The Lost Language

by Claudia Mills

Overview

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.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823452507
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	11/01/2022
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	609,203
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Claudia Mills has written many children's books, including 7 x 9 = Trouble!, the Franklin School Friends series, The After-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. Visit her at claudiamillsauthor.com.

Editorial Reviews

10/04/2021

Two presumed-white Colorado sixth-grader best friends named Elizabeth—known as “Bumble” and “Lizard,” respectively—navigate their shifting friendship in this tender novel-in-verse by Mills (Zero Tolerance). According to Betsy’s disapproving mother, a workaholic linguistics professor, Liz holds outsize sway in the girls’ relationship. Still, when Lizard decides that she and Bumble should learn a dying language to save it from extinction and impress Bumble’s mother, Bumble eagerly follows her lead. Their attempts prove frustrating, however, when no one else seems interested in their mission. Meanwhile, Bumble lands a nonspeaking role in the school’s production of Alice in Wonderland and finds new friends, making Lizard jealous. When they both experience family crises, a cruel betrayal further threatens the girls’ fragile relationship. Conveyed in the first-person perspective, Bumble’s epiphanies and observations are crystallized through concise language and evocative descriptions (“Her face looks like/ the face in this famous picture/ of a person screaming/... like when you’re in a bad/ dream and you’re trying/ to call for help/ and no sound comes out.”), while her evolving emotions surrounding her parents and Lizard are as eloquently conveyed as her growing understanding of the world. Ages 9–12. Agent: Jennifer De Chiara, Jennifer De Chiara Literary. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

★ "Betsy’s first-person narration is engaging and will speak to the many young readers who feel quashed by stronger personalities all around them. . . . The novel ends on a realistic, satisfying note as Betsy’s family moves forward—together—and she and Lizard reach a new understanding."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ "Mills writes in free verse here rather than her familiar prose, but her keen insight into dynamics and character remains evident, and the compact, accessible phraseology deftly distills the portrayals."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Starred Review

"Mills uses poetry effectively to strip the layers away, conveying painful emotions in simple words that pack a punch. . . . handled with sensitivity and compassion. . . ."—The Horn Book

"Conveyed in the first-person perspective, Bumble’s epiphanies and observations are crystallized through concise language and evocative descriptions . . . while her evolving emotions surrounding her parents and Lizard are as eloquently conveyed as her growing understanding of the world."—Publishers Weekly

"Told through Betsy’s delicate voice in verse, this title addresses issues such as parental depression, the aftermath of attempted suicide, cultural ramifications of indigenous languages, controlling friendships, and alcoholism. . . . [Betsy] discovers a healthier friendship with another classmate and . . . her surge of maturity brings her belief in her own inner strength and ability."—School Library Connection

"Through well-drawn characters, this skillfully paced story thoughtfully addresses the need to be truly seen in our important relationships. . . . A sincere exploration of humanly imperfect love."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

★ 10/01/2021

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

School Library Journal

Erin deWard gives a heartfelt and sensitive narration of this engaging coming-of-age story about friendship and family secrets. Tweens Bumble and her best friend, Lizard, decide to learn Guernésiais, the dying language spoken on a small island between France and England. Bumble hopes that this endeavor will help her mother, a linguistics professor who studies languages on the verge of going extinct, be proud of her and accept the bold Lizard. DeWard’s range of emotional tones conveys Bumble’s shock, grief, and guilt when she realizes just how distressed her mother is about her work and captures Bumble’s anger when she feels Lizard has betrayed her. Teen listeners will appreciate deWard’s youthful voice as she learns to appreciate family and navigate friendships. M.F. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2022 - AudioFile

Erin deWard gives a heartfelt and sensitive narration of this engaging coming-of-age story about friendship and family secrets. Tweens Bumble and her best friend, Lizard, decide to learn Guernésiais, the dying language spoken on a small island between France and England. Bumble hopes that this endeavor will help her mother, a linguistics professor who studies languages on the verge of going extinct, be proud of her and accept the bold Lizard. DeWard’s range of emotional tones conveys Bumble’s shock, grief, and guilt when she realizes just how distressed her mother is about her work and captures Bumble’s anger when she feels Lizard has betrayed her. Teen listeners will appreciate deWard’s youthful voice as she learns to appreciate family and navigate friendships. M.F. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2022 - AudioFile

2021-06-24
An endangered language becomes a metaphor for people struggling to communicate.

Betsy is “good at being second.” Her mercurial linguistics professor mother works long hours, studying languages at risk of extinction, and has parental ambitions that sit uneasily on Betsy’s shoulders. Her best friend, Lizard, meanwhile, is a possessive, outspoken, and brittle friend who brooks no opposition. Fortunately, Betsy’s father is a steady, easygoing presence. The two Colorado sixth graders seize upon a plan: They will learn Guernésiais (a language from the Channel Islands with only a couple hundred speakers), get everyone at their middle school speaking it too, and surprise Betsy’s mother with their good deed. The school musical—Betsy is excited to take part, Lizard is disdainful—leads to tension as Betsy considers the high personal cost of their friendship. Through well-drawn characters, this skillfully paced story thoughtfully addresses the need to be truly seen in our important relationships. However, the crisis of language loss is not sufficiently explained: The girls express a savior mentality (“I hope they’d be grateful that two kids in America / were at least trying to save their language for them”) that is dramatically put in check. But without more context, readers may fail to fully understand the problem with their earlier attitude. Whiteness is situated as the default; Spanish-speaking students are present as background characters, and one of Betsy’s friends from the play is Black.

A sincere exploration of humanly imperfect love. (Verse novel. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews