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The Lost Language
The quest to save the words of a dying language - and to find the words to save what may be a dying friendship - lies at the heart of this exquisite verse novel.
Sixth grader Betsy is the one who informs her best friend, Lizard, that thousands of the world's languages are currently threatened by extinction; Betsy's mother is a linguistics professor working frantically to study dying languages before they are lost forever. But it is Lizard who, gripped by the magnitude of this loss, challenges Betsy, What if, instead of WRITING about dying languages, like your mom, you and I SAVED one instead?
As the girls embark on their quest to learn as much as possible of the near-extinct language of Guern�siais (spoken on the Isle of Guernsey, off the coast of France), their friendship faces unexpected strains. With Lizard increasingly obsessed with the language project, Betsy begins to seek greater independence from her controlling and charismatic friend, as well as from her controlling and charismatic mother. Then tragedy threatens Betsy's life beyond what any words can express, and Lizard does something unthinkable.
Maybe lost friendships, like lost languages, can never be completely saved.
An NCTE Notable Verse Novel
A Charlotte Huck Recommended Book
A Mighty Girl Best Book of the Year
A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book!
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Sixth grader Betsy is the one who informs her best friend, Lizard, that thousands of the world's languages are currently threatened by extinction; Betsy's mother is a linguistics professor working frantically to study dying languages before they are lost forever. But it is Lizard who, gripped by the magnitude of this loss, challenges Betsy, What if, instead of WRITING about dying languages, like your mom, you and I SAVED one instead?
As the girls embark on their quest to learn as much as possible of the near-extinct language of Guern�siais (spoken on the Isle of Guernsey, off the coast of France), their friendship faces unexpected strains. With Lizard increasingly obsessed with the language project, Betsy begins to seek greater independence from her controlling and charismatic friend, as well as from her controlling and charismatic mother. Then tragedy threatens Betsy's life beyond what any words can express, and Lizard does something unthinkable.
Maybe lost friendships, like lost languages, can never be completely saved.
An NCTE Notable Verse Novel
A Charlotte Huck Recommended Book
A Mighty Girl Best Book of the Year
A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book!
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 19, 2021
17 people are currently reading
504 people want to read
About the author
Claudia Mills
84 books135 followersClaudia Mills is the author of Nixie Ness, Cooking Star, 7 x 9 = Trouble!, Zero Tolerance, Write This Down, and many other books for children. She was born in New York City in 1954. She received her bachelor's degree from Wellesley College, her master's degree from Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University. She also received an M.L.S. degree from the University of Maryland, with a concentration in children's literature. She had a second career as a professor of philosophy at the Colorado at Boulder, until leaving that career in 2014 to write full time. She now teaches in the graduate program in children's literature at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. All of her books have been written between 5 and 7 in the morning while drinking Swiss Miss hot chocolate.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/claudi...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/claudi...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
April 23, 2023
"It’s amazing how just one thing said by just one person in the middle of just one conversation on just one regular day can start a person wondering things she had never wondered before."
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Genre: Realistic fiction, middle grade 🌎🏫
Content Warnings:🚨Alcohol addiction, mentioned drug use, racism, attempted suicide, mentioned self-hate🚨
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
well i was just expecting a happy middle grade novel that got heavy-
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Genre: Realistic fiction, middle grade 🌎🏫
Content Warnings:🚨Alcohol addiction, mentioned drug use, racism, attempted suicide, mentioned self-hate🚨
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
well i was just expecting a happy middle grade novel that got heavy-
September 28, 2021
Sweet, tender, thought-provoking--I love this book!
August 31, 2021
What a beautiful book! I read the entire thing in one sitting because I just couldn't stop. The writing is exquisite and every character is drawn with extraordinary nuance and respect. Every single time I was ready to start hating someone, a new layer of that character was revealed and I found my heart filling instead with empathy. THE LOST LANGUAGE is at once understated and complex, funny and heartbreaking. It veritably shimmers with love, hope, and wisdom.
February 2, 2022
Unusually, this is the second middle grade book in verse I have read in the last few weeks, and like Starfish, this book's heroine is struggling with friendship and needs to learn how to assert herself. She also has a wonderful empathetic father and a mother who is difficult. Our perspective changes somewhat when we learn more about Betsy's mother. A beautifully written book that makes me very glad I am no longer 11!
