“The List" is warm, original, but most of all a tremendous page-turner.”  - School Library Association

​

"This book is important because it targets the dangers of global warming and the power of communication, love and expression.

Without these words that we have, our lives would be unimaginably different. I would definitely recommend this book to all keen readers out there."

-The Guardian (UK)

​

"A novel that truly stands apart for its originality and relevance… a book about words, about language, about their power to civilise

– and, in the wrong hands, to abuse and dehumanise. For a writer to deal with such themes it is the most basic of requirements

that she herself should handle words in a manner which exploits their potential richness and resonance. Forde rises magnificently to the challenge…

Forde’s novel blends the futuristic with the retrospective, demanding that her readers consider their own language histories and their underlying philosophies.  That she does this in the context of an engaging narrative accessible to a young readership is a gratifying bonus."

- Robert Dunbar, The Irish Times

​

"This gripping story has the dark atmosphere of books such as the Hunger Games series and ends on an intriguing note that might promise sequel.

And that would be another fine thing." – Inis Magazine, Children’s Books Ireland