I was interested to read this because I haven’t read a YA book in quite a while. I can see that this would be a fasting read for a teen. It starts with a mystery: her mother is missing. Through the use of puzzles and riddles, cryptography, too, the mystery is solved!

This will make the perfect Christmas gift for young adults on my list.

In the wake of her father's death, her mom goes missing. The average 17-year-old wouldn't know what to do, but Arizona is not your average teen. She's neurodivergent and adept at puzzles and ciphers, with a vast knowledge base and the ability to drive a truck towing an airstream camper and a motorcycle with a sidecar. Cool kid, indeed!

The Language of the Birds is a tricky book to categorize. The plot feels YA, but the exquisite vocabulary and detailed ciphers would be too challenging for the average YA reader. I have been reading the National Park Mystery series with my daughter, and this feels like the adult version of those books.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I did find myself skimming some of the cipher-breaking sections to get back to the plot. The author's masterful use of language was appreciated.

This may sound like a sweet nature book, but it starts with grief. Arizona and her mom are driving along the Sierra mountain range, spreading her father‘s ashes at all his favourite places. But when they stop at a ghost town and separate to process their emotions independently before deciding on a spot to put this bit of ashes, Mom vanishes. Very quickly we are in a tense and puzzling series of events.

None of this is to say that the language is not of birds and nature. Interwoven our descriptions of trees and an encounter with a raven, details of sky and land, even pink flamingos...the lawn kind, not the live kind.

Arizona is an interesting protagonist although she won't be to everyone's taste at first. At 17, she has been home-schooled, or rather trailer schooled, for the past three years, cruising up and down the Sierras with her parents. She’s coded neurodivergent, very focused on numbers, tangent sets, combining elements, and memorizing poems to calm herself when triggered. Which, under the circumstances in which she very soon finds herself, would be highly understandable.

Soon we are getting deep into ciphers and American history and Lewis Carroll/other classic literature quotes. The chapters alternate between Arizona, her mom, and occasionally the bad guys being cryptic just for the sake of being cryptic. I’m not a fan of this latter technique. It seems to be like cheating rather than intensifying the protagonist's feelings of suspense and danger.

After the first time, the descriptions of solving various ciphers go on a bit long. They only ever lead to the next complex clue, and it takes a long time to get any idea of where the quest is leading. Some readers will absolutely love the digressions into alchemy, philosophy, and other byways of thought and cartography; for others they'll be all distractions from the central action.

Meanwhile, however, Arizona - or AZ, as her first new friend calls her fondly - is proving herself competent at navigating the world with only her dog for company, and surprising herself (and pleasing this reader) by easing out of her discomfort zone around other people to the point where she can sometimes initiate conversations without panicking and freezing. Her growth beyond the early limits imposed by her neurodivergence and other 'conditions' is one of the chief charms of this book.

Thanks #NetGalley #TheLanguageOfBirds #KAMerson

This is the kind of book I didn’t love but imagine others will. It’s well written and intriguing. I thought the protagonist was a bit unrealistic and maybe a little too “neurodivergent trope-y” but that’s not fair to say, since that’s based solely on my own mental state. I do think this will find an audience and would absolutely read something else by the author.

Arizona is a teenager who loves puzzles, number patterns and solving problems. These skills are put to the test when her mother is kidnapped and to save her, Arizona must pick up on a trail left by her recently deceased, perhaps murdered, father.
On a surface level, I enjoyed reading this book. Arizona is an interesting character and I found myself pulling for her right away and I was pulled into the story. On the other hand, the puzzles she faced were incredibly cryptic and complicated, although she could solve most at the drop of the hat because of her absolute knowledge of mathematics and literature. The motivation and background of the antagonists are not well developed or explained and the reader is left just to accept that they are the bad guys. Four stars for the protagonist and concept, but three stars overall for the rest of the characters and execution of the plot.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

While this book is interesting, the overload of information about the numerous puzzles Arizona has to solve and how she goes about it can be overwhelming if your brain is not good at comprehending such things. Arizona is an admirable character in her tenacity and bravery, especially in the face of her difficulty in dealing with other people, as she clearly seems to have some form of autism. This makes the friendship she forms with Lily, a girl she meets in her travels, all the more touching. She also has a sweet relationship with her dog, her constant companion and emotional support provider. If you love word puzzles, like cryptograms, and are good at solving them, you may like this book. However, if you are not as much into that sort of thing, you may not enjoy it as much.

I was interested in this book because of the mystery aspect, but found that I wasn't as into the riddles and couldn't get into the story. I think I wasn't the right reader for this one.

Thank you Netgalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for the advanced reader copy.

Arizona is seventeen year old with a prodigious mind for puzzles. And after the accidental death of her father, Arizona will have to push her brain to the limits to figure out what her dad died for and how to get her kidnapped mother back. Along with her dog, Mojo, and a friend that she’s learning to allow into her life, Arizona ventures throughout the southwestern United States on a treasure hunt for a hidden secret. Puzzles, cryptic messages, and the involvement of a former U.S. president will have readers following the clues along with Arizona.

I really enjoyed the protagonist of this story. Arizona is independent, smart, and wary of those around her. The puzzles she solves are complex and inventive. A couple of downfalls of the story for me were the repetition of the poems/clues too many times, and the resolution of the mystery left something to be desired. The pacing was great though, and the ingenuity of the storyline was complicated and fun. A good read for those who enjoy mysteries, puzzles, and conspiracies.

I was completely hooked by The Language of the Birds by K.A. Merson. As someone who loves puzzle books and smart, suspenseful mysteries, this story was everything I hoped for. I had so much fun piecing together the clues and following the evidence right alongside the protagonist, trying to solve the mystery before the final reveal. It was immersive, clever, and full of twists. I honestly couldn’t put it down.

I thought this was a well thought out story. I liked Arizona and how smart she was. Her ability to do puzzles and ciphers were amazing. I know there are people out there just like her. I did think at times the puzzles made the story drag a little and made my eyes glaze over. It was an interesting story.

While I like the idea of this book, and thought it was a fun adventure book. I wasnt sure if the intended audience was YA or adult? The puzzle aspect and clue finding was fun, but I felt like the clues were too conveniently solved in a rather quick manner, the main character just by chance having the skill set and background knowledge to know exactly what to do.

This book has a really strong and well-done mystery element. The “villains” in this story feel very grounded and the stakes feel both real and immediate. The main character is interesting and really fits the story. She is heavily coded to be neurodivergent, and makes some reference to this fact, but I do wish that it was explored more thoroughly in the story. The mystery in this book relies heavily of codes and ciphers, and at times the descriptions of these felt overwhelming and gratuitous, but they were smart and I never felt cheated by any of the clues. I also found the ending slightly disappointing, but that’s more so because of my personal tastes. Overall, this book was very good and I highly recommend it.

3.25 out of 5 stars

17-year-old Arizona has just lost her father to a tragic motorcycle accident. Along with her mother, she is travelling to places her father loved to scatter his ashes. The first place, Bodie, is a ghost town and her mother chooses to go on a stamp-mill tour while Arizona walks her dog, Mojo. But when her mother fails to show up at the scheduled time at the scheduled meeting place, Arizona gathers up her courage to talk to a stranger - a ranger - to alert someone.
The first ranger she talks to tells her to give her mom a while longer. Arizona walks around town (in a very methodical manner) looking for her mom. When she fails to find her again, she goes back to the meeting place and finds another ranger who gives his name as Stephen Gordon, takes her phone number, and promises to call her if her mother shows up.
Out of options, Arizona goes back to their camper and eventually falls asleep. When she wakes up the next morning, she goes to the ranger station where the head ranger, Sam Yeats, tells her they have no Stephen Gordon. When Sam shows Arizona pictures of their rangers, she recognizes the first ranger she spoke with, but does not see Stephen Gordon.
Sam takes her information, and promises to look into the phantom ranger as well as send out a search for her mother.

When Sam gets back to her camper, she finds it tossed, and a note telling her that her father didn't have to die, and that "they" had her mother, and it was up to Arizona to crack a cipher to save her mother. When she cracks the cipher, though, she is given another, and another, and suddenly finds herself in a wild chase to find a solution to an alchemical mystery for someone known as The Adept.

Along the way, Arizona makes some friends, which is a first for her. She meets Marty while diving off the California coast looking for a geological survey marker on an island held by the US Navy, and she meets Lily at a campground near Carson City, who has a dog named Gus, and doesn't let Arizona lose herself in her own hear.

The concept of this book is intriguing - scavenger-hunt, alchemy, US Presidential history, puzzles, ciphers. The author did a scray good job creating the mysteries and connections to make this book make sense.

The problem with this debut novel revealed itself slowly but surely as I found that I could not find personality in any of the characters other than Arizona and maybe Marty. The villain, The Adept, was vague at best and flaccid at worst. The mother felt as much as a ghost as the dead father. The kidnappers and the rangers were confusing. What should have been the easiest character to develop, Lily, because of all the interactions between Lily and Arizona, should have at least garnered if not the ability to identify with her, at least the feeling that she made a difference in the story, failed to develop.

I felt as though Lily could have been taken out of the story and it wouldn't have made a difference. Who was Lily? We learn very little about her, and she could just as easily be a figment of Arizona's imagination as a flesh-and-blood human.

The book was good. The mysteries and connections were brilliant. But the book could have been great - better than great - if the author had spent as much time on the character development as she did on putting the clues and connections together. Still, I would definitely pick up more by this autho in the future.

