“The List” Book Review
By Kevin D. Cordi, Ph.D.



Imagine trying to live life with only 500 sanctioned words. This is what happens to the civilization that is fighting to survive from the effects of global warming. This makes the book timely because not only the attention it pays to the climate disaster but also the restriction of talk. (Does this sound like a current administration?)

In the book The List, there is a city called the Ark, and in this city, there are rules. Break them and face banishment and one of the major ones is to abide by the word list. One of them is that you must use the words that are handed to everyone on the List by the Wordsmith. Initially Benjamin, the Wordsmith tackles in intimate detail printing out the words and providing these words to among other places, the schools. However, Benjamin shows up missing and his apprentice Letta has to take over. Letta, however suspects that there is more to her job than providing words. In fact, she questions and soon discovers why restricting words is part of a great plan. Letta befriends someone who has been ostracized from the Arc. These people are left to survive with no hope to doing so.


Ford playfully shows how people of the Arc can survive with the base words. It is a rich delight to read how this limits their range but forces the people to be direct. In fact, I wanted to see more play with the limited language.

For those of us who work with words, librarians, storytellers, educators and all of us, we see the power and abuse that can come from language. I recommend this to those of who love to play with words and wrestle with them. Patricia Forde is clearly a word admirer and it reflects in this new work.

For more information, you can order this book at

Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky ISBN 97814926447966

This will be posted at www.kevincordi.com/blog This will be added this week.

“The List” is a middle-grade dystopian book that takes place in the future after the world has been destroyed by global warming/melting of the ice caps. Letta is a young girl who is apprenticed to the Wordsmith in Ark. Ark is ruled by John Noa, who has imposed strict rules to make people more easily ruled and to prevent the events of the past again. One such rule is the use of “List” a new language composed of a select few words citizens are allowed to use and only to use.

The Wordsmith keeps all the words and regulates those that compose List, e.g. copying List words onto cards for children in schools. The enforcers are the gavvers, who act like police, marking when people do not use List and/or arresting them. Desecrators live outside of society and speak the old language (ours). The story begins when Benjamin, the current wordsmith, leaves to go on a word finding mission and leaves Letta in charge. A sick young boy named Marlo comes to the shop and instead of turning him in, Letta hides and helps him. Marlo is a Desecrator. As Letta questions the society and the choices Noa has made, she realizes the importance of language to humanity.

I think this is a good dystopian novel for middle grade readers, as it is intended. There are some scarier ideas here (e.g. prisoners are tortured and it is mentioned that one has had all his fingernails pulled off), so this should be considered in terms of the ages which should read it. The ideas are rather simple and not as complex as the YA dystopian books, which makes it better for a younger audience. For older readers, this might seem a little nonsensical (e.g. Noa talks about the scientists having warned people but they didn’t listen- but he also banished all the scientists from Ark. Also, words are associated with politicians who spoke too much and prevented people from realizing the depth of global warming, but words were also used as warnings, so this doesn’t necessarily follow).

Additionally, List seems unclear as sometimes it includes prepositions and other times it does not- without, it is definitely more simplistic and less clear, but the sometimes inclusion makes you wonder if they are actually on List. Of course, some people are allowed to speak the old language (Wordsmiths and the government), which helps to make the story very readable- if it was all in List, it would be impossible. The writing is good and the length is relatively short, making it good for the middle grade audience.

I think this is a win for middle grade (but probably not older) audiences and is a good introduction to the dystopian category. I can definitely see this being a great book to spark discussion about humanity and the development of language/its significance. The end is not final, which makes me think there will be a sequel, and I would be curious to see how this series might evolve.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for an opportunity to read this book.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would give it 3.5 start. I found the story interesting, albeit a bit predictable. I did quite enjoy that for once this was a YA dystopian fiction that wasn't centred on violence and fighting, and that the main story line was around words, language and communication. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed the writing. I do wish we found out a bit more about Letta's parents and her aunts.
Also, just a personal preference but I do like the title/cover for the List, better than the Wordsmith which I believe how this book was originally published.
Thanks again for the opportunity.

