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ashylibrarian 's review for:
The List
by Patricia Forde
2.5/5 (audiobook)
Okay, so, I was really intrigued by the description of this book, and being a word-lover myself, I thought the concept was really compelling! Unfortunately, this book kind of fell short for me.
We are introduced to a cast of characters that have vastly different views on language and how it should be used. Most of the people in this world are limited to a list of 700 words (soon expected to be cut to 500). There is mystery and corruption and revenge. These are all things I was extremely interested to learn more about.
I had a hard time getting into this audiobook. I found myself spacing out and not really caring to go back to see if I missed anything important. Usually, I will rewind an audiobook if I feel like I have not retained the information, or if I don't fully feel like I know what is going on, but for some reason, I did not feel that need for this book. This is the second middle-grade story I have read in a long time, so that may have something to do with it. But, overall, it just left me feeling like I do not have a lot to say about it because nothing seemed to stick with me.
There were good things I liked about this book. I enjoyed the main characters. Letta was curious and engaged in what was happening. Marlo was brave and willing to put his life on the line for the greater good.
I also really enjoyed the overarching purpose of the novel. I read a review the said this book was like Fahrenheit 451 meets The Giver, which to me sounds totally awesome. And at some points, I can see where this connection could be made. I was surprised and fascinated by the use of the biblical story of Noah's Ark that played throughout the book. I honestly went into this not knowing a whole lot about the story, other than what I have heard on Booktube. As the story unveiled, it became clear that this post-apocalyptic world was created around the story of Noah's Ark - the flood that took out the population, Noah, cleansing the people. Pretty cleaver.
I found the beginning of the story to be kind of slow. There did not seem to be a lot of progress made, and some scenes just seemed to drag on. Once the plot introduced Noah and the Gavers (spelling??) cruelty and the secrets they were hiding, things did start to pick up. But I guess my overall impression was underwhelmed.
Okay, so, I was really intrigued by the description of this book, and being a word-lover myself, I thought the concept was really compelling! Unfortunately, this book kind of fell short for me.
We are introduced to a cast of characters that have vastly different views on language and how it should be used. Most of the people in this world are limited to a list of 700 words (soon expected to be cut to 500). There is mystery and corruption and revenge. These are all things I was extremely interested to learn more about.
I had a hard time getting into this audiobook. I found myself spacing out and not really caring to go back to see if I missed anything important. Usually, I will rewind an audiobook if I feel like I have not retained the information, or if I don't fully feel like I know what is going on, but for some reason, I did not feel that need for this book. This is the second middle-grade story I have read in a long time, so that may have something to do with it. But, overall, it just left me feeling like I do not have a lot to say about it because nothing seemed to stick with me.
There were good things I liked about this book. I enjoyed the main characters. Letta was curious and engaged in what was happening. Marlo was brave and willing to put his life on the line for the greater good.
I also really enjoyed the overarching purpose of the novel. I read a review the said this book was like Fahrenheit 451 meets The Giver, which to me sounds totally awesome. And at some points, I can see where this connection could be made. I was surprised and fascinated by the use of the biblical story of Noah's Ark that played throughout the book. I honestly went into this not knowing a whole lot about the story, other than what I have heard on Booktube. As the story unveiled, it became clear that this post-apocalyptic world was created around the story of Noah's Ark - the flood that took out the population, Noah, cleansing the people. Pretty cleaver.
I found the beginning of the story to be kind of slow. There did not seem to be a lot of progress made, and some scenes just seemed to drag on. Once the plot introduced Noah and the Gavers (spelling??) cruelty and the secrets they were hiding, things did start to pick up. But I guess my overall impression was underwhelmed.