intent on rereading it in a physical format. There were so many themes I adored and the concept truly stole my heart. I read many reviews that reinforced my belief that I could REALLY love this novel, so I plan to pick it up again in the physical format ASAP.
From what I've retained of the story, I would *definitely* recommend despite my choice to discontinue reading it at the moment, but I would not listen to the audio version.
I have reread & completed The List and am settling on a rating of 3 stars. Though I adored the writing and structure of the world, the plot and characters ended up being a letdown. I wish the story had more development in almost all aspects (characterization, environmentalist themes, plot) and the ending felt rushed and unfinished. I really thought I had the potential to LOVE this book, but it was just okay!
DNF at 73%
Ultimately, I made a bad choice to listen to the audiobook with this novel. The audiobook narrator isn't bad, but the story in the audio format did not fit with me. I tried restarting the novel once and restarting chapters multiple times, but I could not grasp the full scope of the story. (Life has also been very chaotic at the moment so that also created bad timing for a tricky audiobook.) I feel I'd be doing a real disservice to this book by pushing to finish and giving a mediocre rating/review that was heavily influenced by factors other than the content of the story.
That said, I SERIOUSLY enjoyed what I read of this book and am completely intent on rereading it in a physical format. There were so many themes I adored and the concept truly stole my heart. I read many reviews that reinforced my belief that I could REALLY love this novel, so I plan to pick it up again in the physical format ASAP.
From what I've retained of the story, I would *definitely* recommend despite my choice to discontinue reading it at the moment, but I would not listen to the audio version.
February 7, 2017
I don't know, man. This just felt like a mashup of a lot of classic dystopian novels rolled up into one, but it never really got close to the level of any of the books it was trying to be. A little bit of The Giver with some Fahrenheit 451 maybe some 1984 and then some elements of any other dystopian novel. This just never took off for me for some reason.
I was definitely drawn to the idea of the book and the world it described. The thought of a world controlled by language and what words must be used was interesting, but it played out more ridiculous on the book. I think the concept is good, just not enough there to make me care. Even at the beginning when the first bit of intrigue occurs and Marlo shows up unexpectedly and you're trying to figure out who he is and all that... I was just bored.
Hey, and it was cool how things sort of mirror our own world. The story of Noah's Ark is there, I mean with the same name and all, and there is this rebuilding and starting a new world after crazy events. That was cool. Like I said, there was some good stuff here that just needed someone to come along and breathe more life into it. I would go through an entire chapter sometimes and find my mind wandering off, and then I would snap back into it and realize I hadn't missed much.
So if dystopian is your thing, gives this a shot later this year. I've found plenty of great reviews out there. I just love the books it draws inspiration from, but felt this one didn't come anywhere close to being what it could have been. Oh, and the fact that you only get 500 words to use is a cool idea, but whew boy is it hard to read. It just got kind of silly. That's all.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for letting me read this one early!
I was definitely drawn to the idea of the book and the world it described. The thought of a world controlled by language and what words must be used was interesting, but it played out more ridiculous on the book. I think the concept is good, just not enough there to make me care. Even at the beginning when the first bit of intrigue occurs and Marlo shows up unexpectedly and you're trying to figure out who he is and all that... I was just bored.
Hey, and it was cool how things sort of mirror our own world. The story of Noah's Ark is there, I mean with the same name and all, and there is this rebuilding and starting a new world after crazy events. That was cool. Like I said, there was some good stuff here that just needed someone to come along and breathe more life into it. I would go through an entire chapter sometimes and find my mind wandering off, and then I would snap back into it and realize I hadn't missed much.
So if dystopian is your thing, gives this a shot later this year. I've found plenty of great reviews out there. I just love the books it draws inspiration from, but felt this one didn't come anywhere close to being what it could have been. Oh, and the fact that you only get 500 words to use is a cool idea, but whew boy is it hard to read. It just got kind of silly. That's all.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for letting me read this one early!
July 29, 2018
This book is relatively hard to rate. Why? Because on one hand, the plot is very predictable, while on the other, the story itself and how it was written is quite beautiful and I was deeply touched by some of the people and what happened to them.
The story is set in the far future as we gather from some memories and tales of some of the older people. Global warming is not a myth and has led to the polar ice caps melting. Floods and other natural catastrophes have brought mankind to near extinction, there is no real technology. One man saw it coming and built an eco-friendly city called Ark. In this city, language is restricted because words are deceiving and therefore evil according to the city's creator/leader, Noa (yeah, the names aren't very creative). The person charged with preserving language (= keeping a lid on it) and composing the list with allowed words, is called Wordsmith. And he has an apprentice, young Letta, the protagonist.
Music, art (like paintings), free choice of a partner - all of it is forbidden. Everyone gets the same kind of meals three times a day, every week the same food is delivered on the same day, every mated couple may have two children (if you have a third, it is taken away; and if you have a fourth, you are banished even), clothes are handed out according to seasons, handed down depending on your age/size and are being patched up and recycled.
Some ideas are actually good, such as trees being sacred and the earth having to recover instead of being killed by mankind's "progress" or that animals need to be protected since so many are extinct already. Thus, the eco-friendly city started out as a good idea. However, this good idea gets corrupted and taken to its extremes. Noa himself gets corrupted by his own power as well (he alone has the means to turn salt water into drinkable water for example).
So yeah, typical dystopia with a special-snowflake-girl (including tragic family history) who is suddenly meant to save the day. And of course there is also a strapping young man who makes her heart flutter. As I said: nothing new and very predictable.
Nevertheless, despite me missing the full list of still allowed words and the background on how they were chosen, I thought that the concept of the conflict was done very well. Noa had experienced lies and deceit first-hand so language became a thing of evil to him (his flashbacks on politicians and even scientists using language in a foul way drove home the point since that is indeed how language is often used, unfortunately). But despite all that, the story also shows us what makes humans "more", how important culture (communication, invention, art, ...) is and that mere surviving is not living.
And I can tell you that for a book for such young readers, I was quite surprised at some turns of events like ! I quite liked that the author showed this brutal side of the system because many authors shield young readers from such realities and perversions and I, personally, think that is wrong (not to mention that it also makes no sense as it plays down the dangers of such an oppressive system).
I was therefore also pleasantly surprised to discover how much I cared for the characters. However, there lies another problem of the novel: the ending was rushed .
So yeah, difficult to rate but since I'm a lover of language and was hooked enough to finish this very soon, I'll round up.
The story is set in the far future as we gather from some memories and tales of some of the older people. Global warming is not a myth and has led to the polar ice caps melting. Floods and other natural catastrophes have brought mankind to near extinction, there is no real technology. One man saw it coming and built an eco-friendly city called Ark. In this city, language is restricted because words are deceiving and therefore evil according to the city's creator/leader, Noa (yeah, the names aren't very creative). The person charged with preserving language (= keeping a lid on it) and composing the list with allowed words, is called Wordsmith. And he has an apprentice, young Letta, the protagonist.
Music, art (like paintings), free choice of a partner - all of it is forbidden. Everyone gets the same kind of meals three times a day, every week the same food is delivered on the same day, every mated couple may have two children (if you have a third, it is taken away; and if you have a fourth, you are banished even), clothes are handed out according to seasons, handed down depending on your age/size and are being patched up and recycled.
Some ideas are actually good, such as trees being sacred and the earth having to recover instead of being killed by mankind's "progress" or that animals need to be protected since so many are extinct already. Thus, the eco-friendly city started out as a good idea. However, this good idea gets corrupted and taken to its extremes. Noa himself gets corrupted by his own power as well (he alone has the means to turn salt water into drinkable water for example).
So yeah, typical dystopia with a special-snowflake-girl (including tragic family history) who is suddenly meant to save the day. And of course there is also a strapping young man who makes her heart flutter. As I said: nothing new and very predictable.
Nevertheless, despite me missing the full list of still allowed words and the background on how they were chosen, I thought that the concept of the conflict was done very well. Noa had experienced lies and deceit first-hand so language became a thing of evil to him (his flashbacks on politicians and even scientists using language in a foul way drove home the point since that is indeed how language is often used, unfortunately). But despite all that, the story also shows us what makes humans "more", how important culture (communication, invention, art, ...) is and that mere surviving is not living.