I was intrigued with this novel when it started out with a girl named Arizona who lost her father to death seventeen days ago. I know its a terrible cliche, but almost as soon as I got into, I couldn't put it down. I would pick it up even if I only had a few minutes. Its an intriguing story about a neurodivergent teen who has to rescue her kidnapped mother by solving ciphers. Fascinating.
Merson is teaching and giving me information as the story unfolds. I am a writer of historical novels and I too love to share little known information. So I loved the kinship of knowledge as the path to a story. I was less fond of her bad guy who seemed a bit cliched. The whole thread about the alchemical obsession of the “Adept” was challenging to follow.
But Arizona is truly an original, and very well-drawn. Kudos to the author who is apparently complicated as well. The author does not even reveal his or her gender in the extremely short and enigmatic biography on Amazon or in the notes. I could find no other work authored by a K.A. Emerson, but perhaps there are more to come.

3.5 stars. YA is usually not for me, but throw in some cryptic puzzle-solving and I’m in.

Arizona is a very unique character and it’s interesting to follow her story. We get a decent balance of plot and character development, although it was more tell than show. She’s definitely way cooler than any 17-year-olds should be.

The puzzles though! It’s riddles and maps and code breaking and wonderful. Too few books nowadays give the reader (via their characters) challenges. It’s really rewarding when you can solve it alongside the characters. Now, there was exactly 0 instances when I solved a puzzle before Arizona, but there were a few where I noticed a clue that was important - and I’ll take the win where I can get it.

Overall an entertaining mystery! Very easy to go down the rabbit hole on everything we learned in the book, though.

Thank you to NetGalley, K.A. Merson, and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC of the language of the birds. This was cute YA mystery that I could totally see the younger generation loving!

Overall 4 stars!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy to read and review.

The description of this book intrigued me, but unfortunately, I don’t think I was the right audience in the end. While the ciphers were initially interesting, it became very tedious and technical to read every step in the character solving them.

Additionally, the pacing was incredibly slow in the middle and picked up near the end, just to have a flat finish.

I see a lot of potential in this story, but it just wasn’t a complete picture for me. I did find the historical references fascinating.

This book started out strong and I was invested in the search of Arizona's mom and deciphering the clues. But the pages of the deciphering clues lost me and definitely went over my head. I lost my "mojo" in staying interested in the brainiac puzzles. I felt the ending was rushed and I didn't feel satisfied with the ending.

I loved the premise of The Language of the Birds. From the synopsis: “A brilliant, eccentric teenager must solve a series of puzzles left behind by her dead father in this debut that features codes, riddles, and a plot that ingeniously mixes fact and fiction.”

After reading that, I was sold to give this a try! Unfortunately, the execution didn’t live up to that promise. The beginning was great but as Arizona got to the riddles and clues it became so bogged down that I found myself skimming through sections. I would have put it down but I was curious to see how it would end. This was a big miss for me all around. Thank you to the publisher for the free book to review.

Thank you Penguin Random House @penguinrandomhouse and K.A. Merson for this free book!
“The Language of the Birds” by K.A. Merson ⭐️⭐️⭐️Genre: YA Mystery. Location: California, USA. Time: Autumn to Spring, present.

“Dead father. Kidnapped mother. Ransacked Trailer. Ransom note. And a cryptogram, a cipher.”
On a trip to ghost town Bodie, Arizona’s mom goes missing. The family Airstream is ransacked; a note says her mom was kidnapped. Arizona’s dead father had a secret, and she must find it for the kidnappers. Arizona (17) is more comfortable with books than people. Her visual thinking creates patterns in her mind. She heads out in the Airstream with dog Mojo to decipher codes, solve riddles, read ancient texts and U.S. history, and uncover mysteries. She also learns finding others who get her isn’t as scary as she thought.

Author Merson has written a code/riddle-based book about a brilliant, differently-thinking teenager. Her adventures across California are fun and interesting to read. If you enjoy reading in great detail about every single step Arizona takes to crack the codes and riddles, you’ll want to read each word in this book. If, however, you’re looking for action, you may find yourself skipping large swaths of text. I’ll just say I’m a visual pattern thinker more comfortable with books than people (like Arizona). However I (like most people) am not a polymath, so the sheer amount of detail was overwhelming to me. Merson shares abundant, colorful, diverse descriptions, from the composition of mountains to wildfire regrowth to alchemy. While I get he’s showing how Arizona thinks, I think there’s a fine line between writing like the character thinks and making your writing accessible to a larger audience. I appreciate the summary he did in chapter 37. The larger story is Arizona’s, but Merson also includes chapters featuring her mom, and featuring the villain. No matter her differently-wired brain, Arizona is a fierce teenager determined to do what it takes for her family. I think we can all relate to that. It’s 3 stars from me 👩🏼‍🦳 #thelanguageofthebirds