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.
An NCTE Notable Verse Novel
A Charlotte Huck Recommended Book
A Mighty Girl Best Book of the Year
A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book!
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