And I can tell you that for a book for such young readers, I was quite surprised at some turns of events like ! I quite liked that the author showed this brutal side of the system because many authors shield young readers from such realities and perversions and I, personally, think that is wrong (not to mention that it also makes no sense as it plays down the dangers of such an oppressive system).
I was therefore also pleasantly surprised to discover how much I cared for the characters. However, there lies another problem of the novel: the ending was rushed .
So yeah, difficult to rate but since I'm a lover of language and was hooked enough to finish this very soon, I'll round up.
February 7, 2017
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
This is a middle-grade book about the dangers of limiting your vocabulary! So get your dictionary and... oh, wait, it's not about that at all!
It's *actually* about a SF dystopian world after all the ice melted and the dangers of wrong thinking made the scared Noa build an ark, stuff all his people aboard, and be very, very careful about striking certain words out of the common lexicon of regular words.
Our young protagonist, Letta, is a journeywoman who's job is to collect the proscribed words, and later, she becomes the master.
I thought it was good based on these basic ideas and the premise, but if you think you've seen this before in 1984 or the Giver, then you're right. In fact, you've probably seen it in numberless short stories and even quite a few tv shows.
Is it worth reading? Does the plot boldly go where none other of its kind goes? Sadly, no, if you're a reader of YA. It's pretty potboiler with standard situations, but the ending does go bold.
Is it solidly written and keep my interest? It's solidly written, but I did have a few issues keeping my interest going, but that may be because it's middle-grade literature.
I do think it's better than The Giver, however, so that might be something to consider when looking for small-town ethics and a rigidly stratified society that meets unrestricted ideas for the first time.
This is a middle-grade book about the dangers of limiting your vocabulary! So get your dictionary and... oh, wait, it's not about that at all!
It's *actually* about a SF dystopian world after all the ice melted and the dangers of wrong thinking made the scared Noa build an ark, stuff all his people aboard, and be very, very careful about striking certain words out of the common lexicon of regular words.
Our young protagonist, Letta, is a journeywoman who's job is to collect the proscribed words, and later, she becomes the master.
I thought it was good based on these basic ideas and the premise, but if you think you've seen this before in 1984 or the Giver, then you're right. In fact, you've probably seen it in numberless short stories and even quite a few tv shows.
Is it worth reading? Does the plot boldly go where none other of its kind goes? Sadly, no, if you're a reader of YA. It's pretty potboiler with standard situations, but the ending does go bold.
Is it solidly written and keep my interest? It's solidly written, but I did have a few issues keeping my interest going, but that may be because it's middle-grade literature.
I do think it's better than The Giver, however, so that might be something to consider when looking for small-town ethics and a rigidly stratified society that meets unrestricted ideas for the first time.
February 27, 2025
7/10
Тропи:
📜світ після танення льодовиків
📜мова та культура - це зброя
📜політичні інтриги
📜чи все так, як здається?
📜«обрана» проти системи
📜знайдена сім’я
📜перша закоханість
📜slow burn
📜вимушена близькість
📜«ти прийшов» - «ти покликала»
📜лише поцілунки
Дуже неоднозначні враження від цієї історії. Але про все по порядку.
⏺Мені сподобалась задумка:
Люди, яким вдалось вижити після кінця світу, намагаються побудувати нову цивілізацію, у якій слова настільки важливі, що, з одного боку, їх намагаються збирати та охороняти, щоб потім передати наступним поколінням, не давши мові просто зникнути, а з іншого боку - слова є небезпечною зброєю, від якої потрібно охороняти людей. Як і від мистецтва, історії, технологій та думок про майбутнє, які в постапокаліптичних умовах відволікають людей від головної мети - вижити.
Те, як авторка зображає Безсловесних і показує мову і культуру як те, що відрізняє «життя» від «виживання», а людей від тварин, змушує сісти і трошки про це подумати.
⏺В той же час, мені не сподобалась реалізація цієї задумки. Мотивація відмови від слів дуже погано прописана. Як і світ в цілому. Головний конфлікт дуже притягнутий за вуха. Це моя головна претензія до цієї книги.
Що ще мені сподобалось, крім класної задумки?
✨ висвітлення проблеми глобального потепління та можливих наслідків для людей і планети.
✨ наявність pov антагоніста.
Вставки з його думками були невеликі, але вони допомагали краще його зрозуміти. Не схвалити чи підтримати, а просто зрозуміти, що саме керувало ним.
✨ цікавий сюжет та динамічний розвиток подій.
Після 150-ї сторінки історія мене настільки затягнула, що я дочитала книжку до кінця за раз (там 400 сторінок, просто кажу).
Що мені не сподобалось?
✨ багато дуже нелогічних та клішованих моментів, коли я щиро не розуміла, чому відбувається те, що відбувається (наприклад, звідки ні з того ні з сього між персонажами бралась довіра і вони починали розмови про наболіле, що в підсумку змінювало сюжет; дуже хотілось, щоб це просто було краще написано).
✨ головна героїня у 50-60% всієї книги.
Все може, все вміє, якогось біса постійно думає, що в неї все вийде там, де ніколи б не вийшло в інших, звідси - самовпевненість на межі з божевіллям та рішення йти на нічим не обґрунтований ризик.
✨ нелогічний фінал, який змусив мене почуватись, як отой кіт зі стікера з купою кружечків завантаження (ні, я не про головну героїню, а про другорядну, але не буду про це, щоб не спойлерити).
Для мене ця книга десь на 3,5 зірочки. Але мені дуже цікав��, що буде далі, тому другу частину теж читатиму.
Тропи:
📜світ після танення льодовиків
📜мова та культура - це зброя
📜політичні інтриги
📜чи все так, як здається?
📜«обрана» проти системи
📜знайдена сім’я
📜перша закоханість
📜slow burn
📜вимушена близькість
📜«ти прийшов» - «ти покликала»
📜лише поцілунки
Дуже неоднозначні враження від цієї історії. Але про все по порядку.
⏺Мені сподобалась задумка:
Люди, яким вдалось вижити після кінця світу, намагаються побудувати нову цивілізацію, у якій слова настільки важливі, що, з одного боку, їх намагаються збирати та охороняти, щоб потім передати наступним поколінням, не давши мові просто зникнути, а з іншого боку - слова є небезпечною зброєю, від якої потрібно охороняти людей. Як і від мистецтва, історії, технологій та думок про майбутнє, які в постапокаліптичних умовах відволікають людей від головної мети - вижити.
Те, як авторка зображає Безсловесних і показує мову і культуру як те, що відрізняє «життя» від «виживання», а людей від тварин, змушує сісти і трошки про це подумати.
⏺В той же час, мені не сподобалась реалізація цієї задумки. Мотивація відмови від слів дуже погано прописана. Як і світ в цілому. Головний конфлікт дуже притягнутий за вуха. Це моя головна претензія до цієї книги.
Що ще мені сподобалось, крім класної задумки?
✨ висвітлення проблеми глобального потепління та можливих наслідків для людей і планети.
✨ наявність pov антагоніста.
Вставки з його думками були невеликі, але вони допомагали краще його зрозуміти. Не схвалити чи підтримати, а просто зрозуміти, що саме керувало ним.
✨ цікавий сюжет та динамічний розвиток подій.
Після 150-ї сторінки історія мене настільки затягнула, що я дочитала книжку до кінця за раз (там 400 сторінок, просто кажу).
Що мені не сподобалось?
✨ багато дуже нелогічних та клішованих моментів, коли я щиро не розуміла, чому відбувається те, що відбувається (наприклад, звідки ні з того ні з сього між персонажами бралась довіра і вони починали розмови про наболіле, що в підсумку змінювало сюжет; дуже хотілось, щоб це просто було краще написано).
✨ головна героїня у 50-60% всієї книги.
Все може, все вміє, якогось біса постійно думає, що в неї все вийде там, де ніколи б не вийшло в інших, звідси - самовпевненість на межі з божевіллям та рішення йти на нічим не обґрунтований ризик.
✨ нелогічний фінал, який змусив мене почуватись, як отой кіт зі стікера з купою кружечків завантаження (ні, я не про головну героїню, а про другорядну, але не буду про це, щоб не спойлерити).
Для мене ця книга десь на 3,5 зірочки. Але мені дуже цікав��, що буде далі, тому другу частину теж читатиму.