Dystopian fiction with plot holes

Patricia Forde's post-apocalyptic novel for middle schoolers and teenagers raises questions about the human condition and the importance of language.
After a natural disaster, Noa and his followers try to survive and build a utopian society in Ark, thus evoking the idea of his biblical namesake. Noa regards words as the source of all evil which led to discord, conflict, war and the eventual breakdown of society. Therefore, he has banned certain words in Ark. Those who manage List, a rudimentary form of language based on a permitted word list, are called wordsmiths. Young Letta is such a wordsmith. She is a supporter of the regime and loathes de Desecrators, outcasts who fight against Noa and his List. But when Letta's master disappears, she starts to question Noa, Ark and her own family history. The mysterious Marlo promises help and a future abundant with words, art, and imagination.

I have to say I had some difficulties with this novel. Although the premise was great, I did not love this book. The plot was somewhat incoherent, jumping between scenes, and leaving out important details. I was particularly disappointed by the lack of world building. I would have loved to learn more about the past, the details of the flood, Letta's family and how she became a wordsmith. Even though the author gives some appealing descriptions of Ark, we never feel what it is really like to live in this world; everything is kept at a distance. This is why the reader cannot live through the story. I would rather compare the reading process to looking at a pretty picture from a distance. You don't get to see what lurks below the surface, and neither the plot nor the characters are fully fleshed out. Unfortunately, I could not bring myself to sympathise with Letta (and her lame name) and her cause. She certainly lacked fervor and depth, almost as much as the minor characters. Moreover, I found it hard to concentrate on the story and often caught myself letting my mind wander.

Overall, I would say the concept was quite intriguing, and despite the plot holes and the affinity for overobvious names, I wanted to find out if Letta can topple the system. If this book featured more world building, complex characters, and better transitions, it would have the potential to be a success. Especially these days the value of language and free speech cannot be overstated.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Jabberwocky).

When I was in elementary school, my favorite teacher Mrs. Ohonion had the class read a little book called The Giver. The first time I read it I was stunned, awed by a discussion of humanity I had never pondered prior. The List has thus impacted me further.

This novel brought back some of my fondest memories and made me feel like a child once more. It reminded me of some of the moments that shaped the way I decided to view the world, humanity, and how we connect to one another. I loved it. The writing was beautiful. The characters thoughtfully crafted. The message, the words, were the most powerful parts of all.

Letta is a young apprentice to The Wordsmith an older man named Benjamin. Letta in my eyes, represents humanity. Her beliefs molded by her upbringing she at first only knows what are called the Desecraters as terrorists, mauraders, and a people of destruction. Yet, like all humans she possesses an Independent mind that allowed her to see her situation in a new light, and that is the beauty of being human.

Letta is the kind of person I aspire to be. She does not let her bias affect what she knows to be right or wrong. She does not look at people and see them as anything less then what they are, human. When she is given a place of power she does not belittle others, she does all she can to help them, to be there for them, and that is the kind of person I wish to be. It’s hard to think that I could ever choose to do so many of the things she did. Society as she lives in has deteriorated and she is one of the many voices hoping for the future.

Inside this story, the world was destroyed by climate change a radical mind named Noa built up an eden called Arch. In this eden, the only words spoken are from the list. A minuscule amount of 500 words allowed to be spoken. The result is a society conditioned to give in and forget the beauty of words. All controlled by a man who knows their power better than anyone else.

The most imperitive part of this novel is words. What does it mean to limit them. What happens when it becomes extinct? What would we ever do if we were wordless? I love pondering words. The way we use them tailor the way we see the world and how the world in turn sees us. Without them, we would be nothing and could aspire to nothing, we could only be. This point is the cornerstone of what this novel stands for as well as what made me come to love it so much.

A novel not so far removed from what society could be, it is one that challenges you to think about the type of world we live in and the type of world you would want create and to give you the incentive to do something about it. The world is ours. What has happened has past, but the future is created by our design.