January 26, 2022
The Lost Language is a thoughtful, engaging look into a changing friendship as one friend grows into herself. It also focuses on a unique theme — linguistics and saving dying languages, as well as the white-savior mentality and how it plays into saving languages. Finally, this is an excellent portrayal of a parent navigating mental health challenges like anxiety and depression. I loved this book and hate that it seems to have flown under the radar. Highly recommend!
Read my full review on my blog.
Read my full review on my blog.
November 3, 2021
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
The Lost Language is a heartfelt story of evolving friendships, complicated family relationships, and learning independence (even in the face of strong personalities). Betsy has always considered herself part of a pair, her and her best friend Lizard. Sure, Lizard tends to always manage to get her way, but usually Betsy doesn’t mind taking a back seat to her headstrong friend (usually). She just wishes her overly-busy mom would give Lizard more of a chance. When the two embark on a quest to save a lost language, Lizard is sure it will be the key to making Betsy’s mom happy. Betsy’s not so sure, but she doesn’t want to upset Lizard, so she agrees. But when things start going wrong both in her friendships and in her family, Betsy isn’t sure where to turn.
The story is written in spare, evocative verse that invites the reader into Betsy’s inner thoughts and feelings. Middle graders will relate to the concept of shifting friendships, since this is common at this age. And it’s impossible not to empathize with Betsy as she navigates the opposing wants and needs of the people who are closest to her. My heart broke for her when things really started to fall apart, both at home and at school. The book also tackles the topic of mental illness in a way that is both realistic and compassionate. And, best of all, it ends with a sense of hope and empowerment!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Rockstar Book Tours so I could provide an honest review. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
The Lost Language is a heartfelt story of evolving friendships, complicated family relationships, and learning independence (even in the face of strong personalities). Betsy has always considered herself part of a pair, her and her best friend Lizard. Sure, Lizard tends to always manage to get her way, but usually Betsy doesn’t mind taking a back seat to her headstrong friend (usually). She just wishes her overly-busy mom would give Lizard more of a chance. When the two embark on a quest to save a lost language, Lizard is sure it will be the key to making Betsy’s mom happy. Betsy’s not so sure, but she doesn’t want to upset Lizard, so she agrees. But when things start going wrong both in her friendships and in her family, Betsy isn’t sure where to turn.
The story is written in spare, evocative verse that invites the reader into Betsy’s inner thoughts and feelings. Middle graders will relate to the concept of shifting friendships, since this is common at this age. And it’s impossible not to empathize with Betsy as she navigates the opposing wants and needs of the people who are closest to her. My heart broke for her when things really started to fall apart, both at home and at school. The book also tackles the topic of mental illness in a way that is both realistic and compassionate. And, best of all, it ends with a sense of hope and empowerment!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Rockstar Book Tours so I could provide an honest review. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
September 18, 2021
When I first heard about THE LOST LANGUAGE, I immediately wanted to read it. I love languages, and I'm fascinated by disappearing languages and concerned about how fast they're vanishing. What I didn't expect was how much I'd be moved by this beautiful story about families and friendships and heartache and redemption. My expectations were high, and yet this wonderful book far exceeded what I expected. I was fully absorbed, first word to last.
Brava!
Brava!
November 14, 2021
What an absolute delight. I loved everything about this warm, genuine, honest story. The characters and the relationships between them are the heart of this book. It really hits the middle school sweet spot, and I can't wait to share it with my students.
September 6, 2021
The Lost Language is a beautiful novel in free verse about nearly losing and trying to revive the language of love and friendship, based on the metaphor real-world language loss and revitalization efforts. As an avid reader of middle grade fiction, I loved how relatable and three-dimensional the characters were. Eleven-year old Betsy, also known as Bumble, struggles in her relationships with her best friend and her mother as she makes new friends and experiments with new interests.
As a linguist, I loved the spotlight on the field of linguistics and, specifically, on the great tragedy it is to lose a language due to colonialism and globalism. Claudia Mills masterfully interwove efforts to save a dying language throughout the story, creating a beautiful, resonant theme.
Two thumbs up!
As a linguist, I loved the spotlight on the field of linguistics and, specifically, on the great tragedy it is to lose a language due to colonialism and globalism. Claudia Mills masterfully interwove efforts to save a dying language throughout the story, creating a beautiful, resonant theme.
Two thumbs up!
October 20, 2021
The Lost Language is simply unforgettable, brimming of some of the truest, fullest characters I've met in a middle-grade novel (not to mention a novel in verse). I can't wait for readers young and old to dive into this book full of big ideas, big questions, and so much heart.
