Away with Words

Gala and her dad have just moved from Spain to a small town in Scotland. Uprooted from everything she knows, Gala has to cope with a new home, a new school, and a new language. She misses her grandmother and her friends and feels like she’s missing part of herself.

Struggling to interpret what everyone around her is saying, Gala is drawn to her classmate Natalie, who has selective mutism and doesn’t speak in school. This book is set in a world where words physically appear when you speak, and Gala and Natalie begin communicating by collecting, sharing and then writing poetry using other people’s spoken words. ‘Word collecting’ is highly taboo, and their actions soon makes waves across the school. Then, when someone takes their idea and uses it as a tool for bullying, the two girls are blamed. Can they prove their innocence and show everyone how beautiful words can be?

This is a relatable, engaging story about friendship, family and dealing with change. It’s also a great book for discussions around empathy – the idea of ‘spoken words’ is difficult to explain but absolutely works in the context of the story, creating themes of communication, the power of words, and the importance of listening.