The List has a "The Giver " feel but I frankly enjoyed this more than The Giver . The writing and plot are solid however there was no 'wow' factor for me. The world building was well done but it still left me wanting a bit more since we were limited to only what Letta knew.Unfortunately the overall story is pretty slow until the end. I did like the little easter eggs here and there though; eg. Noa & Ark, Letta & Letter.

The characters were raw for me; I didn't really feel them and connect with them at all. I liked how there was very little romance for Letta. I'm conflicted with how Letta gets sucked into Deserters; It just didn't seem realistic to me and it happened quite fast.

In one way I was pleased with the ending and on the flip side I was not. I was dissatisfied with the open ending because I have so many unanswered questions; I'm not sure if this is a standalone or if Forde will have a sequel. But on the other end I'm happy because I know the fight continues on.

While I get the concept.. The List just isn't a book that I could enjoy. A population that limits how many words you can speak.. A community that would ban a child for stealing a potato.. I just could not get into the book. I tried. I fast forwarded to the end to see if it would get any better.. and it didn't.

A powerful middle grades novel about the dangers of limiting language and speech.

Letta is a wordsmith in the city of Ark, a community created after the apocalyptic Melting. As the wordsmith, Letta and her master Benjamin control the List, the 500 words approved for use. While other are constrained to the List, as wordsmiths Letta and Benjamin also help archive all known and found words to ensure they are not used.

While the city of Ark is a safe-haven from the wild forest beyond, some known as the Desecrators aim to destroy it. When Benjamin suddenly dies, Letta is launched into the position of head wordsmith and runs into a plot to suppress the language of Ark even more. Letta must fight to save language and communication as we know it.

[Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.]

Letta is the wordsmith's apprentice, charged with maintaining the List - the words the people in Ark and the surrounding area are allowed to use. There are 700 at the beginning of the book, but by the end of the first chapter that's being trimmed down to 500. Letta and Benjamin, the wordsmith, are allowed to speak non-List ("the old language"), or full sentences, when they are alone. But in public, everyone speaks like halfwits. They leave out articles, and simply say things like "Go get food. No harm. Go walk?" If it wasn't so irritating, it would be comical.

The wordsmith is also charged with going out into what's left of the world (after a great flood event, from which was built the city Ark by John Noa (yes, really), who rules the place and keeps people talking stupid) and finding words that have been forgotten. Letta thinks that it is to preserve them and keep them for the future, when mankind can be trusted with them again. She finds out later that this is not at all what their purpose as wordsmiths is.

In the first couple of chapters, after Benjamin leaves for a word finding expedition, we see Letta take in a strange boy who turns out to be a "Desecrator," basically someone who lives outside of Ark and likes to create art and music and other types of things that aren't allowed because God forbid people think for themselves. That's the whole point of Ark, by the way - humanity isn't allowed to think for itself because when they do they inevitably lead to the destruction of the whole world (the flood). Desecrators are "bad" people, but Noa just unflinchingly takes Marlo (the Desecrator) in, shelters him, and takes care of his gunshot wound. She lies to pretty much everyone around her, hides Marlo, acts all shifty and expects no one to notice, and then helps him return to his people. She's really bad at acting shifty, by the way. I'm surprised half the town didn't turn her in a hell of a lot sooner. I'm also super surprised that Noa never suspected her until the end. He seems to be smarter than that, considering how much power he holds over the town, but whatever.

When Benjamin "dies" (we all know he's not dead because it's made so obvious from the moment it's said), Letta refuses to believe it, and then starts doing her own bad shifty investigation trying to find him. Of course, being the sheltered girl she is, she can't quite seem to manage without Marlo's help. And somewhere in there, she and Marlo fall in love (because of course they do). Did I mention that everyone keeps calling her "child"? And I couldn't find anywhere that her age was mentioned. So in the beginning I'm picturing a girl of like 12 or 13. I'm starting to think by the end that she's more like 16, but it's never said. How old is this kid?! Her age is important here, since she goes on a seriously adult adventure, but continues to act and talk like a child.

