The Lost Language by Claudia Mills

Release: October 12, 2021
Format: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson Books
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

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.

About the Author:

Claudia Mills has written many children’s books, including 7 x 9 = Trouble!, the Franklin School Friends series, The A9er-School Superstar series, and Zero Tolerance. She recently received the Kerlan Award for her contribution to children’s literature.

She was a professor of philosophy for more than two decades at the University of Colorado and is now a faculty member in the graduate programs in children’s literature at Hollins University. Dr. Mills lives in Boulder, Colorado.

The Lost Language Review:

What a unique, creative, heartfelt novel this book was! “The Lost Language” made me ponder our language and heritage.

Being a non-native English speaker, I realized how each generation slightly loses the linguistic skills that their earlier generations were proficient at because many educated people prefer to speak English instead. Even the fluency of many languages (including English) doesn’t have the same classical tone they once did, as we include a lot of slang in our dialogues. But I digress. I appreciate this story for making me think about these subjects.

I loved the two main characters. Betsy and Lizard share the kind of friendship that I love to read about in stories. Betsy and Lizard are contrasting personalities but blend so nicely. I also liked how their company puts it to test when Zoey enters the picture. The story gets quite severe in the second half as Betsy juggles problems with her mom and her friendship with Lizard. I thought the author executed the theme beautifully, and I could not put the book down!

Moreover, I felt like even as an adult, I learned so much in the tale. I’m going to sound ignorant admitting this, but I had never heard of places like Guernsey till I read this book. The author includes a lot of interesting trivia in the dialogues between the two characters that are simply fascinating.

Lastly, I have to give kudos to the author for writing the entire book in a beautiful, poetic, lyrical form. I never noticed the time fly by as I read the tale and got lost with the characters. Overall, “The Lost Language” is a middle-grade book I feel proud of having read. After reading this book, I also want to learn Guernesiais.

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE LOST LANGUAGE, US Only.

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I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on The Lost Language by Claudia Mills Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!