The Language of the Birds by K.A. Merson is a refreshingly original and intellectually rich adventure that breaks away from the typical YA mold. When Arizona discovers that her mother has been kidnapped and left behind is not just a ransom note, but a cryptic test, she’s thrust into a high-stakes treasure hunt rooted in ancient secrets and hidden histories. What follows is a mind-bending journey filled with riddles, conspiracies, and revelations that could alter everything we think we know.

What sets this novel apart is its protagonist. Arizona isn’t your usual action hero—she’s a quiet, highly analytical teen whose late father trained her to decode puzzles and ciphers. Her quiet strength, sharp intellect, and emotional resilience make her a standout heroine, proving that quiet doesn’t mean weak, and that brainpower can be just as gripping as brawn.

Set against the dramatic beauty of the American West, the story unfolds through a series of masterfully constructed challenges that feel both timeless and grounded in real-world lore. Merson deftly weaves in historical and occult elements without ever overwhelming the narrative, striking a perfect balance between mystery, myth, and emotional growth.

What’s truly great about The Language of the Birds is how different it feels—it doesn’t rely on tired tropes or predictable arcs. Instead, it offers readers something far more engaging: an intellectually thrilling, emotionally layered quest led by a girl whose greatest weapons are her mind and her heart. Clever, captivating, and utterly unique, this is a novel for readers who love their adventures smart and surprising.

3.5 stars

I ended up listening to this and reading along. However, my copy of the book (Advanced Review Copy) often did not include the images of the codes or puzzles, and the narrator sometimes described what was shown and sometimes did not. So, I'm not sure if I would have been able to better understand the codes if I had read a final copy. Generally speaking, I really love codes and puzzles, and I'm glad the author included so many of them with a description of Arizona's reasoning as she figured out the clues. And yet...there were times when it just seemed too much, especially because on occasion, I became so bogged down by the puzzle that I lost track of what she was doing in the big context of the story.

Still, I liked Arizona, and I really enjoyed seeing her neuroatypical brain function. I found it informative to hear the thoughts swirling in her head as she sought to balance how to save her mom with whether she could trust other people. I also really liked some of the other characters, the good people, who gave her space to be who she was, called her out when it was warranted, and still loved her anyway. In many ways, this was a coming-of-age story, with puzzles as the framework, connecting her to her father. I think, because of the complexity of the puzzles, that some readers might be turned away, but at its heart, it's about a girl learning there are people in this world you can trust, but it takes time and some risk to let them in as you figure out who they are. At the same time, it's a much better alternative than keeping yourself isolated from the world.

I believe this author shows a lot of promise and I would be very interested in reading other works by him.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thanks Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC! I was so excited when I read the summary for this book - it was unlike anything else I've ever read and I couldn't wait to dive in. While slow paced at the beginning, it really picked up towards the end.

I have recently been enjoying escape room games, logic puzzles, and riddles. If you are enjoying those, then you will enjoy this novel. I enjoyed the neurodivergence Arizona (at least that is how I interpreted her, because I related to her A LOT).

It was very much similar to The Goonies and Steve Berry’s Amber Room, or some of his Cotton Malone series. There were plenty of puzzles, as well as loads of history and literature. However, Arizona has a personal stake in the investigation which made the suspense gripping.

Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

The synopsis for this one really caught my attention. A teen trying to solving their mothers disappearance? Count me in. I feel like it’s very hard to rate this one because while I wanted to love the concept, but I just didn’t.

This book is a mystery but full of puzzles, codes and while I love trying to solve a mystery, this just wasn’t the way for me. If you enjoy that kind of thing, this book will be for you.

I will absolutely read what comes next from this author because I feel like there’s so much potential!

I think this is a great debut novel and gives me hope for the author's growth. This book wasn't really what I expected however, It wasn't a nerdy mysterious adventure that I hoped for and more depressed and subdued.

In this debut novel, a tense mother-daughter relationship takes a breather when it explodes into a targeted kidnapping by a ruthless antiquities hunter. He wants access to “a great secret” and thinks Arizona (the daughter) holds the key. Like her father, who was recently killed in an unexplained motorcycle accident, she has a knack for solving complex riddles. The breadcrumbs he left for her to follow ultimately give her an edge. The culprit underestimates both Arizona and her feisty mother in this fast-paced, engaging story. Puzzle and riddle fans are going to eat this one up, and fans of great fiction are in for a treat as well. I loved it!

The summary caught my attention because I enjoy a good mystery/thriller, and a teenager solving her mother's disappearance during a family trip appealed to me.