November 5, 2022
Sehr heftige Thematiken für ein Buch ab 11. Aber die Themen Kommunikation & Freundschaft wurden tiefgründig und schonungslos mit all ihren schönen und hässlichen Seiten bearbeitet, was mir extrem gut gefallen hat. Dieses Buch kratzt definitiv nicht nur an der Oberfläche.
April 25, 2023
At first this seems like a reasonably light-hearted story about Betsy and her friend Lizard setting out to try and save a dying language. It develops into a much bigger and deeper story though, with friendship struggles and complex family issues (including an attempted suicide by Betsy’s mum). Claudia Mill’s deals with these issues sensitively and there is lots of discussions between family and friends where they talk about their emotions and the problems they’ve been having. This is another spectacular novel in verse. Recommended for Years 7-9.
January 20, 2023
A short and sweet middle grade story about friendships, family, and linguistics.
February 15, 2022
This is a sweet, beautifully-written, charming “middle-grade” book about a young girl sort of sandwiched between an intense, distracted, brilliant mother and an intense, charismatic, bull-dozing best friend. The only person who truly sees her and believes in her is her doting father. But something tragic happens and they all betray her. Can she find her own voice so she can navigate these complex relationships?
I loved how this book was written in verse, I loved the complicated characters, I even loved the quirky quest to save a random endangered language. I would give this book 5 stars but It felt to me more like a book moms want their kids to read versus books a kid would want to read: very light on action and very heavy on emotion. This is a book I would recommend to any overworked mother of a young girl, but I would not expect my own middle-grade sons to read this: there is too much nuance and subtlety here for them to appreciate. So half a star off for making this more for adults than young readers. But otherwise - a beautiful book!
I loved how this book was written in verse, I loved the complicated characters, I even loved the quirky quest to save a random endangered language. I would give this book 5 stars but It felt to me more like a book moms want their kids to read versus books a kid would want to read: very light on action and very heavy on emotion. This is a book I would recommend to any overworked mother of a young girl, but I would not expect my own middle-grade sons to read this: there is too much nuance and subtlety here for them to appreciate. So half a star off for making this more for adults than young readers. But otherwise - a beautiful book!
December 8, 2021
Although the two eleven-year-old friends at the heart of this book share the same name--Elizabeth--they couldn't be more different. Betsy ends up being called Bumble by her best friend, who takes on the nickname Lizard. And while Lizard is bold, assertive, a "mover and shaker" (p. 6), according to Betsy's mother, while Betsy herself is "the one / who is / moved and shaken" (p. 6), even though her mother doesn't say it that way. The girls, longtime friends, share many of the same interests with Lizard always taking the lead, and Bumble following. But during sixth grade, the year described in this novel in verse, Bumble begins finding new interests and other friends, which leads to conflict with Lizard. Still, the girls share their mission to save the dying language of Guernesiais by learning snippets of the language and teaching it to their classmates. Betsy's mother is a linguist who studies dying languages like this one and often travels in order to record them so the girls are thrilled to be doing something that might impress her. Lizard is particularly keen to do so since she somehow senses that Betsy's mother doesn't approve of her. Readers will sense the tension growing between the girls as Betsy starts thinking for herself but also be shocked at Lizard's betrayal of her at a moment when Betsy's life seems to be falling apart and nothing and no one she trusted can be relied upon. I suspect that just about every girl has had a friendship like these two shared or has watched as a former best friend moved on to other friends--or if not, been the one left behind. Author Claudia Mills tells this moving story with a deft touch, never losing sight of what's important and dropping meaningful moments and lines throughout the narrative. I marveled at how the two friends were so focused on saving a language in danger of being lost while failing to see that they also were struggling to communicate or respect one another. These are words that many readers like Betsy need to hear as she tells herself, "It's a kind of blooming, / to find the words to say / what you need to say, / and to say them to the people / who need to hear them" (p. 287). And she concludes, "And I'm the one who gets to decide/ what blooming means to me" (p. 287). I wanted to shower her with flowers and shout in delight, "YES! YES! YES!" After all, while it's true that sometimes our friends hold us back, sometimes it's our family and those closest to us that hold us back because of their expectations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2022
Friendship
To me, friendship is one of the most important aspects of life that is not captured often enough in the books I read. A lot of times the friends in books offer themselves as more of a plot device to keep a plot moving or are there for convenience. True friendship is selfless and beautiful. It is deep and meaningful and precious. It is an ideal that cannot be described in one paragraph or even two. It is more than sharing laughter or tears, it is sharing arguments and using love as an action rather than a feeling. Friendship is a gift and needs to be treated and displayed as such.