August 9, 2017
If you are a lover of middle grade fiction I highly recommend this book! I started reading it with my children and they enjoyed it. Then we left on vacation and I tried to continue reading it to them and my nephew joined in. He usually loves to run and be on the go but sat quietly listening and begging to hear the rest of the book. Unfortunately we didn't get to finish it together because vacation ended. But he has asked me a couple different times if I'd finished it and what I thought. I ended up finishing it by myself but am definitely going to have my kiddos finish it too.
Well written, great dystopian world, the characters were well developed. I loved the mystery added in throughout the book. There was the "bad" character who had small little sections of just his thoughts in italics at the end of the chapters and it gave a great added dimension to the story and the mystery behind everything, as well as giving the reader a glimpse into the thoughts and the whys of this society of limited words.
What would you think if you only had so many words to use everyday. Speaking anything other than those words would mean punishment and eventual banishment. Imagine further that those words were slowly disappearing and being destroyed so your "List" would eventually become nonexistent. Definitely was thinking Fahrenheit 451 when I started reading this. I loved that book when I read it years and years ago. Destroying knowledge and books and take it a step further, words and the knowledge of what those words and their meanings are.
Letta is what's known as a 'wordsmith' and has access to all the words, not just list. When a stranger stumbles into her world, all she's thought and believe has been changed and may never go back to normal again. She must decide what to believe and what she deems is right and good. Is she willing to do whatever it takes to truly find out what should be or will her inability to step forward be the downfall of all she holds dear.
I really enjoyed the writing style and the weaving of the storylines together. Great read that I will be recommending to middle-grade librarians, public librarians and lots of parents and children.
Content: Some moments of peril, talk of torture (nothing graphic), some fights and a very mild love story. I would definitely say this is a clean read.
I received a copy from the publisher, Jabberwocky, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.
Happy Reading!!!
Well written, great dystopian world, the characters were well developed. I loved the mystery added in throughout the book. There was the "bad" character who had small little sections of just his thoughts in italics at the end of the chapters and it gave a great added dimension to the story and the mystery behind everything, as well as giving the reader a glimpse into the thoughts and the whys of this society of limited words.
What would you think if you only had so many words to use everyday. Speaking anything other than those words would mean punishment and eventual banishment. Imagine further that those words were slowly disappearing and being destroyed so your "List" would eventually become nonexistent. Definitely was thinking Fahrenheit 451 when I started reading this. I loved that book when I read it years and years ago. Destroying knowledge and books and take it a step further, words and the knowledge of what those words and their meanings are.
Letta is what's known as a 'wordsmith' and has access to all the words, not just list. When a stranger stumbles into her world, all she's thought and believe has been changed and may never go back to normal again. She must decide what to believe and what she deems is right and good. Is she willing to do whatever it takes to truly find out what should be or will her inability to step forward be the downfall of all she holds dear.
I really enjoyed the writing style and the weaving of the storylines together. Great read that I will be recommending to middle-grade librarians, public librarians and lots of parents and children.
Content: Some moments of peril, talk of torture (nothing graphic), some fights and a very mild love story. I would definitely say this is a clean read.
I received a copy from the publisher, Jabberwocky, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.
Happy Reading!!!
July 4, 2017
“1984 meets The Giver”
3.5 stars
I just love dystopian novels and when I read the summary of this, I knew I had to read it. I’m so glad that I did! It’s an entertaining read even if there’s a lot of familiarity to it. Some of the references are obvious, but it’s a refreshing twist on a few well-loved classics.
Speech is limited to five hundred words, so dialogue makes everyone sound like non-native English speakers. Words such as “please” and “thank you” aren’t list words. Desecrators are banished. Their leader, John Noa, helped build the city of Ark, and the citizens simply call him Noa. Ok, so the names aren’t very original, but the story is still fun to read. Noa wants the city to be wordless, permanently. Many people want to stop him, so they form an army and secretly plan to battle Noa and his people before it’s too late.
The storytelling was engaging, although the beginning was a little slow. Once it picked up, I couldn’t stop reading, because I was so curious to know how it ended. There’s tension and mystery that keeps the story moving forward and the pacing does pick up after a while. I just wish the first half had the same pacing as the last half.
I wish there was more character development, but they were developed enough that I cared about them to either like or hate them. I liked Letta, Marlo, Finn, and Benjamin the most, but there were other interesting characters. I hated Noa. You couldn’t even imply that you supported desecrators without being sent to prison where they tortured you. I wasn’t sure what some of the characters looked like, but their personalities were clear. I worried about some of them and wanted them to win the battle at the end. I was heartbroken over a death, although it’s already mentioned in the Goodreads summary. I actually had some sweaty palms a few times. I could feel the character’s anxiety, especially when people showed up on official business.
I thought this had pretty good world building. I loved the fact that I had a general idea of what their city looked like. The living conditions were vivid. You could see that the city was poor and medicinal treatments are limited primarily to herbs. Food was rationed and you collected it at the Central Kitchen. Sometimes your meal consisted of two hard-boiled eggs, a piece of bread and baked apples. There was a lot of concern about the safety of their drinking water and even water was rationed out. Families were limited to two children to control the city’s supplies. Open fires were banned, because of concerns about the ozone layer. Also, music and art are banned. It’s hard to imagine living in a place with no music or art and a place where you can’t speak freely. I certainly wouldn’t want to live in a city such as Ark.
Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this. If you’re undecided, I’d say read it, but it’s more of a book that I’d borrow from the library than one I’d add to my home library.
April 21, 2022
(This book was originally published in Ireland under the title The Wordsmith.)
My husband took me to Barnes and Noble for my birthday, and this is one of the books I got. (Thanks, love!) I was 60% drawn in by the cover, and 40% fascinated by the word/art-related concept which is always my jam in dystopians. (Hi Fahrenheit 451, Matched, and Gathering Blue.👋)
I also saw a couple reviews compare it to The Giver and The City of Ember, so I was pretty confident it would be something I liked.
It hit every mark for me. 👏👏
Stripped back writing style, fascinating but edging toward horrifying world, MC who is thrown into the deep end, relationships driving her choices and her bravery, save the world but also one soul type story, words central to the plot and surprisingly deep thoughts about free speech and humanity… Even an adorable crush that didn't take over the story. 🥰
My favorite scenes were when Letta was writing out words at the shop, the music scene, and when she first meets Marlo. I also enjoyed whenever characters spoke List. It was fascinating, and I was always waiting for them to slip out of it. The old scientist's son deserves the world, Benjamin is the coolest, and I lived for every surprise strength of the women characters in this story.
CW: torture, description of gruesome wounds twice in the story (yet surprisingly clean otherwise), bodily fluids, implied death by exposure/wild animals. Environmental themes discussed neutrally. The main villain
Altogether, while this book can be compared to some of the best middle-grade dystopian offerings, it deserves a place beside them for its unique premise and thought-provoking themes.
This nerd approves. 👏
My husband took me to Barnes and Noble for my birthday, and this is one of the books I got. (Thanks, love!) I was 60% drawn in by the cover, and 40% fascinated by the word/art-related concept which is always my jam in dystopians. (Hi Fahrenheit 451, Matched, and Gathering Blue.👋)
I also saw a couple reviews compare it to The Giver and The City of Ember, so I was pretty confident it would be something I liked.
It hit every mark for me. 👏👏
Stripped back writing style, fascinating but edging toward horrifying world, MC who is thrown into the deep end, relationships driving her choices and her bravery, save the world but also one soul type story, words central to the plot and surprisingly deep thoughts about free speech and humanity… Even an adorable crush that didn't take over the story. 🥰
My favorite scenes were when Letta was writing out words at the shop, the music scene, and when she first meets Marlo. I also enjoyed whenever characters spoke List. It was fascinating, and I was always waiting for them to slip out of it. The old scientist's son deserves the world, Benjamin is the coolest, and I lived for every surprise strength of the women characters in this story.
CW: torture, description of gruesome wounds twice in the story (yet surprisingly clean otherwise), bodily fluids, implied death by exposure/wild animals. Environmental themes discussed neutrally. The main villain
Altogether, while this book can be compared to some of the best middle-grade dystopian offerings, it deserves a place beside them for its unique premise and thought-provoking themes.
