'We need words,' she said. 'Why can't you see that? We can think because we have words. Without them, we won't have memory to look at the past or imagination to glimpse the future. Without words we will be imprisoned in the here and now for ever.'

What a powerful read. Wow this is very difficult to put down and, although a dystopian setting, is by no means a copy of anything else out there. I don't really want to say too much beacause YOU MUST READ IT. Letta is a wordsmith in training. Her job is fundamental to the whole basis of the 'Ark' - the name of the place where survivors from the 'Melting' live (post Global Warming catastrophe).

The book has some complex ideas and to get the most out of the story and all the implications and hidden meanings I would say 11+.  

There's a fight to think for oneself-that's why language is seen as being important and therefore is only 'given out' in small supply. I found that idea both fascinating and horrifying. There is much that resonates today in so many ways.  For a book about losing the power of words the opposite is true ....the words here really strike a chord. It's not just dystopian on the surface with no depth-it's a book to really make you think.

I'll leave you with this quote about the leader of the Ark...
'John Noa banned the arts because he didn't want us to be unsettled. He didn't want us to ink for ourselves. He didn't want us to be any different from the sheep in the fields.  But we ARE different......'
Yes we are because we can read, create and imagine....PLEASE READ.