The Lost Language

August 1, 2021
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 Guern�siais (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)

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October 4, 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.

Starred review from October 1, 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

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2021
This verse novel is told in first person by one of a pair of sixth-grade best friends, both named Elizabeth. Narrator Betsy makes it clear from the beginning that her friend Lizard is more than a little bossy, as when she decides that Betsy was a "dumb name," eventually settling on Bumble as a better nickname. Betsy is also keenly aware that her brilliant linguist mother dislikes the nickname: "Every time my mom hears Lizard call me Bumble... / I can see her jaw tighten / with all the things she isn't saying." She realizes that her mom wants her to make her own decisions and not defer so often, but Betsy is comfortable in her role: "Lizard has to be the first at everything. / Most kids aren't as good as I am at being second." But friction arises between the two when Betsy wins a role in the school play and forms a new friendship; this eventually leads to a deep rift when Lizard reveals to their lunchmates that Betsy's mother is in the hospital following a suicide attempt. Mills uses poetry effectively to strip the layers away, conveying painful emotions in simple words that pack a punch: "Now Lizard doesn't have me / And I don't have her, / And we're never going / to have each other again." The format allows the titles of the poems to add their own little twists. The topic of a parent's suicide attempt is handled with sensitivity and compassion, and all the emotions ring true.

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