This nerd approves. 👏
April 11, 2017
Thanks Netgalley for this Arc but unfortunately, it didn't go at all well for me.
This is the first time in my life as a reader that I wanted to not finish a book. Really, this was a true ordeal for me. I have hesitated many times whether I should put it aside or not, and maybe I should have. Because this book gave me absolutely NOTHING. No emotions, no turmoil, just, simple boredom and then, because I was so bored with it, it made me actually angry and I started to pick out all the flaws. Problem is, they're everywhere.
The List, in its concept, is not a bad idea. It's rather a beautiful one : to talk about the beauty and significance of language. I wanted to read the book because of that. Because language and words are everything to me. But this story is just so unfulfilled. I mean, what is this villain ? The main antagonist of this story is just ridicule, he has no charisma, no extent, no nothing. There is almost no altercation between the main protagonist, freaking useless Letta, and the villain. The universe is just blank and needs to be re-worked and worked again and extended. Because this book seemed like a first and bad draft instead of an actual book. And let's speak about Letta. Who is she ? Apart from the wordsmith thing, what makes me wanna get attached to her ? Nothing.
Does she develop true and heartbreaking relationships during the book ? No. Is there a love story ? I know it's not an obligation, but I mean, come on, I need to feel something here !!!! AND WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ENDING ?? IT WAS NO ENDING AT ALL.
I think the author wanted to write something close to Divergent, The Hunger Games or 1984 but she should know that those authors worked on their subject and delivered a story that is both meaningful and emotional, which is not the case here. It just feels like a mash up.
It's the first time in my life as a reader that I feel as if I just wasted my time. And it's not an agreeable feeling. Really. I'm so disappointed. There's nothing else to say.
This is the first time in my life as a reader that I wanted to not finish a book. Really, this was a true ordeal for me. I have hesitated many times whether I should put it aside or not, and maybe I should have. Because this book gave me absolutely NOTHING. No emotions, no turmoil, just, simple boredom and then, because I was so bored with it, it made me actually angry and I started to pick out all the flaws. Problem is, they're everywhere.
The List, in its concept, is not a bad idea. It's rather a beautiful one : to talk about the beauty and significance of language. I wanted to read the book because of that. Because language and words are everything to me. But this story is just so unfulfilled. I mean, what is this villain ? The main antagonist of this story is just ridicule, he has no charisma, no extent, no nothing. There is almost no altercation between the main protagonist, freaking useless Letta, and the villain. The universe is just blank and needs to be re-worked and worked again and extended. Because this book seemed like a first and bad draft instead of an actual book. And let's speak about Letta. Who is she ? Apart from the wordsmith thing, what makes me wanna get attached to her ? Nothing.
Does she develop true and heartbreaking relationships during the book ? No. Is there a love story ? I know it's not an obligation, but I mean, come on, I need to feel something here !!!! AND WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ENDING ?? IT WAS NO ENDING AT ALL.
I think the author wanted to write something close to Divergent, The Hunger Games or 1984 but she should know that those authors worked on their subject and delivered a story that is both meaningful and emotional, which is not the case here. It just feels like a mash up.
It's the first time in my life as a reader that I feel as if I just wasted my time. And it's not an agreeable feeling. Really. I'm so disappointed. There's nothing else to say.
July 2, 2017
For a middle-school book...this was INTENSE!
I couldn't put it down for a second!
Imagine a world after climate change has been ignored and the water levels rise? The dystopian future isn't so hard to imagine, and the inhabitants of the "ark" are controlled with language. They are kept ignorant of the words and are therefore unable to communicate.
Genius really...and absolutely terrifying. To keep people wordless, you keep them imprisoned.
Our heroine, Letta, is a wordsmith apprentice, privy to the words that are unobtainable to the average person. Her life is standard and banal, until a boy shows up at her door...with a gunshot wound...
***Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for giving me an ARC of this book for my honest review.
I couldn't put it down for a second!
Imagine a world after climate change has been ignored and the water levels rise? The dystopian future isn't so hard to imagine, and the inhabitants of the "ark" are controlled with language. They are kept ignorant of the words and are therefore unable to communicate.
Genius really...and absolutely terrifying. To keep people wordless, you keep them imprisoned.
Our heroine, Letta, is a wordsmith apprentice, privy to the words that are unobtainable to the average person. Her life is standard and banal, until a boy shows up at her door...with a gunshot wound...
***Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for giving me an ARC of this book for my honest review.
October 30, 2017
I requested a review copy of this from Netgalley because of the cover. I don't usually read Middle Grade because I usually dont connect to the characters and their decisions, but the cover kept catching my eye so I ended up requesting it. Thankfully, the main character Letta wasnt immature like I thought she was going to be. She was a likeable and well developped character, but I dont know if her bravery was very realistic, especially considering her age. I was afraid for her.
The pace wasnt fast enough for me, but the concept of only having a small amount of words available was interesting and the author did a good job with the dialogue. It was the first time I saw LOL used in dialogue. Even though we got a vague reason why Noa hates words so much I kept waiting for the real reason to be revealed. I felt like the reason wasnt that believable for the amount of hate Noa had for words. I also didnt believe the ending of Noas mates character arc or the fact that Letta didnt drown in the barrel.
The plot was pretty basic and not exactly gripping. Letta was trying to figure out of what happened to her master, but it was pretty obvious to me. Then their was a rebellion. The end. I liked the characters in the rebel group, but the part where they followed a trail of ink wasnt very realistic since it would have washed away with the rain. I would have liked to know what happened to Daniel. It felt like that plot line was just forgotten. After she talked to his mom she didnt even try to find him.
Overall I thought this book was alright. I didn't feel like I was forcing myself to finish it. I think people who read Middle Grade will enjoy more than I did. The world and the characters were a lot of fun, but the plot wasnt as unique as I would have liked. I liked how the environmental disaster was something that could actually happen in our future. It was predictable and none of the twists surprised me, but Ive read a lot of these types of books. Someone newer to the genre might find it more exciting
*received in exchange for an honest review*
The pace wasnt fast enough for me, but the concept of only having a small amount of words available was interesting and the author did a good job with the dialogue. It was the first time I saw LOL used in dialogue. Even though we got a vague reason why Noa hates words so much I kept waiting for the real reason to be revealed. I felt like the reason wasnt that believable for the amount of hate Noa had for words. I also didnt believe the ending of Noas mates character arc or the fact that Letta didnt drown in the barrel.
The plot was pretty basic and not exactly gripping. Letta was trying to figure out of what happened to her master, but it was pretty obvious to me. Then their was a rebellion. The end. I liked the characters in the rebel group, but the part where they followed a trail of ink wasnt very realistic since it would have washed away with the rain. I would have liked to know what happened to Daniel. It felt like that plot line was just forgotten. After she talked to his mom she didnt even try to find him.
Overall I thought this book was alright. I didn't feel like I was forcing myself to finish it. I think people who read Middle Grade will enjoy more than I did. The world and the characters were a lot of fun, but the plot wasnt as unique as I would have liked. I liked how the environmental disaster was something that could actually happen in our future. It was predictable and none of the twists surprised me, but Ive read a lot of these types of books. Someone newer to the genre might find it more exciting
*received in exchange for an honest review*
September 26, 2017
The List is a fascinating dystopian tale of a post-apocalyptic society in which language is limited to only 500 words. And falling. The leaders of Ark--a relatively save haven in the midst of chaos and wilderness--believe words are to blame for the cataclysmic Melting, hiding the impending disasters behind pretty lies and false promises until it was too late.
Now, only the aging wordsmith and his young apprentice, Letta, are allowed to use words that are not on the List--collecting and protecting them until the day that humanity might once again deserve the full range of language and expression. When the wordsmith fails to return from a word collecting mission, Letta must take his place, only to discover that the promises of Ark itself are beginning to unravel.
I loved the world that Patricia Forde has created. The premise of the novel is fascinating and all too believable, and the plot moves along at a steady clip. The List-based dialog is intriguing, giving the reader a true sense of immersion in the story, and I would have liked to see more of it. I enjoyed that bit immensely!
I would also have enjoyed getting to know Letta better. She did a lot of things, and there are plenty of readers who will love that about the book. But I walked away feeling like I didn't have a solid handle on who she was--on the quirks of her personality that make her unique. (To be fair, the reader does get a lot of her thoughts; they just came across as somewhat scattered to me, so that I didn't ever feel like I got a solid handle on them.)
That said, both the world and the story held my attention to the end. I'd definitely recommend at least checking out a sample. If you enjoy the author's style, you'll love the read.
Now, only the aging wordsmith and his young apprentice, Letta, are allowed to use words that are not on the List--collecting and protecting them until the day that humanity might once again deserve the full range of language and expression. When the wordsmith fails to return from a word collecting mission, Letta must take his place, only to discover that the promises of Ark itself are beginning to unravel.
I loved the world that Patricia Forde has created. The premise of the novel is fascinating and all too believable, and the plot moves along at a steady clip. The List-based dialog is intriguing, giving the reader a true sense of immersion in the story, and I would have liked to see more of it. I enjoyed that bit immensely!
I would also have enjoyed getting to know Letta better. She did a lot of things, and there are plenty of readers who will love that about the book. But I walked away feeling like I didn't have a solid handle on who she was--on the quirks of her personality that make her unique. (To be fair, the reader does get a lot of her thoughts; they just came across as somewhat scattered to me, so that I didn't ever feel like I got a solid handle on them.)
That said, both the world and the story held my attention to the end. I'd definitely recommend at least checking out a sample. If you enjoy the author's style, you'll love the read.
September 1, 2018
3.5 stars
Patricia Forde's The List is pretty much a darker version of The Giver. Our protagonist Letta is an apprentice to the Wordsmith, the one who receives and stores all the words humans have created. The other job of the Wordsmith is to create The List, 500 words that people are allowed to speak; all other words are forbidden.
At some point in the future, after climate change has devastated the earth, John Noa creates the Ark, a place where survivors can come and live. This comes at what may at first appear to be a small price -- most of their words. John believes it is speech that allowed the crisis to occur and in order to save the Earth from more damage, human language must all but disappear.
When Letta is a young child, her parents die and she is given to the Wordsmith Benjamin to be his apprentice. She learns the words of humanity, those still allowed and those that are forbidden. She learns to create Lists for people, of their approved words. She learns that words are mostly evil, causing great harm.
When Benjamin disappears, Letta becomes the new Wordsmith. Now she learns something new -- that John Noa may have more sinister plans than what she has always believed, may not be the great Saviour of humanity that he and many others believe.
So, okay, good story, highlighting the importance of language to human culture. Typical dystopia, where all that glitters is not gold. I enjoyed The List but not as much as I thought I would. It seemed at times the author was trying to re-create The Giver, and sorry, but that simply can't be done! It shouldn't be done! Then again, I decided to read it precisely because of its similarities to The Giver so Ms. Forde was perhaps wise to draw so many similarities.
It's a good story, good background, good message. Not my favourite, but it was still an enjoyable read.
Patricia Forde's The List is pretty much a darker version of The Giver. Our protagonist Letta is an apprentice to the Wordsmith, the one who receives and stores all the words humans have created. The other job of the Wordsmith is to create The List, 500 words that people are allowed to speak; all other words are forbidden.
At some point in the future, after climate change has devastated the earth, John Noa creates the Ark, a place where survivors can come and live. This comes at what may at first appear to be a small price -- most of their words. John believes it is speech that allowed the crisis to occur and in order to save the Earth from more damage, human language must all but disappear.
When Letta is a young child, her parents die and she is given to the Wordsmith Benjamin to be his apprentice. She learns the words of humanity, those still allowed and those that are forbidden. She learns to create Lists for people, of their approved words. She learns that words are mostly evil, causing great harm.
When Benjamin disappears, Letta becomes the new Wordsmith. Now she learns something new -- that John Noa may have more sinister plans than what she has always believed, may not be the great Saviour of humanity that he and many others believe.
So, okay, good story, highlighting the importance of language to human culture. Typical dystopia, where all that glitters is not gold. I enjoyed The List but not as much as I thought I would. It seemed at times the author was trying to re-create The Giver, and sorry, but that simply can't be done! It shouldn't be done! Then again, I decided to read it precisely because of its similarities to The Giver so Ms. Forde was perhaps wise to draw so many similarities.
It's a good story, good background, good message. Not my favourite, but it was still an enjoyable read.
August 11, 2017
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
"In the city of Ark, speech is constrained to five hundred sanctioned words. Speak outside the approved lexicon and face banishment. The exceptions are the Wordsmith and his apprentice Letta, the keepers and archivists of all language in their post-apocalyptic, neo-medieval world.
On the death of her master, Letta is suddenly promoted to Wordsmith, charged with collecting and saving words. But when she uncovers a sinister plan to suppress language and rob Ark’s citizens of their power of speech, she realizes that it’s up to her to save not only words, but culture itself. "
While I did enjoy this book, I wasn't wowed by it. I wanted to side with the protagonist, get enveloped into the plot, or root for an ending and I did not get any of that out of this story. While the plot was very unique and such an interesting premise, it wasn't executed particularly well. It was too simple, I feel that this could have been amazing if it was just fleshed out a bit more.
In terms of the characters, I wish I had more feelings towards them. I felt ambivalent towards the main characters. I liked them, but not enough to care about what was going on in their lives.
I did enjoy the world building and the concept but would have liked that extra detail.
3.5/5*
"In the city of Ark, speech is constrained to five hundred sanctioned words. Speak outside the approved lexicon and face banishment. The exceptions are the Wordsmith and his apprentice Letta, the keepers and archivists of all language in their post-apocalyptic, neo-medieval world.
On the death of her master, Letta is suddenly promoted to Wordsmith, charged with collecting and saving words. But when she uncovers a sinister plan to suppress language and rob Ark’s citizens of their power of speech, she realizes that it’s up to her to save not only words, but culture itself. "
While I did enjoy this book, I wasn't wowed by it. I wanted to side with the protagonist, get enveloped into the plot, or root for an ending and I did not get any of that out of this story. While the plot was very unique and such an interesting premise, it wasn't executed particularly well. It was too simple, I feel that this could have been amazing if it was just fleshed out a bit more.
In terms of the characters, I wish I had more feelings towards them. I felt ambivalent towards the main characters. I liked them, but not enough to care about what was going on in their lives.
I did enjoy the world building and the concept but would have liked that extra detail.
3.5/5*
February 27, 2017
This suffered from 'Divergent' Syndrome: An interesting concept that didn't really follow through with sustainable, believable reasons for its main plot device. Despite there being some interesting use of language and an important call for children to improve their vocabulary, the characters weren't interesting or deep enough to sustain my interest.
October 25, 2017
I liked this book. I would recommend other so read it. I really liked the settings and the plot, thought similar to other sci-fi books, was good.
It's a new approach to utopia that I haven't seen done before, so it was very interesting to read. Try it out. :)
It's a new approach to utopia that I haven't seen done before, so it was very interesting to read. Try it out. :)
Read
December 26, 2022Stole this one from my daughter...
I'd say the average rating is pretty accurate.
I'd say the average rating is pretty accurate.
June 18, 2018
5/5
Bu kitabı okuyun! Yorumu için: http://kronikokur.blogspot.com/2018/0...
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August 25, 2018
I really wanted to like this book.
Two months ago, I stopped being able to speak as a result of a mysterious medical problem. So I started learning ASL instead. My friends and I are trying to learn properly, with correct grammar and such, but for a long time we simply collected vocabulary so I could communicate. So when I read the synopsis of the book, I was intrigued. "Trying to say everything that needs to be said with only 500 words?" I thought. "This is my life right now!" I was curious to see how the author would flesh out the concept, how we'd see characters communicating within limits and tweaking the system in order to express themselves.
But it was not to be. Our protagonist is, of course, an apprentice wordsmith, exempt from the language laws restricting everyone else to 500 words. And her master, as the wordsmith, is exempt as well. And the rebels she befriends don't speak List, because they are rebels, and the antagonist doesn't speak List with her because she's the wordsmith, and and and and.....
