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chrissie_whitley 's review for:
The List
by Patricia Forde
Told with a rather emotionally thirsty, distant narrative, The List somehow still remains engaging with a very intriguing premise. Forde seems to have attacked a dystopian novel that is very reminiscent, as the summary suggests, of [a:Lois Lowry|2493|Lois Lowry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1348162077p2/2493.jpg]'s series The Giver Quartet, and even more specifically the last book, [b:Son|13324841|Son (The Giver, #4)|Lois Lowry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349952095s/13324841.jpg|18252076]. The book's blurb also makes mention of a favorite of mine, which I actually did read in middle school, [b:Fahrenheit 451|17470674|Fahrenheit 451|Ray Bradbury|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469704347s/17470674.jpg|1272463], but other than the relationship to censorship that is shared, I didn't get that vibe at all. In fact, the attempt this community and its leaders or founders make at an utopian society was more along the lines of M. Night Shyamalan's 2004 movie, The Village. And, of course, with utopian societies being rather impossible, especially in literature (because otherwise where is the conflict driving the story?), both the weirdness and the otherness are present right from the beginning, drawing you in.
With a direct and, at times, choppy style, Forde aimed a mature understanding of what makes humans human at the middle grade level. Descriptive language mixed with the withdrawn and removed narration, made for a few moments when the style was a little off. At times, the simplicity proved to be too plain, too basic and the story could've stood to be a little deeper and more complex, but overall, my interest and desire to continue held strong throughout. I am certainly going to consider recommending this to my own children, especially during these turbulent times.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, nor the content of my review.
With a direct and, at times, choppy style, Forde aimed a mature understanding of what makes humans human at the middle grade level. Descriptive language mixed with the withdrawn and removed narration, made for a few moments when the style was a little off. At times, the simplicity proved to be too plain, too basic and the story could've stood to be a little deeper and more complex, but overall, my interest and desire to continue held strong throughout. I am certainly going to consider recommending this to my own children, especially during these turbulent times.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, nor the content of my review.