Poetry Format
I love books in verse because I can read through them quickly, and yet experience so much emotion. The author's choice of making this particular tale a poem was the very best one. I appreciated Betsy's point of view and her childish opinions that were oh-so-innocent. Children experience such pure emotions and Claudia Mills writes so well as one.
4.5/5
Poetic. Hopeful. Inspiring. An easy read with a good message.
To me, friendship is one of the most important aspects of life that is not captured often enough in the books I read. A lot of times the friends in books offer themselves as more of a plot device to keep a plot moving or are there for convenience. True friendship is selfless and beautiful. It is deep and meaningful and precious. It is an ideal that cannot be described in one paragraph or even two. It is more than sharing laughter or tears, it is sharing arguments and using love as an action rather than a feeling. Friendship is a gift and needs to be treated and displayed as such.
Poetry Format
I love books in verse because I can read through them quickly, and yet experience so much emotion. The author's choice of making this particular tale a poem was the very best one. I appreciated Betsy's point of view and her childish opinions that were oh-so-innocent. Children experience such pure emotions and Claudia Mills writes so well as one.
4.5/5
Poetic. Hopeful. Inspiring. An easy read with a good message.
September 9, 2021
This is a beautiful book about family, friendship, and finding oneself. I immediately connected with the protagonist Betsy and her growing awareness of the sometimes stifling dynamics of her relationship with her best friend, Lizard. Betsy's relationship with her parents is realistically portrayed as a central part of her life. The storyline poignantly connects the school life and family life of an adolescent. And the insights Betsy shares as she tells her story touched my heart. My favorite one appears on page 182: "Pointless things can still be worth doing. Sometimes the point is just how hard you tried to do them. Even if nobody else cared, sometimes the point is just how much you cared." This novel in verse will resonate with readers of all ages.
October 22, 2021
Powerful middle grade book with so much heart. As the two main characters work to save a dying language, they really are learning to navigate the language of friendship which can be a challenge at any age, but especially hard in middle school.
October 20, 2021
As two middle-schoolgirls embark on a project to save a language from extinction, they and their friends and families learn that language is more than vocabulary and grammar, and is expressed, not only in words, but in silence, tears, and soul-deep devotion.
June 21, 2021
Funny, touching, delightful!..I loved the two main characters and how their friendship evolved as the struggled to save a lost language. Highest recommendation.
May 11, 2024
A sweet and short middle grade story of how Betsy navigates her friendship with her best friend, Lizard. As the two move through middle school, inspired by Betsy's mom's job as a linguistics professor, they decide to take on the project of saving a dying language by learning and spreading it throughout their middle school. But Lizard's friendship is demanding, and Betsy is no longer quite so content being told what to do all of the time. When something terrible happens to Betsy, she's no longer sure that Lizard is a friend she needs or can depend on.
April 30, 2023
I seldom read children's books that give representation to friendships that are not perfect in such realistic ways. Lizard and Betsy's relationship is so incredibly real, and I wish I had had this book when I was their age. This book also deals with complex issues, particularly suicide and mental health, which many books for young readers shy away from despite those issues affecting children every single day.
February 22, 2022
I enjoyed the premise of trying to save a lost language, but had an issue with the "friendship" resolution.
***SPOILER***
It seems as if many of the middle-grade "girl" fiction I read makes the introvert character a selfless, forgiving person when finally aware of the bullying she has received from the bullies in her group. At some level turn-the-other-cheek can be a good policy, however, these works could be interpreted as reinforcing the passive, quiet, "nice," girl who is ever so understanding about other people's problems and behaviors.
***SPOILER***
It seems as if many of the middle-grade "girl" fiction I read makes the introvert character a selfless, forgiving person when finally aware of the bullying she has received from the bullies in her group. At some level turn-the-other-cheek can be a good policy, however, these works could be interpreted as reinforcing the passive, quiet, "nice," girl who is ever so understanding about other people's problems and behaviors.
July 21, 2022
Definitely a must read middle grade verse novel. Topics include friendship, mental health, and the real struggles of middle school.
Read
October 27, 2021
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What a unique, creative, heartfelt novel this book was! “The Lost Language” made me ponder our language and heritage.