Firmly in the YA genre, this one has the young MC follow a trail of ciphers and clues at the demand of some baddies who have kidnapped her mom. She's definitely a unique heroine, as she falls on the spectrum of autism/neurodivergence. As someone who is also neurodivergent, it was refreshing to see a character written so genuinely, who struggles with their differences as both a strength in some situations and a hindrance in others, but begins to learn the ways she can interact with the world on her own terms.

I'm not sure what this book is supposed to be. I thought it would be a cool, nerdy mystery and right up my alley but instead it was depressing and kind of scary. The ciphers weren't well-formatted in the kindle ARC. This was a cool idea and I'd be interested in the author's next book, but I couldn't bring myself to finish this one.

It was a very interesting premise and the beginning was very intriguing but i felt like it was dragging after the first half. Although did a great job with the puzzles, is started to feel like more puzzles than actual plot and it kept going in circles. Maybe it was just not for me, I did like Arizona, I think she was, obviously, smart but there was growth within her and I loved Mojo. I think I had not read anything like this before and surely nothing with a animal companion that was consistent throughout the book.

Arizona is seventeen years old. She is an obsessive puzzler, learning codes and ciphers by her father. Unfortunately Arizona’s father dies. She and her mother are on a trip going to where her father’s ashes are being scattered. When they arrive at Bodie State Historic Park, they decide to split up as Arizona isn’t interested in the stamp mill. She tells her mother she needs some alone time. She goes off with her dog Mojo. When she arrives at the place they agreed to get back together, her mother is late. Arizona worries when after thirty minutes has passed and her mother is still not back. She talks to a park ranger and tells him about her mother not showing. He responds that the tour at the stamp mill may still be running. As time passes she speaks to another ranger who says he will get a search for her mother. Arizona and Mojogo back to the trailer. The next morning she goes to the park headquarters to speak to the “head ranger.” She finds out that there has been no search for her mother but there will be one now. Upset, she goes back to the Airstream to find it has been trashed. She finds a note explains that her mother has been kidnapped. The note tells her that she is to take a test. She does and then she is made to do more “tests.” Will she be alert to save her mother? Supposedly her father died because he wouldn’t tell the kidnappers the information they wanted. Will she be able to get the information they want?

The author has written a thrilling novel that is mysterious. It is a treasure quest. It reminds me of the “Indiana Jones” movies except this time it is a teenage girl. I sat on the “edge of my seat” at times throat the story. I enjoyed seeing Arizona learning about herself such as it’s not hard to talk to people. It is a fast paced story. The ending of the novel will be a surprise.

While I enjoyed this adventure of ciphers and scavenger hunts, it was way beyond my comprehension. But I think that every now and then I fully enjoy books that are way too smart for me. xD

Arizona prefers dogs to people, can't handle loud noises or fluorescent lights. Her brain works a little differently, but she understands puzzles. That was always something she and her dad enjoyed. Following the loss of her dad, her mom is kidnapped, and she is left to solve a series of ciphers and puzzles, all hinting at a deeper mystery.

I feel like it's easy to feel overwhelmed by this book, by the math, the riddles, the circular way Arizona's mind works. Yet it's so fulfilling to see her come to the solutions. To see the strangers she meets along the way come to mean something to her. For Arizona to take the even greater test of trusting another person.

The Language of Birds is a unique, very exciting thriller incorporating mysterious puzzles into the twisty plot which serves as clues as to who could be the villain and what they are looking for. We will follow the quest of a teenage girl who has recently lost her father and now must deal with another shattering loss...her mother's kidnapping. Never sure as to where the clues will take her (and us) this ingenious story will have you on the edge of your seat!

Arizona, yes, that's her name, is a seventeen-year-old who has recently lost her father to a horrible motorcycle accident. Her mother decides they need to get away and regroup so they decide to take a trip in their camper and visit some of the places they as a family had been. Along with their dog Mojo, they begin the journey. Arizona is a brilliant girl, but extremely awkward in social situations. So much so she has been home schooled. She is well read and amazing at puzzle solving thanks to her father.

But, as soon as they reach their first destination in which they decided to split up and meet back later in the day, something goes terribly wrong. Her mother is not there to meet her. Suddenly she gets a call in which a mystery man informs her they have kidnapped her mother and need for Arizona to solve a group of puzzles which will lead to an unknown which they refuse to tell her. Only then will they release her mother.

The reader then goes along for the ride with Arizona and Mojo as they are given different types of clues in which she must try and decipher only to have to go from location to location and keep solving puzzles.

But Arizona is not stupid. She sees a pattern. A pattern she keeps to herself. Will she be able to solve the final puzzle in order to get her mother released but also solve the true mystery before the bad men can.

The story is a treasure quest, something her father prepared her for since she was a child. What he did not prepare her for was the fact that she cannot just rely on herself and she must try and learn to trust others and more importantly keep herself calm something she is not very good at. These skills she must learn and learn quickly in order to save her mother.