This book was OK. I didn't particularly enjoy the characters - a lot of them fell flat - and I felt it was trying too hard to be a copycat of The Giver. I don't think it was successful in that way. And the ending was completely unbelievable in the context of the rest of the story. I just can't see it happening the way it did.

I don't see myself recommending this to anyone, really. It's not bad (a lot obvious but not awful), but I didn't enjoy it. I loved the cover, so I was hoping for a bit more out of it. Instead, I couldn't connect with the characters or the story, and I don't have the desire to pick up the second book to find out what happens.

Why are humans greedy and always wanting more, even to the point of harming others so we can get what we want? On the flip side, what allows us to love, to create, and to bring beauty into this world. The characters in Patricia Forde's novel, The List, wrestle with these questions. Thrown into leadership of a world after cataclysmic disaster, John Noa maintains tight control of the people who live in the ARK. To try to maintain an orderly and peaceful society, he implements a myriad of rules, including a restriction on words, for language can be used to mislead and to harm. Letta, born into this world and apprenticed to the wordsmith, Benjamin, is catapulted into a leadership role when her master is declared dead. In her own journey, she meets others along her way that lead her to question the system in which she is living as she discovers the power of language. Letta leads us, as readers, to think about the power of words like hope, dream, and most importantly, love, along with what it means to be human.

As an educator, I would agree that language is a powerful thing, and Forde has brought us a novel that sheds light on what a world might look like if the power of language was held in check. Reminiscent of the world of The Giver, The List is a engaging novel that raises some interesting questions. I know I like it - I think you will too!

I enjoyed the concept of mixing both an apocalyptic scenario with a dystopian fiction, such as a cross between the Hunger Games and High Rise, however, I thought it fell short in many ways. The context was not particularly developed as we had little understanding of what really happened before and after the Melting. The idea of language as a weapon pre-apocalypse was also not very clear. There was a wild amount of movement and action that was also not fully formed, so it made it difficult to envisage the characters travelling from A to B. Overall, a great, relevant and contemporary topic with a few descriptive flaws.

What if we only had 500 words that we could use? The List starts with the wordsmith asking for 700, but getting denied. In this land, everyone must speak "List", an approved list of words acceptable for use. If you are caught using vocabulary not on the list, you are labeled a "Desecrator," and thrown out of the community.

Ark is the community that John Noa founded after The Melting. He believed that the world was ruined because men chose to use words instead of use actions. People argued about climate change rather than do something about it. He is determined that this new community will not make the same mistake.

Letta is the wordsmith's apprentice. The wordsmith makes and keeps the list. Their job is to also make lists of words for specific trades. When the wordsmith goes missing, Letta is suddenly thrown into the role of wordsmith. It will be her duty to keep the list.

Letta starts to realize that the Desecrators might not be bad people. For the first time she is exposed to art and music, and it changes her perspective. She has always believed in John Noa, that he is trying to save his people. But now she is not sure. Should people live in a world limited in words, art and music? What is John Noa's plan for Ark? Now that Letta is the wordsmith will she complicit in his plan?

This List is a beautiful story full of words, art, emotions and history. It is easy to see John Noa's plan and why it is so wrong. But it is just as easy to see why he believes in it. This would make a great book to read in a book group, I imagine students taking both sides of the issues that it raises. I will certainly buy this for my library, and would recommend it for grades 5-12!

Thank you very much for allowing me to read this title; I am trying to read as widely as possible ahead of the Carnegie/Greenaway nominations and awards for 2018 and your help is much appreciated.
As a Carnegie/Greenaway judge, I'm not allowed to comment about my opinions on specific titles so I can't offer an individual review on any title as I stated on my profile.

This is a very timely book given all that is happening in the United States with our new and very controversial President. What happens when we are no longer able to speak our minds? This book takes freedom of the press and extends it to what people are allowed to say and even think, in a world gone terribly wrong. Yes, words can be filled with lies, but they can also bring peace, heal relationships, and give us hope. Certainly a book that will leave you thinking!