Being a non-native English speaker, I realized how each generation slightly loses the linguistic skills that their earlier generations were proficient at because many educated people prefer to speak English instead. Even the fluency of many languages (including English) doesn’t have the same classical tone they once did, as we include a lot of slang in our dialogues. But I digress. I appreciate this story for making me think about these subjects.
I loved the two main characters. Betsy and Lizard share the kind of friendship that I love to read about in stories. Betsy and Lizard are contrasting personalities but blend so nicely. I also liked how their company puts it to test when Zoey enters the picture. The story gets quite severe in the second half as Betsy juggles problems with her mom and her friendship with Lizard. I thought the author executed the theme beautifully, and I could not put the book down!
Moreover, I felt like even as an adult, I learned so much in the tale. I’m going to sound ignorant admitting this, but I had never heard of places like Guernsey till I read this book. The author includes a lot of interesting trivia in the dialogues between the two characters that are simply fascinating.
Lastly, I have to give kudos to the author for writing the entire book in a beautiful, poetic, lyrical form. I never noticed the time fly by as I read the tale and got lost with the characters. Overall, “The Lost Language” is a middle-grade book I feel proud of having read. After reading this book, I also want to learn Guernesiais.
March 1, 2022
3.5 rounded down. Betsy, now a 6th grader, knows that her best friend Lizard outshines her every day, but she's happy to go with the flow. Even when she knows it annoys her mom. When Lizard convinces her to save a dead language, just like Betsy's mom does, Betsy goes along. But as the year continues and Betsy begins to discover new interests, both her mother and Lizard get more difficult to get along with.
I was initially surprised this was in verse, since normally verse novels identify themselves as such, but it was neither a huge detraction nor anything particularly effective (which is always my problem with novels in verse... I need to feel a strong connection with the poems or the format in order to understand WHY it was written in verse).
Betsy is a very realistic and relatable (young) 6th grader, as is Lizard to an extent. The domineering friend is a popular theme in middle grade lit, unfortunately because it's so common (I know because I was one when I was younger). All the stories about them deal with them from the friend's POV, and it would be so interesting to see one from the domineering POV as they come to hard realizations. And I think that's my problem with The Lost Language: everything is smoothed out. It's OK to outgrow friendships or admit that they're no longer worth saving, and that's something a lot of people struggle with. Too bad Mills didn't go the distance.
I was initially surprised this was in verse, since normally verse novels identify themselves as such, but it was neither a huge detraction nor anything particularly effective (which is always my problem with novels in verse... I need to feel a strong connection with the poems or the format in order to understand WHY it was written in verse).
Betsy is a very realistic and relatable (young) 6th grader, as is Lizard to an extent. The domineering friend is a popular theme in middle grade lit, unfortunately because it's so common (I know because I was one when I was younger). All the stories about them deal with them from the friend's POV, and it would be so interesting to see one from the domineering POV as they come to hard realizations. And I think that's my problem with The Lost Language: everything is smoothed out. It's OK to outgrow friendships or admit that they're no longer worth saving, and that's something a lot of people struggle with. Too bad Mills didn't go the distance.
October 26, 2021
Verse novel. Betsy and Lizard have always been best friends, though Betsy is finding herself wanting to do things with other friends sometimes, too, but that's for sure not ok with Lizard. They have a big project going on; learning an endangered language. Betsy's mother studies endangered languages, and they wanted to do something good by saving one of them. It doesn't quite go as planned. Something terrible happens, and then it's not about a lost language, but about a lost friendship--and some maybe-lost familial relationships as well. How can things be put back together when they are so broken?
There was a lot that I liked about this. I liked that Betsy got really angry, but that when she calmed down, she could see other perspectives--even if maybe she didn't want to. She's definitely a deep thinker, and trying to make sense of friendships and family relationships that don't always make sense. I think it's good modeling for other kids who have struggled to cope with major friendship and family issues and felt that there was no possibility of fixing anything--though the answer isn't so much fixing as moving forward with new understandings. There's certainly a lot of emotion and wisdom here. I do think the endangered language got short shrift--it wasn't as much of a focus as I thought it would be, and it's why I picked up the book; my students do a project on endangered languages, including the one that Betsy was studying. But this is more about the lost language of friendship and family relationships. So, three stars because I didn't completely enjoy it (depressing), and because I thought the premise was a bit deceptive.
