by Patricia Forde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Clarifying Editions and Order of the Series
This is Book 2 of the series that started with The List. This book has also been published under the titles The Last Word and Mother Tongue. The List was also published under title The Wordsmith.
Review Introduction
A solid follow-up to The List. We meet back up with our characters shortly after the high action ending of The List. You could read this without reading book 1 but the context and characters will have much more meaning if you begin with The List. As before the intriguing premise of having language rendered down to 500 English words remains. Although there is a lot less 'list speak' in this book, so if that bothered you in the first novel then you will likely enjoy the reprieve here. This is because our lead gal and her cohorts are now outside of Ark and looking for some sort of safety.
Romance
Those hoping for some sort of love triangle (or dreading it like I did) will be happy to know that the issue is resolved in this book. Succulently, although the actual drama of it all is down-played to the primary plot to take down the rules of Ark. Although the romance in the pages is short and sweet it's still quite sweet. Perfect for a younger young adult (easily good for a 12-13 year old); but the average older teen might be a bit disappointed.
Change
The Last Lie is really predicated around one idea or concept. That change is required. Interestingly Patricia Forde makes it clear that change can be really awful (civil war, climate change, etc.) but also that sometimes change is required in order to 'move forward'.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Clarifying Editions and Order of the Series
This is Book 2 of the series that started with The List. This book has also been published under the titles The Last Word and Mother Tongue. The List was also published under title The Wordsmith.
Review Introduction
A solid follow-up to The List. We meet back up with our characters shortly after the high action ending of The List. You could read this without reading book 1 but the context and characters will have much more meaning if you begin with The List. As before the intriguing premise of having language rendered down to 500 English words remains. Although there is a lot less 'list speak' in this book, so if that bothered you in the first novel then you will likely enjoy the reprieve here. This is because our lead gal and her cohorts are now outside of Ark and looking for some sort of safety.
Romance
Those hoping for some sort of love triangle (or dreading it like I did) will be happy to know that the issue is resolved in this book. Succulently, although the actual drama of it all is down-played to the primary plot to take down the rules of Ark. Although the romance in the pages is short and sweet it's still quite sweet. Perfect for a younger young adult (easily good for a 12-13 year old); but the average older teen might be a bit disappointed.
Change
The Last Lie is really predicated around one idea or concept. That change is required. Interestingly Patricia Forde makes it clear that change can be really awful (civil war, climate change, etc.) but also that sometimes change is required in order to 'move forward'.
"Change is always possible. It happens with with or without us.
I’d rather be the one making the change."
The quote above really resonated with me as it's relevant for almost any situation in any timeline or world. Change is inevitable and it will happen, whether we want it or not. I have often been someone to resist change myself. Generally I resist change out of fear. Given the year 2020 has been (written Nov 2020) the whole world has had to undergo a similar change to one another unlike any we've needed to adapt to in decades (at least in North America). Forde reminded me that it's always better to embrace the change, and (if possible) be a promoter or leader of said change. The reason? So you can be (or feel) in control of the change; instead of just reacting to it you can be pushing it.
Language
The intriguing premise of restricting language so that people cannot communicate continues in book 2. To the point that in one scene our lead gal makes a poor choice so she can save the words from pages of a dictionary. It's weird to think of a dictionary page being valuable given that currently I can know the definition of a word with a quick internet search.
Forde also does an excellent job of showing how important a single word can be. Imagine loosing words like: freedom, violence, human, spirit or soul, war, peace. Some of these words we might want to loose but others would create a void in being able to explain concepts to children. And this is where Forde will really impress upon you a question that is terrifying at it's core:
What happens if a child hears no language for years? Can they ever regain said language? Will they be dumber for it? Does it matter?
Overall
I really like this series because of it's clever use of language to create a dystopian world. The violence and romance is lesser here (making it suitable for younger children) than in other dystopian stories like Divergent or Hunger Games. And yet The List duology still has a lot to say about freedom and choice.
As an avid reader and lover of any/all languages (I now get to code all day long for a job!) this story really draws me in. In Forde's world restricting words means that all grammar is removed and communication comes down to single words or short statements. Imagine explaining computers, physics, sex, love, or politics with a limited vocabulary; it would become impossible to teach complex concepts. Humans would loose much of their intelligence. The question that Forde tackles here is whether we, the human race, and the Earth would be better off if humans could say (and presumably do) less would it also result in less destruction?
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1 comment:
I had totally forgotten about the first one in this series, but have now moved it back towards the top of my to-read-list. It sounds like such an interesting concept!
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