Absolutely incredible. This is a must read and I now understand why it has so much acclaim.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It basically was a YA mashup of Wayward Pines, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and The Giver. With that being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book despite not being the target reader. The List covers topics of the importance of language, emotion, music, creativity, and heavily covers the worst case scenario of global warming. I know that my middle schooler would absolutely love this story and I look forward to her getting her hands on it as well.

This book has quite a typical plot in terms of a girls tragic backstory and a dystopian world. I quite liked the premise but found it difficult to keep track of which words were banned. Regardless I think it would be enjoyable for some kids at work so we will be purchasing

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This post-apocalyptic story takes place in Ark , where speech is constrained to 500 words, and declining. Noa, the leader of this city, lived through "the Melting" and views words as evil when given to people to distort their meaning. Letta, the Wordsmith, charged with collected and preserving words, uncovers a plan to take away everyone's power of speech and cognitive thought.

While I enjoyed the characters and their development, the plot was lacking. The premise was simple and thought-provoking, but the author left me hanging, especially at the end, where I felt it ended abruptly. I would have liked more background on several areas including, why the main villian hated words so much, more on the areas surrounding Ark, more info on Letta's family and the relationship between the sisters, and more detail on the world that Letta lived in.

A pleasant debut, and I look forward to reading good things in the future from this author. The List is a pleasure for any lover of words - based in a society where language is blamed for all of humanity's folly, and the main character must save words from extinction. Letta is a charming heroine, and the story has exactly the right amount of twists and turns before its satisfactory conclusion.

Personally, I find that language is what finds us loved, freed, understood, and what gives us hope. If I can express to you my ambition, excitement, joy and love, language is what lets you understand me. I could go on forever about cultures and their languages, how some cultures don't have the same words for the same things, how some have words for emotions that can't be described any other way, but for now I'll leave you with this, language matters.

“The List” is a middle grade dystopia with a good premise: words are dangerous and by limiting them you can control how people spread ideas. The city of Ark has 250 approved words, and it is up to Letta to keep the meanings of the others. The problem is that the narrative is muddled and slow because so many other issues are tackled but not given any depth. Everything from religion to the environment to prisoner’s rights are thrown in and it keeps the story from flowing well. I would stick with “The Giver” when it comes to middle graders.

Well-written dystopian novel. I admired the quality of the writing more than the content itself which was unrelentingly depressing. But then, how many upbeat dystopian novels are there?

The pace seemed to drag until the climax at the end.

It was thought-provoking but I think it was beyond me to relate to it in other than a tangential way.

Letta, the wordsmith apprentice, works every day to save the language of their past while providing limited words and definitions to the people to use to speak. The citizens on Ark can only speak “List” words that have been approved by their leader, John Noa. That list has been shrinking over the years, and it now stands at only 500 words.

Language was the reason the world collapsed, claims John Noa. Language spoken in Ark is only enough to get by with the necessity of life. No feelings, art, or music is allowed in the city. But not everyone agrees that limiting words is the way to go.

The desecrators are a group of people who believe that music, art, and feelings should be felt and shared with everyone. The desecrators briefly appear throughout the city to sing songs, create art, and play musical instruments. If caught, the desecrators will be beaten and banished into the woods to the die. It’s a huge price to pay to share art, but they risk their lives anyway because they know important art is to civilization.

When the wordsmith is out of town, Letta runs into a young desecrator who opens her eyes to a world of art and emotions. This chance encounter leads Letta down a path of adventure, suspense, and horror. She learns the truth behind the limited list and why it’s shrinking. Letta will have to team up with the desecrators to save the city, the people, and their language.

I’m a sucker for a good dystopian novel, and I enjoyed this story.I think that’s what make this book is great is the matchup of many different great dystopian novels. If you are looking to read a quick dystopian novel, this is the book for you.

A bit of a slow start but once the story got more intriguing, this was a pretty good book. The world-building was good at times, decent at others, and the main story arc was pretty engaging once we finally got into it. I do wish it would've been less of a slow burn to get to the meat of the story (I definitely needed a smidge more foreshadowing for some revelations that came late in the book) but otherwise, I enjoyed this book quite a bit.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The List. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

The List is a preteen dystopian novel, set in a world where words and language are perceived to be trouble. Citizens are permitted to use only certain words, the ones that are on the approved list. 12 year old Letta becomes Wordsmith after her master, Benjamin, disappears. Noa, the leader of their society, sets forth demands until Letta must make a difficult choice. Will she choose to fight for the rights of the citizens or quietly acquiesce to the demands?

This book shows the extreme of what can happen when power corrupts. Fear is a useful tactic and intimidation can lead a society down a dangerous path. For the people of the Ark, the leader has determined that the ills of the past were formed because of the peoples connection through words. Like any fictitious dystopian novel, The List shows life that is really outside of the realm of possibility. The plot flowed smoothly and the characters were well developed. My favorite character was Letta, as her strength and determination despite insurmountable odds made her interesting. The List fits right into that preteen range, as this would be a stepping stone book to The Giver, The Hunger Games, or Divergent.

Young Adult Dystopian fiction is not my usual choice. Patricia Forde's, The List had such an enchanting premise, I gave it a read. Overall I was impressed with the novel. The scene is set well, I found it easy to visualize the setting and the circumstances that led American Society to the place we visit in The List. There are some rather adult situations addressed, (torture) but they are not detailed. There is a light romance, but nothing intense. The characters are complex, and dialogue seems appropriate to character and situation. Im thinking I'd rather my child be at least late middle school before tackling this novel.
I did find it entertaining but a little slow in places.

This book is an interesting middle grade dystopian book, I enjoyed the character development in this book - and it is a page turner where you want to find out what happens next. I think the plot is interesting - where only a certain few people can speak more words than others - an interesting read for younger people.

Check out my review on my blog, Literacious

Excellent, innovative and a very good read! It is difficult in this day and age to come up with a fresh, new concept for a book but Patricia Forde has done exactly that. I got completely immersed in the story and found myself wondering if such a society could ever happen here in real life. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves to read!

This dystopian story takes place in a place known as The Ark. Letta is an apprentice to a wordsmith named Benjamin. This story was reminiscent of 1984 by George Orwell.

The List held the promise of a really cool premise. I'm a sucker for dystopians, and the loss of language in this way was one I haven't heard before. My only complaint is that I wish the author took the time to build out the world and characters a bit more, and in more of a unique way. This felt very "The Giver" - which could be a really cool thing if it was just stood on its own a bit more. I'd read more stories that take place in this post-apocalyptic world, though. It may be a touch unpolished, but it was a fun, quick read.

<i> I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. </i>

This book was a struggle for me for some reason. I can't put my finger on it, but it just didn't resonate with me. However, as I was reading, I kept thinking about students I have who I want to hand this book to. I fully believe this book will be popular; it just wasn't right for me in this moment.