Basically, no one speaks List in this book except the bland and mindless sheeple who worship John Noa (creator of Ark, heh heh heh, i see what u did there). I know it wasn't the author's intent, because she does acknowledge in a few places that Letta's superiority complex is unjustified, but the narrative itself felt really problematic to me. The value/importance of each character within the story is directly proportional to their vocabulary. Without WORDS how will we feel HOPE or express LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. Without words, how will we be any different from animals????? The central premise of the story, the 500 words, didn't even matter, because no one we cared about was actually limited to those 500. It felt irrelevant which words were on the List. And then in the end it was actually about the eradication of all language, which was sort of interesting, but again, total waste of a cool idea.
And, like, I get it. Not being able to talk is hell. It DOES suck and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, and it's fair to portray that as a creepy outcome that no one should pursue. But in the end, it was just another generic dystopia about how if you can't Pursue Your Dreams and Marry For Love and Make Art And Music To Feed The Soul, then are you really anything more than a beast of the fields???? Are you????? Another story that acts like its premise is so deep and worldview-enriching when it's actually just making controversial statements like "art and music are good things" and "stripping the entire population of the means to communicate would be wrong." Dystopian fiction is supposed to relate meaningfully to the actual real world, and this just......didn't. John Noa's arguments against words are vague and flimsy and ridiculous. Global warming is bad, but no one listened or cared until the earth flooded, so I guess words are to blame????? Because words are for....lying???
The problem is that there's nothing tempting about this society, yet we're supposed to believe Letta is somehow this incredible free thinker for seeing through it. Unlike The Giver, an actually good book, there's no appeal to Noa's system. Nothing is better. Nobody benefits. You don't see what has been gained through sacrifice, which makes the decision to prioritize things like art and music and language feel empty. Of course people should have words! Everything sucks right now anyway. Nobody gained anything by using List. They're all poor and sad and John Noa is a weirdo delusional bully.
Writers never seem to think about how ableist their books are, but I do. I think about it allllll the time.
Two months ago, I stopped being able to speak as a result of a mysterious medical problem. So I started learning ASL instead. My friends and I are trying to learn properly, with correct grammar and such, but for a long time we simply collected vocabulary so I could communicate. So when I read the synopsis of the book, I was intrigued. "Trying to say everything that needs to be said with only 500 words?" I thought. "This is my life right now!" I was curious to see how the author would flesh out the concept, how we'd see characters communicating within limits and tweaking the system in order to express themselves.
But it was not to be. Our protagonist is, of course, an apprentice wordsmith, exempt from the language laws restricting everyone else to 500 words. And her master, as the wordsmith, is exempt as well. And the rebels she befriends don't speak List, because they are rebels, and the antagonist doesn't speak List with her because she's the wordsmith, and and and and.....
Basically, no one speaks List in this book except the bland and mindless sheeple who worship John Noa (creator of Ark, heh heh heh, i see what u did there). I know it wasn't the author's intent, because she does acknowledge in a few places that Letta's superiority complex is unjustified, but the narrative itself felt really problematic to me. The value/importance of each character within the story is directly proportional to their vocabulary. Without WORDS how will we feel HOPE or express LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. Without words, how will we be any different from animals????? The central premise of the story, the 500 words, didn't even matter, because no one we cared about was actually limited to those 500. It felt irrelevant which words were on the List. And then in the end it was actually about the eradication of all language, which was sort of interesting, but again, total waste of a cool idea.
And, like, I get it. Not being able to talk is hell. It DOES suck and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, and it's fair to portray that as a creepy outcome that no one should pursue. But in the end, it was just another generic dystopia about how if you can't Pursue Your Dreams and Marry For Love and Make Art And Music To Feed The Soul, then are you really anything more than a beast of the fields???? Are you????? Another story that acts like its premise is so deep and worldview-enriching when it's actually just making controversial statements like "art and music are good things" and "stripping the entire population of the means to communicate would be wrong." Dystopian fiction is supposed to relate meaningfully to the actual real world, and this just......didn't. John Noa's arguments against words are vague and flimsy and ridiculous. Global warming is bad, but no one listened or cared until the earth flooded, so I guess words are to blame????? Because words are for....lying???
The problem is that there's nothing tempting about this society, yet we're supposed to believe Letta is somehow this incredible free thinker for seeing through it. Unlike The Giver, an actually good book, there's no appeal to Noa's system. Nothing is better. Nobody benefits. You don't see what has been gained through sacrifice, which makes the decision to prioritize things like art and music and language feel empty. Of course people should have words! Everything sucks right now anyway. Nobody gained anything by using List. They're all poor and sad and John Noa is a weirdo delusional bully.
Writers never seem to think about how ableist their books are, but I do. I think about it allllll the time.
July 10, 2017
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
'The here and now is only the smallest part of who we are. Each of us is all that we have been, all our stories, all that we could be'.
Letta is an apprentice wordsmith in the city of Ark, a dystopian world where all technology and animals have been destroyed in a great flood. Her job is to distribute 'The List' a set of 500 words that the citizens of Ark are allowed to use. All other words are censored. So what would life be like to live in a world without words? Without the ability to express hopes or dreams?
I loved the concept of this book, but I must admit I thought it would extremely difficult for the author to convey a world in which most of the characters were extremely limited in their vocabulary. However, I felt this was handled wonderfully. The main characters were all free to speak 'old' (i.e. 'Proper' English), and the story was not hindered by the others inability to speak in this way. I felt the story perhaps took inspiration from our modern world - how often do people speak in abbreviated terms these days? At one point early on in the story, Marco even uses the term 'LOL', although Letta doesn't understand its meaning.
I loved the idea that words truly are our pathway to freedom and power. However, this wasn't a perfect novel for me.
The pace was quite slow at times, only really picking up pace from about 50% onwards when Letta finally realised what has happened to Benjamin, and what Noa (the main antagonist) was up to. The first half seems to concentrate more on Letta's day to day issues and her inner turmoils over the resistance. Also, as a dystopian novel, it follows the predictable pattern of other similar dystopian worlds (i.e. Dictator trying to pass the world off as a Utopia, an uprising of rebels and the conflicted hero) but it had enough of a unique concept to carry me through.
A lovely little dystopian novel.
'The here and now is only the smallest part of who we are. Each of us is all that we have been, all our stories, all that we could be'.
Letta is an apprentice wordsmith in the city of Ark, a dystopian world where all technology and animals have been destroyed in a great flood. Her job is to distribute 'The List' a set of 500 words that the citizens of Ark are allowed to use. All other words are censored. So what would life be like to live in a world without words? Without the ability to express hopes or dreams?
I loved the concept of this book, but I must admit I thought it would extremely difficult for the author to convey a world in which most of the characters were extremely limited in their vocabulary. However, I felt this was handled wonderfully. The main characters were all free to speak 'old' (i.e. 'Proper' English), and the story was not hindered by the others inability to speak in this way. I felt the story perhaps took inspiration from our modern world - how often do people speak in abbreviated terms these days? At one point early on in the story, Marco even uses the term 'LOL', although Letta doesn't understand its meaning.
I loved the idea that words truly are our pathway to freedom and power. However, this wasn't a perfect novel for me.
The pace was quite slow at times, only really picking up pace from about 50% onwards when Letta finally realised what has happened to Benjamin, and what Noa (the main antagonist) was up to. The first half seems to concentrate more on Letta's day to day issues and her inner turmoils over the resistance. Also, as a dystopian novel, it follows the predictable pattern of other similar dystopian worlds (i.e. Dictator trying to pass the world off as a Utopia, an uprising of rebels and the conflicted hero) but it had enough of a unique concept to carry me through.
A lovely little dystopian novel.
July 16, 2017
When I read the synopsis of The List, I thought it sounded like a unique dystopian post-apocalyptic tale and knew I wanted to read it. It turned out to be The Giver meets 1984 meets Fahrenheit 451. It wasn't unique at all and felt more like a mish mash of every dystopian I've read.
Letta is an apprentice wordsmith in a society with a vocabulary of only 500 words. Her job is to furnish the LIST of words to all the residents of Ark. Using words that are non-list can get you banished from Ark.
In Ark, there is also no art, no music, no words other than the 500 allowed. Per the leader of Ark, Noa, words are what caused man's downfall which lead to the apocalypse of the ice caps melting and the earth being flooded.