There was a lot that I liked about this. I liked that Betsy got really angry, but that when she calmed down, she could see other perspectives--even if maybe she didn't want to. She's definitely a deep thinker, and trying to make sense of friendships and family relationships that don't always make sense. I think it's good modeling for other kids who have struggled to cope with major friendship and family issues and felt that there was no possibility of fixing anything--though the answer isn't so much fixing as moving forward with new understandings. There's certainly a lot of emotion and wisdom here. I do think the endangered language got short shrift--it wasn't as much of a focus as I thought it would be, and it's why I picked up the book; my students do a project on endangered languages, including the one that Betsy was studying. But this is more about the lost language of friendship and family relationships. So, three stars because I didn't completely enjoy it (depressing), and because I thought the premise was a bit deceptive.
October 5, 2021
I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy of this book, thanks to Claudia Mills. Even though I was lucky enough to have been a student in two college classes taught by Claudia, traveled to Europe with her exploring the importance of place in children's literature, and benefited from her expertise as a part of my senior thesis committee, I'm slightly ashamed to have to admit that I hadn't actually read a book authored by her until this one. Now I know what I have been missing!
I really enjoyed reading about Bumble (Betsy) and Lizard (Liz), and although the title and description state that this is a story about how the two friends set out to save a lost language, the truth is that it's about so much more. Claudia dealt with tough but important topics like friendship, growing up, self-confidence, and depression with finesse and grace, making them accessible for middle grade readers. I saw bits of myself in Betsy and was rooting for her the whole book. Her journey of self-discovery and awareness of how she fit in the world was beautiful to witness. I also loved how I could totally tell that this story came from Claudia's heart, from the Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland references to the way that she brought the little-known real world topic of extinct languages into the light and more.
I can't wait to buy a copy for my library and recommend it to my students and teachers!
I really enjoyed reading about Bumble (Betsy) and Lizard (Liz), and although the title and description state that this is a story about how the two friends set out to save a lost language, the truth is that it's about so much more. Claudia dealt with tough but important topics like friendship, growing up, self-confidence, and depression with finesse and grace, making them accessible for middle grade readers. I saw bits of myself in Betsy and was rooting for her the whole book. Her journey of self-discovery and awareness of how she fit in the world was beautiful to witness. I also loved how I could totally tell that this story came from Claudia's heart, from the Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland references to the way that she brought the little-known real world topic of extinct languages into the light and more.
I can't wait to buy a copy for my library and recommend it to my students and teachers!
January 3, 2022
Betsy (Bumble) and Lizard are best friends in 6th grade (both of them are actually named Elizabeth). Betsy is struggling to find her identity with an overbearing mother and a dominant best friend. Betsy’s mother studies lost languages and is always struggling to get funding to do her research, which affects her moods. Luckily, Betsy has a very steady presence in her carpenter father who is her primary caregiver.
Lizard comes up with an idea: she and Betsy will learn an endangered language and teach it to everyone at their school and then they will surprise Betsy’s mother with their efforts. They pick the language of Guernésiais, a language spoken in Guernsey in the Channel Islands. As in most of their life, Lizard is enthusiastic and Betsy is just along for the ride. Betsy tries something new by trying out for the middle school musical, which results in a new stronger friendship and disdain from Lizard who is a very possessive friend.
Ultimately, this is a book about a girl who is trying to find her place in the world between domineering personalities and subsuming herself at times to fit into what other people need.
“I don’t cry about happy things. I mean, / why would you cry about something happy? / And when I cry about sad things, I try not to do it in front of my mom,” …
This novel in verse deftly explores toxic relationships, mental health issues, and the white savior mentality.
Lizard comes up with an idea: she and Betsy will learn an endangered language and teach it to everyone at their school and then they will surprise Betsy’s mother with their efforts. They pick the language of Guernésiais, a language spoken in Guernsey in the Channel Islands. As in most of their life, Lizard is enthusiastic and Betsy is just along for the ride. Betsy tries something new by trying out for the middle school musical, which results in a new stronger friendship and disdain from Lizard who is a very possessive friend.
Ultimately, this is a book about a girl who is trying to find her place in the world between domineering personalities and subsuming herself at times to fit into what other people need.
“I don’t cry about happy things. I mean, / why would you cry about something happy? / And when I cry about sad things, I try not to do it in front of my mom,” …
This novel in verse deftly explores toxic relationships, mental health issues, and the white savior mentality.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews