Monday, February 27, 2017

The List by Patricia Forde - ADVISABLE

Forde, Patricia The List, 384 pages.  Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, AUGUST 2017.  $17.  Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.

Letta loves her job as the apprentice to the wordsmith in her village of Ark.  Especially because when with her master she is allowed to speak off List, the official List of the seven hundred approved words for communication in Ark.  Then John Noa, the ruler of Ark orders them to cut the List to only five hundred.  Immediately after, the Wordsmith leaves on a trip.  Then a mysterious, injured boy stumbles into the shop.  Events start piling up quickly and dramatically around Letta, leading her towards defiance and rebellion against her narrower and narrower community.  But defiance always brings attention and blowback from those in power.  Is Letta ready for the consequences of her actions?

I was surprised to learn that this book is slated to be 384 pages.  It didn’t feel like it had the depth of narrative to occupy so many pages.  But I read this as an ebook and I rarely connect with the ebook as I do with a printed copy.  Reminiscent of The Giver, it doesn’t quite hit that high mark, but it is still another good dystopian book.  It would make a great added selection to literature circles.

MS – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

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