The banished are called Desecrators, and have their own settlement on the outskirts of Ark. Although they have to scrabble for food and water, especially water which is scarce, the banished seemed to be happier to me, for they had music, and art, and words. Except for the fact that the townspeople had 3 bare bones meals a day and barely enough water to exist, they seemed kind of miserable. And the Desecrators never had issues with sneaking into town to meet with Letta in her house day after day, or getting what they needed to survive.
In all honesty, I had a tough time understanding when the characters spoke "list". And overall, I really didn't understand the concept of removing language from the world.
The rest of the story was completely predictable. But then, it is middle grade, so maybe it needs to be. I keep going back and forth with this one. I never quite warmed to it, or to the protagonist although I really wanted to. I liked Letta's master, Benjamin, much better and wish he'd stuck around for longer.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
Letta is an apprentice wordsmith in a society with a vocabulary of only 500 words. Her job is to furnish the LIST of words to all the residents of Ark. Using words that are non-list can get you banished from Ark.
In Ark, there is also no art, no music, no words other than the 500 allowed. Per the leader of Ark, Noa, words are what caused man's downfall which lead to the apocalypse of the ice caps melting and the earth being flooded.
The banished are called Desecrators, and have their own settlement on the outskirts of Ark. Although they have to scrabble for food and water, especially water which is scarce, the banished seemed to be happier to me, for they had music, and art, and words. Except for the fact that the townspeople had 3 bare bones meals a day and barely enough water to exist, they seemed kind of miserable. And the Desecrators never had issues with sneaking into town to meet with Letta in her house day after day, or getting what they needed to survive.
In all honesty, I had a tough time understanding when the characters spoke "list". And overall, I really didn't understand the concept of removing language from the world.
The rest of the story was completely predictable. But then, it is middle grade, so maybe it needs to be. I keep going back and forth with this one. I never quite warmed to it, or to the protagonist although I really wanted to. I liked Letta's master, Benjamin, much better and wish he'd stuck around for longer.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
June 28, 2021
I liked Marlo and I liked Letta. But there’s not very much else to say aside from the facts of the following:
1. I felt that the characters were extremely underdeveloped and there wasn’t much emotional connection between myself, the reader, and the characters, especially Finn, his name is I believe? Benjamin and Marlo I felt the most connected with, and to say that even the slightest is a stretch.
2. The beginning was misleading. I believed with all of my soul that the rest of the book would be as interesting as the first few chapters were, and I’ve never been more wrong. It was very slow paced, a little too much for my liking.
3. I had to dnf this book near the ending, as I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I couldn’t find any spoilers on the ending, so I guess i’ll just deal with the fact that this was dnf-ed, I don’t even really care about the ending to be honest.
4. The world development was kind of good, though. Enjoyed that part, and it seemed very realistic at times.
Not sure if i’ll ever give the sequel a try, but here’s to maybe.
-M.<3
1. I felt that the characters were extremely underdeveloped and there wasn’t much emotional connection between myself, the reader, and the characters, especially Finn, his name is I believe? Benjamin and Marlo I felt the most connected with, and to say that even the slightest is a stretch.
2. The beginning was misleading. I believed with all of my soul that the rest of the book would be as interesting as the first few chapters were, and I’ve never been more wrong. It was very slow paced, a little too much for my liking.
3. I had to dnf this book near the ending, as I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I couldn’t find any spoilers on the ending, so I guess i’ll just deal with the fact that this was dnf-ed, I don’t even really care about the ending to be honest.
4. The world development was kind of good, though. Enjoyed that part, and it seemed very realistic at times.
Not sure if i’ll ever give the sequel a try, but here’s to maybe.
-M.<3
August 19, 2017
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If you're looking for a highly unique book, stop here, don't look further! This book is all about WORDS. About talking and understanding words, with little references to the flood from the Bible where Noah built an Ark. This story was so clever, so unique and it was actually kinda creepy to bestow a world where spoken language is minimalized little by little...
A longer review can be found at Bite Into books
Unique, creepy and all about WORDS. I like the fact that words are such a big part in this book, or actually not, because the list of words that are allowed is only 500 words long. I'm also really curious about more books by Patricia Forde, I expect a lot more unique novels! I'll keep an eye out for new books.
If you're looking for a highly unique book, stop here, don't look further! This book is all about WORDS. About talking and understanding words, with little references to the flood from the Bible where Noah built an Ark. This story was so clever, so unique and it was actually kinda creepy to bestow a world where spoken language is minimalized little by little...
A longer review can be found at Bite Into books
Unique, creepy and all about WORDS. I like the fact that words are such a big part in this book, or actually not, because the list of words that are allowed is only 500 words long. I'm also really curious about more books by Patricia Forde, I expect a lot more unique novels! I'll keep an eye out for new books.
July 14, 2017
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Finished reading: July 14th 2017
"There's always truth in dreams. Don't you know that? We have to learn what they mean, that's all."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
September 3, 2018
07-06-17- Pre-Read. Still more thanks to Netgalley. The cover art, coupled with the description, made this a no-brainer of a request for me!!
September 30, 2017
I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend that if you like dystopian teen fiction you need to read it. The basis for the book is that climate change killed most of the world off and a few select people who saw it coming prepared for it. These people are led by one man named 'Noa' who created a place called 'Ark' that is a sanctuary. Lots of cute nods to Noah's Ark and other biblical stories (without being preachy at all!). The big thing about this community of people is that they can only use 500 words to communicate. Thus, removing all unnecessary, emotional charged, or problematic words from language. Noa believes that words are cheap and the world would be better off if they didn't exist.
For now I've given this book 4 stars. I think there is a possibility that as I reflect on it more it might be worthy of 5 stars. My conflict there is that it's not quite as good as Hunger Games (but really what is). However I do believe it is written better than Divergent. The relationships between the people are more realistic. There is no insta-love (chemistry but not love) and the romance story is really on the side to the main story. It interferes very little with the plot and provides some extra motivation for our characters but nothing outrageous or annoying.
The lead gal is an intelligent, responsible heroine that is a good role model for readers. She is a strong, yet cautious person that thinks through her decisions; and when she chooses to do crazy things she accepts that it's crazy but always provides her reasons for acting. I appreciate this as I believe it's realistic and reflective of our real people think. I don't want to say too much about any of the characters or the plot because I believe that part of the enjoyment in dystopian literature is to have the reveals unravel as you read.
There are some science elements that are fictional in The List. I was disappointed to learn that Nicene isn't a real thing (in any form). Yet I believe this really shows how truly creative Patricia Forde is. She's created a world that feels like it could be our world in the not-so far future.
There are subtle references that I believe were nods to The Giver and other dystopian fiction. I liked this respectful way of including elements of other stories we all know and love. There are things that Forde decides not to touch on (ie: reproduction, death, property ownership, etc.); but I actually think it was nice to focus on language and intelligence as the key to this dystopian society.
Overall, thinking of the teen books I've read that were published this year, this would easily be in my top 5 teen reads of 2017. It certainly deserves a place on my bookshelf and I will be looking to get my very own print copy to oogle on the shelf.
I will definitely be looking for more from Patricia Forde.
To read this and more of my reviews visit my blog at Epic Reading
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
For now I've given this book 4 stars. I think there is a possibility that as I reflect on it more it might be worthy of 5 stars. My conflict there is that it's not quite as good as Hunger Games (but really what is). However I do believe it is written better than Divergent. The relationships between the people are more realistic. There is no insta-love (chemistry but not love) and the romance story is really on the side to the main story. It interferes very little with the plot and provides some extra motivation for our characters but nothing outrageous or annoying.
The lead gal is an intelligent, responsible heroine that is a good role model for readers. She is a strong, yet cautious person that thinks through her decisions; and when she chooses to do crazy things she accepts that it's crazy but always provides her reasons for acting. I appreciate this as I believe it's realistic and reflective of our real people think. I don't want to say too much about any of the characters or the plot because I believe that part of the enjoyment in dystopian literature is to have the reveals unravel as you read.
There are some science elements that are fictional in The List. I was disappointed to learn that Nicene isn't a real thing (in any form). Yet I believe this really shows how truly creative Patricia Forde is. She's created a world that feels like it could be our world in the not-so far future.
There are subtle references that I believe were nods to The Giver and other dystopian fiction. I liked this respectful way of including elements of other stories we all know and love. There are things that Forde decides not to touch on (ie: reproduction, death, property ownership, etc.); but I actually think it was nice to focus on language and intelligence as the key to this dystopian society.
Overall, thinking of the teen books I've read that were published this year, this would easily be in my top 5 teen reads of 2017. It certainly deserves a place on my bookshelf and I will be looking to get my very own print copy to oogle on the shelf.
I will definitely be looking for more from Patricia Forde.
To read this and more of my reviews visit my blog at Epic Reading
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
May 2, 2017
**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
During my years as an English major back in college, I had myself convinced that I didn’t like dystopian novels. I hated Brazil, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, 1984, Fahrenheit 451…basically all of the classic dystopians that I was being assigned. It wasn’t until I forced myself to read The Hunger Games a few years ago that I realized I didn’t necessarily hate the entire genre, just the books that had been forced on me at school.
So I started trying other young adult dystopians. It turns out that these books, while still in-depth and thoughtful, often turn out to be much more action packed and tend to keep me on the edge of my seat. Such is the case with The List.
In The List, we are presented with a city called “Ark”, which is the only (known) livable area left on the planet after “The Melting”. (Basically climate change. That’s not really a spoiler, since it’s pretty self evident in the name, and they end up explaining pieces of it early enough in the book that it becomes fairly obvious.) In Ark, there is a set List of words that the people are allowed to use, which is maintained by The Wordsmith. This is because the Leader of Ark believes that words are the main reason that people were able to destroy the planet.
This is a fascinating concept, that the world could be destroyed by language. Politicians who use language to dissuade the public’s fears and tell them that they don’t need to worry about global warming–even as the water starts taking over cities, Murderers who use language to lure in new victims, Conspiracy Theorists who spend so much time trying to convince us about things that aren’t real that we end up distracted from the things that are. What would the world be like if we didn’t have the language that let them accomplish these things?
The author uses Letta, our protagonist, to really delve into this idea. Letta grew up in Ark, completely believing in the idea that the Leader was trying to protect them, even as she strove to preserve the words that were being lost. Then she meets up with Marlo, an outsider from a group of people called “Destroyers”: artists, musicians, poets…those who want to see the beauty mankind can create brought back. Inevitably, Letta’s ideas of what is right begin to shift. Could it be that language itself isn’t the problem, but how you wield it?
There is also a ton of action. There is the usual plot where the protagonist has to save the world, with the help of her new found friends. I say “usual” because it’s a common theme in Young Adult dystopians, but the author here does a very good job making the plot believable and in keeping with the world she’s created. I won’t spoil the book by going into too much detail about it, but it’s a good mesh of detailed, actually dangerous, and quick-paced enough to keep the readers engaged.
Overall, I thought this was a very good book. I was immersed in it enough to finish it in two sittings. It would be a good introduction into the dystopian genre for younger readers. It is also a really interesting concept and presents an interesting thought experiment on how language can change the world.
During my years as an English major back in college, I had myself convinced that I didn’t like dystopian novels. I hated Brazil, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, 1984, Fahrenheit 451…basically all of the classic dystopians that I was being assigned. It wasn’t until I forced myself to read The Hunger Games a few years ago that I realized I didn’t necessarily hate the entire genre, just the books that had been forced on me at school.
So I started trying other young adult dystopians. It turns out that these books, while still in-depth and thoughtful, often turn out to be much more action packed and tend to keep me on the edge of my seat. Such is the case with The List.
In The List, we are presented with a city called “Ark”, which is the only (known) livable area left on the planet after “The Melting”. (Basically climate change. That’s not really a spoiler, since it’s pretty self evident in the name, and they end up explaining pieces of it early enough in the book that it becomes fairly obvious.) In Ark, there is a set List of words that the people are allowed to use, which is maintained by The Wordsmith. This is because the Leader of Ark believes that words are the main reason that people were able to destroy the planet.
This is a fascinating concept, that the world could be destroyed by language. Politicians who use language to dissuade the public’s fears and tell them that they don’t need to worry about global warming–even as the water starts taking over cities, Murderers who use language to lure in new victims, Conspiracy Theorists who spend so much time trying to convince us about things that aren’t real that we end up distracted from the things that are. What would the world be like if we didn’t have the language that let them accomplish these things?
The author uses Letta, our protagonist, to really delve into this idea. Letta grew up in Ark, completely believing in the idea that the Leader was trying to protect them, even as she strove to preserve the words that were being lost. Then she meets up with Marlo, an outsider from a group of people called “Destroyers”: artists, musicians, poets…those who want to see the beauty mankind can create brought back. Inevitably, Letta’s ideas of what is right begin to shift. Could it be that language itself isn’t the problem, but how you wield it?
There is also a ton of action. There is the usual plot where the protagonist has to save the world, with the help of her new found friends. I say “usual” because it’s a common theme in Young Adult dystopians, but the author here does a very good job making the plot believable and in keeping with the world she’s created. I won’t spoil the book by going into too much detail about it, but it’s a good mesh of detailed, actually dangerous, and quick-paced enough to keep the readers engaged.
Overall, I thought this was a very good book. I was immersed in it enough to finish it in two sittings. It would be a good introduction into the dystopian genre for younger readers. It is also a really interesting concept and presents an interesting thought experiment on how language can change the world.
June 25, 2017
I truly enjoyed this book and feel that middle-graders will certainly love it. Yes, it is fairly predictable with a strong, lovable heroine and, of course, a villain who, if not stopped, will destroy the new dystopian world made after 'The Melting'. Well-written and very readable - I didn't want to put it down.
Ark is the last safe place on Earth after The Melting, where climate change caused the waters to rise and flood much of the world. Everyone in Ark is required to speak List - language reduced to 500 words - to help this new society to survive. Everyone except for the wordsmith and his apprentice, Letta. They can read all the banned words - like music, painting, freedom, and love. When the wordsmith disappears, Letta becomes the new wordsmith and through her search to find what happened to her master has found there is a plot to make everyone in Ark wordless.
An interesting and fun adventure. Lots of fun.
Thanks to Patricia Forde and Sourcebooks Jaberwocky through Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Ark is the last safe place on Earth after The Melting, where climate change caused the waters to rise and flood much of the world. Everyone in Ark is required to speak List - language reduced to 500 words - to help this new society to survive. Everyone except for the wordsmith and his apprentice, Letta. They can read all the banned words - like music, painting, freedom, and love. When the wordsmith disappears, Letta becomes the new wordsmith and through her search to find what happened to her master has found there is a plot to make everyone in Ark wordless.
An interesting and fun adventure. Lots of fun.
Thanks to Patricia Forde and Sourcebooks Jaberwocky through Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 2, 2020
Really enjoyed this book. We're introduced to Letta, the apprentice wordsmith in what in many ways feels like a sort of religious commune because of the tight control and the biblical references. John Noa, their leader, has led a small band of faithful followers to safe refuge in his “ark” after worldwide disaster, in part brought on by human greed but fear and the aftermath of the devastation have caused good intentions to go too far.
Letta is assigned to give out boxes of words from the short list of those still allowed to be spoken, and in the house she lives in, is taught those that are now banned. But when trouble comes to her door, she can no longer ignore the forces of dissent brewing inside and outside the compound's walls.
In addition to the worldbuilding, I particularly enjoyed how the author contrasts the bleakness of a society that has been forbidden to use most spoken and written word with such gorgeous prose. The language of “List” is stilted and at times, almost a little annoying to have to interpret, and rich impressions of Letta’s view of the landscape become that much more meaningful.
There were some story arcs that seemed to be left intentionally unanswered, most likely for a future novel.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author.
I received an advanced copy of this text via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Letta is assigned to give out boxes of words from the short list of those still allowed to be spoken, and in the house she lives in, is taught those that are now banned. But when trouble comes to her door, she can no longer ignore the forces of dissent brewing inside and outside the compound's walls.
In addition to the worldbuilding, I particularly enjoyed how the author contrasts the bleakness of a society that has been forbidden to use most spoken and written word with such gorgeous prose. The language of “List” is stilted and at times, almost a little annoying to have to interpret, and rich impressions of Letta’s view of the landscape become that much more meaningful.
There were some story arcs that seemed to be left intentionally unanswered, most likely for a future novel.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author.
I received an advanced copy of this text via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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