The list by Patricia Forde

Letta has spent her entire life in the protected world of the Ark, a safe haven for the survivors of a ravaged world.  The leader of Ark, John Noa, has worked hard to protect the people of Ark and his carefully laid out rules help everyone live together in a world that has drastically changed.  Everyone has their place, and for Letta her place is working as the wordsmith's apprentice, a role that has great responsibility but also allows her the privilege of learning and speaking words that are not List words.  The List is a list of 700 carefully chosen words that provide people with the words they need to communicate, but does not include the words that cause conflict and confusion.  There are specialist words, but they are carefully guarded and known only to the wordsmith and the people who need them. 

When Benjamin, the wordsmith, tells Letta that he is leaving the Ark to search for words she is not worried -- but then she receives word that he is dead and her world begins to slowly cave in around her.  With Benjamin gone it falls to Letta to be he wordsmith, and one of the tasks their leader has given her is to reduce the List even further, which goes against what Letta believes.  As Letta learns more about the world she begins to realise that nothing is what it seems, and that John Noa is keeping secrets from the people of Ark.  With people being hauled away by the gavvers for the smallest of transgressions, and with the arrival of a teenage boy who seems to know a great deal more about her world than she does, Letta is slowly realising that nothing is what it seems - and that a rotten heart beats at the centre of the Ark.

It takes something truly special to stand out in the world of books, and The list was one of those rare books that was a stand out from the beginning.  Seeing the world of Ark through Letta's eyes takes you on the journey with her, from innocent and obedient member of Ark through to wide eyed discovery that things are not what she thought - through to the heart break of betrayal and having the truth laid bare.  The theme of a dystopian future is not unusual, particularly over the past ten years or so, but Patricia Forde has created a world that is not too distant from our own, and that is accessible for younger readers than the traditional teen dystopian series.  It was easy to connect with Letta and her world, and Forde was clever with her world and character development without being too clever.

I recommended The list to a few people before I read it, and now that I have read it I am recommending it to even more people as it is one of those rare children's books that can be picked up by children, teens, and adults - and enjoyed equally by everyone.

If you like this story then try:

• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• The declaration by Gemma Malley
• Nest of lies by Heather McQuillan
• Breathe by Sarah Crossan
• The barcode tattoo by Suzanne Weyn
• Winter of fire by Sherryl Jordan
• The limit by Kristin Landon
• The world around the corner by Maurice Gee
• Stone heart by Charlie Fletcher
• Hollow Earth by John Barrownman and Carole Barrowman

Reviewed by Brilla