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The Lost Language



by
Claudia Mills

Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Holiday House
Imprint
Margaret Ferguson Books
ISBN
9780823450381
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Violence: Suicide Reference/Discussion
$19.56   $16.30
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The quest to save the words of a dying language - and to find the words to save what may be a dying friendship - lies at the heart of this exquisite verse novel.

Sixth grader Betsy is the one who informs her best friend, Lizard, that thousands of the world’s languages are currently threatened by extinction; Betsy’s mother is a linguistics professor working frantically to study dying languages before they are lost forever. But it is Lizard who, gripped by the magnitude of this loss, challenges Betsy, “What if, instead of WRITING about dying languages, like your mom, you and I SAVED one instead?”

As the girls embark on their quest to learn as much as possible of the near-extinct language of Guernésiais (spoken on the Isle of Guernsey, off the coast of France), their friendship faces unexpected strains. With Lizard increasingly obsessed with the language project, Betsy begins to seek greater independence from her controlling and charismatic friend, as well as from her controlling and charismatic mother. Then tragedy threatens Betsy’s life beyond what any words can express, and Lizard does something unthinkable.

Maybe lost friendships, like lost languages, can never be completely saved.

Author’s note.

POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Violence: Suicide Reference/Discussion

Details

Format

Print

Page Count

304

Trim Size

8 3/10" x 5 1/2"

Dewey

F

AR

5.3: points 4

Genre

Fic

Scholastic Reading Counts

0

JLG Release

Apr 2022

Book Genres

Realistic Fiction, Novels in Verse

Topics

Best friends. Friendship. Middle schools. Language and languages. Family life.

Standard MARC Records

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Cover Art

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Praise & Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 4 Up-Reserved Betsy trails in the wake of two domineering women in her life: her mother and her BFF, Lizard. Mom, a career-obsessed linguistics professor, has little time for Betsy or her devoted father. Mom's not fond of Lizard, whom she (ironically) thinks is too controlling. Betsy is aware of the imbalance in both relationships, but isn't ready to challenge them yet. In an effort to please Betsy's mother, the friends launch a club at their middle school to "save" a dying European language. The club fails, but sets Betsy on a path of making new friends. Alienated, Lizard retaliates by revealing to classmates that Betsy's mother has just attempted suicide. The author doesn't expand the verse format beyond standard line arrangement and the language lacks the imagery of Thanhha Lai's Inside Out and Back Again. But Betsy's first-person narration is engaging and will speak to the many young readers who feel quashed by stronger personalities all around them. It's a pivotal moment of acceptance when Betsy's father observes, "sometimes someone who is quiet/ has their spunk and spirit/ deep inside, like a hidden treasure." The novel ends on a realistic, satisfying note as Betsy's family moves forward-together-and she and Lizard reach a new understanding. Race of the main characters is not described. Back matter hints at a possible meaning of the novel's title: the language we must never lose is the words to tell those we love how we truly feel. VERDICT Empowering and heartfelt; recommended for all middle grade collections.-Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem P.L., Holbrook, NY

Praise & Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 4 Up-Reserved Betsy trails in the wake of two domineering women in her life: her mother and her BFF, Lizard. Mom, a career-obsessed linguistics professor, has little time for Betsy or her devoted father. Mom's not fond of Lizard, whom she (ironically) thinks is too controlling. Betsy is aware of the imbalance in both relationships, but isn't ready to challenge them yet. In an effort to please Betsy's mother, the friends launch a club at their middle school to "save" a dying European language. The club fails, but sets Betsy on a path of making new friends. Alienated, Lizard retaliates by revealing to classmates that Betsy's mother has just attempted suicide. The author doesn't expand the verse format beyond standard line arrangement and the language lacks the imagery of Thanhha Lai's Inside Out and Back Again. But Betsy's first-person narration is engaging and will speak to the many young readers who feel quashed by stronger personalities all around them. It's a pivotal moment of acceptance when Betsy's father observes, "sometimes someone who is quiet/ has their spunk and spirit/ deep inside, like a hidden treasure." The novel ends on a realistic, satisfying note as Betsy's family moves forward-together-and she and Lizard reach a new understanding. Race of the main characters is not described. Back matter hints at a possible meaning of the novel's title: the language we must never lose is the words to tell those we love how we truly feel. VERDICT Empowering and heartfelt; recommended for all middle grade collections.-Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem P.L., Holbrook, NY

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Grades 5-7
Upper Elementary & Junior High Plus
14 books per Year
$276.08 per Year

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