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The List
The Last Lie
Ebook series2 titles

The List Series

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this series

Fahrenheit 451 meets The Giver in an award winning dystopian story about the dangers of censorship and how far we will go in the pursuit of freedom.

What if you were only allowed to speak 500 words?

The city of Ark is the last safe place on Earth: the polar ice caps have melted and flooded everything, leaving few survivors. To make sure humans do not make the same mistakes, Ark's leader John Noa decrees everyone in Ark must speak List, a language of only 500 words. Language is to blame for mankind's destruction, John Noa says, as politicians and governments hid the disastrous effects of global warming and environmental damage until it was too late.

Everyone must speak List … except Letta.

As apprentice to the Wordsmith, Letta can read all the words that have ever existed. Forbidden words like freedom, music, and even pineapple tell her about a world she's never known.

One day her master disappears. John Noa tells Letta she is the new Wordsmith, and must shorten List to fewer and fewer words. Then Letta meets a teenage boy who somehow knows all the words that have been banned. Letta's faced with a dangerous choice: sit idly by and watch language slowly slip away or follow a stranger on a path to freedom . . . or banishment.

Letta chooses to fight for the very thing that keeps us human: language itself.

The List:

  • The perfect tool to discuss censorship and freedom of speech with young readers
  • A gripping, fast-moving story that will appeal to 5th grade readers and above, especially 10 year old girls that will love the strong character of Letta
  • A discussion starter on the importance of language and the power of expression, and what it means for society

A 2018 Notable Children's Books Selection

A 2018-19 Maine Student Book Award Winner

A 2018 Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year (Ages 12-14)

A Junior Library Guild Selection

LanguageEnglish
PublisherSourcebooks
Release dateAug 1, 2020
The List
The Last Lie

Titles in the series (2)

  • The Last Lie

    2

    The Last Lie
    The Last Lie

    In the powerful conclusion to the award-winning List duology, Letta must return from exile to fight for the people of Ark, even if it may cost her everything. Perfect for fans of The Giver, The Last Lie is a dystopian adventure for tweens and teens and an important commentary on censorship, language, and the pursuit of freedom. If babies never hear a single word, they will never learn to speak. The battle for Ark seems to be over… but it was only the beginning. Letta has taken refuge with the rebels, and spends her days as a teacher, introducing young children words that never should have been lost. It is dangerous work, but Letta knows that being able to express yourself is what makes us human. But the new ruler of Ark is even crueler than her predecessor, and Letta is horrified to find that they are stealing babies so they can get rid of language once and for all: if babies never hear a single word, they will never learn to speak. Letta and the other rebels must find a way to defeat the evil for good before they lose the very thing that will set them free. Pick up the List duology if you are looking for: The perfect tool to discuss censorship and freedom of speech with young readers A gripping, fast-moving story that will appeal to 5th grade readers and above, especially 10 year old girls that will love the strong character of Letta and tweens 11-14 A discussion starter on the importance of language and the power of expression, and what it means for society

  • The List

    The List
    The List

    Fahrenheit 451 meets The Giver in an award winning dystopian story about the dangers of censorship and how far we will go in the pursuit of freedom. What if you were only allowed to speak 500 words? The city of Ark is the last safe place on Earth: the polar ice caps have melted and flooded everything, leaving few survivors. To make sure humans do not make the same mistakes, Ark's leader John Noa decrees everyone in Ark must speak List, a language of only 500 words. Language is to blame for mankind's destruction, John Noa says, as politicians and governments hid the disastrous effects of global warming and environmental damage until it was too late. Everyone must speak List … except Letta. As apprentice to the Wordsmith, Letta can read all the words that have ever existed. Forbidden words like freedom, music, and even pineapple tell her about a world she's never known. One day her master disappears. John Noa tells Letta she is the new Wordsmith, and must shorten List to fewer and fewer words. Then Letta meets a teenage boy who somehow knows all the words that have been banned. Letta's faced with a dangerous choice: sit idly by and watch language slowly slip away or follow a stranger on a path to freedom . . . or banishment. Letta chooses to fight for the very thing that keeps us human: language itself. The List: The perfect tool to discuss censorship and freedom of speech with young readers A gripping, fast-moving story that will appeal to 5th grade readers and above, especially 10 year old girls that will love the strong character of Letta A discussion starter on the importance of language and the power of expression, and what it means for society A 2018 Notable Children's Books Selection A 2018-19 Maine Student Book Award Winner A 2018 Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year (Ages 12-14) A Junior Library Guild Selection

Author

Patricia Forde

Patricia Forde is from Galway on the west coast of Ireland. She has published several picture books in Irish and in English, and  three novels for children with Little Island. The List was published by SourceBooks in the US, and Bumpfizzle the Best on Planet Earth was published in the US by Little Island in 2022 to strong critical acclaim. She has won two White Raven awards and has twice been shortlisted for the Children’s Books Ireland Book of the Year. Patricia is married to Padraic and has two grown up children. She still lives in Galway, the best city in the world.

Read more from Patricia Forde

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