Told with a rather emotionally thirsty, distant narrative, The List somehow still remains engaging with a very intriguing premise. Forde seems to have attacked a dystopian novel that is very reminiscent, as the summary suggests, of Lois Lowry's series The Giver Quartet, and even more specifically the last book, Son. The book's blurb also makes mention of a favorite of mine, which I actually did read in middle school, Fahrenheit 451, but other than the relationship to censorship that is shared, I didn't get that vibe at all. In fact, the attempt this community and its leaders or founders make at an utopian society was more along the lines of M. Night Shyamalan's 2004 movie, The Village. And, of course, with utopian societies being rather impossible, especially in literature (because otherwise where is the conflict driving the story?), both the weirdness and the otherness are present right from the beginning, drawing you in.

With a direct and, at times, choppy style, Forde aimed a mature understanding of what makes humans human at the middle grade level. Descriptive language mixed with the withdrawn and removed narration, made for a few moments when the style was a little off. At times, the simplicity proved to be too plain, too basic and the story could've stood to be a little deeper and more complex, but overall, my interest and desire to continue held strong throughout. I am certainly going to consider recommending this to my own children, especially during these turbulent times.

**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I got this book for my preteen daughter to read and it didnt seem to hold her interest. I made her finish it and she said that the background, the scenes were hard to imagine. Plus she said it was kind of cheesy.

This book was marketed as a middle grade book, but with the language and content, I would definitely place it more in the YA category.

That being said, the book was good and I liked it.

This is the story of Letta and her job as the wordsmith's apprentice in a society that is only supposed to speak words that are on the list. It briefly touches on how the society came to be this way and focuses mainly on Letta's journey to attempt to expand the list and keep people from losing all of their words as the leader of the society continually asks for the list to be shortened.

This story was one that touched on family and friendships and how to strengthen both. It briefly touched on rebellion and why it is important and how one should handle disagreement.

Overall, I wanted more from this story. I wanted a tighter focus on one thing or more development of Letta.

Mostly a good book, but beware of content and language difficulty for younger children especially.

I had just finished reading a couple of “those” facebook posts from climate change deniers. I’d also just been watching as the newly elected administration in the U.S. began to delete pages from the whitehouse.gov website on climate change. And then there comes this book into my life. A book that shows a major climate catastrophe and a now post-apocalyptic world. The blame for this catastrophe was placed on words and the way that economists and climate change deniers used those words to trick the world into believing that there really was no threat and the human race could continue on with business as usual. The only survivors in this land are a meager few who could identify where this ignorance would lead and set about building a new kind of ARK, one that would save humanity from the certain destruction to come. But they had to do something to ensure that this sort of coercion did not happen again, that the human race was protected from itself. Hence, THE LIST. The list is a list of acceptable words which make up the entirety of acceptable speech and written language in the ARK. Letta is the Wordsmith’s apprentice. Together they manage the list words and ensure that they are transcribed and delivered to each class at the beginning of school each year. The list is there to protect them, but there are some that disagree that words are their enemy.

This book has a mood and cadence much like The Giver by Lois Lowry, which has always been a favourite of mine. Letta as a narrator has a fantastic voice and her bravery despite the possible dire consequences of some of her actions and decisions is easy to champion. The world built, the ARK, is well described and feels to be an organic part of the overall narrative. The characters are compelling and it is easy to get a sense of the community and how it runs day-to-day.

Overall, I feel like The List is one of those books that is both easy to enjoy as a good story and has a deeper meaning that can be pondered and explored.

I received a copy of this YA book from NetGalley in return for an honest review, and I'm so glad. This debut novel was quite well done. I know that dystopian novels have been all the rage, but this one took quite a unique spin, think about it, could you really communicate if you were limited to 500 words? Let's is the apprentice wordsmith, and their word List is now being cut to 500 words. Not only that, as the books progresses, her world is turned upside down. Who can she trust? Who is on her side? What should she do? Definitely worth a read.

I thought this book had a completely terrifying premise-after an apocalyptic event, the new leader decides the real problem with the world is words and is determined to get rid of all of them. Thankfully, a smart, strong girl starts to trust people she doesn't know and suddenly, there's a revolution. I thought the writing in this one was great. This will make a great addition to any library.