The Language of Birds is an exciting rush to the finish line not really understanding where the line is or why we are there. But be sure, the ending will shock, surprise and satisfy the reader.

Thank you #NetGalley #BallentineBooks #K.A. Merson #TheLanguageofBirds for the advanced copy.

REVIEW: Language of the Birds by K.A. Merson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In Language of the Birds, K.A. Merson combines mythology with modern storytelling in a way that feels both fresh and familiar. The idea of birds delivering messages and the various puzzles was truly unique. You can see how clever Merson is by how they weave everything into the story. The writing is beautiful and reads like poetry.

I loved the:
- Believable and well-described world-building
- Deep characters with complex emotions
- Writing that flows seamlessly with the story
- Twists and turns throughout

What wasn’t as great:
- The story was slow in the middle.
- A few characters felt underdeveloped.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the free ARC!

While I enjoyed parts of this book, much of it I just found annoying and silly. The premise reminded me of the "National Treasure" movies, but without any of the lightheartedness. It felt more "fantasy" than "mystery" to me, because the premise of it all was just so far-fetched and laughable. Outcast teenager and her faithful canine companion fight to save her mom from kidnappers and solve really old ciphers in the process. The premise could have been interesting, but I just couldn't get past how ridiculous the entire storyline was.

*Side note - since I was reading an advance copy, I don't know if this was fixed in the final version, but what really irked me was that there seems to have been visual pictures throughout the book related to the ciphers and puzzles, and those did NOT come through on my Kindle, so I completely missed out on those parts of the book, which was a big disappointment.

Love puzzles? Then you are in for a treat. After Arizona’s father died, she and her mother took his ashes to distribute them in areas that they had visited with him. At one location, while her mother toured a mill she wandered the deserted town of Bose, part of a national park. It was here that her mother was kidnapped. Samantha, a park ranger, promised a search, but failed to find her. When Arizona returns to their trailer it has been ransacked and a note was left with the first of a number of puzzles she is forced to solve if she wants her mother back. After solving the first puzzle she sets off with her dog Mojo. Arizona is seventeen, although she added a year so Samantha wouldn’t notify protective services. She is hypersensitive to certain sounds, brilliant, was home schooled and has no time for people or making friends. At one of her stops she meets Lily and her dog, who befriends Mojo. Lily offers her someone to just talk to and they form a connection that Arizona has never experienced, a friendship. Eventually she begins to open up to Lily, who offers support and begins to help her on her search for answers.

Arizona always believed that her father was a cartographer for the government, but these puzzles are tied to documents taken from government archives dating to the Hoover administration. Clues lead Arizona to a cemetery, an off limits Navy island facility, an abandoned mine and to a final showdown at the Hoover Dam. With cryptograms, references to alchemy and lines from Kipling and Lewis Carroll, K.A. Merson has crafted an intense and absorbing mystery. As much as I love solving puzzles, those encountered by Arizona were way beyond my abilities and I sometimes skipped to her solutions. This did not detract from my enjoyment of the story itself. It was Arizona, her love for Mojo and her opening up to letting others into her life that kept me glued to the pages. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for providing this book.

Arizona is brilliant which can come with social awkwardness. I personally don’t have anywhere near the patience she has to solve the ciphers. The solving can get tedious but it would be infinitely worse if the character was of average intelligence. The story itself is interesting and well done. I wish I was as smart as Arizona.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

The Language of the Birds by K.A. Merson was such a fun, fast-paced read! Arizona, a super smart and resourceful 17-year-old, has to solve a series of puzzles to rescue her kidnapped mom—all while still grieving her father’s very recent death. The bad guys think her dad took the answers to the grave. Thankfully, Arizona is way smarter and more clever than your average teenager. If you like National Treasure-style stories with codes, mysteries, and a clever main character, you’ll love this. Made me realize I’d be terrible in this situation, my puzzle-solving skills would get no one rescued! My family members would be doomed if they were relying on me in this same situation. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

A fun adventure. When seventeen year-old Arizona’s mother is kidnapped, Arizona must use all of her seemingly obscure knowledge including cryptography and geocaching to find her mom. Along the way she learns a lot about herself and her recently deceased father. The story is a little heavy on the cryptography details, but nonetheless an engaging, fast paced story. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

This book, full of riddles and ciphers, will be great for some people and confusing and dull for others. I expected this to be more like a fun treasure hunt, a bit of a romp with a girl and her dog, but to me, it got bogged down in detailed ciphers that I found myself skimming over. The mystery did keep me going, though, and the eccentric teenager it follows was a great character. All in all, an impressive debut, but not entirely for me.