William Wyatt Orser's life is turned upside down after his mother has a stroke, but the socially awkward, word-loving twelve-year-old finds glimmers of hope when he discovers friends who share his love of wordplay and books.

When the rebels are captured Letta goes on the run, still striving to preserve language while the vicious new ruler of Ark plans to eliminate it once and for all. Before the rebellion, everyone in the city of Ark could only speak List, a language of just 500 words. When Letta became the Wordsmith, the keeper of all the words that have ever existed, she learned that being able to express yourself is what makes you human. Now, the new ruler has wicked...