Mother Tongue by Patricia Forde

The battle for Ark was only the first step. Letta and her friends discover that the new leader has a new, even more horrifying plan to keep children from gaining any language skills. They'll have to be careful, brave, and use all their wit to overcome it and save the mother tongue.
It's such an interesting concept, a dictator trying to control people by controlling their language and what they know. It's definitely a long term plan, but in Ark it's working, and that makes it terrifying. Letta is a very strong character, fighting back even when she has the opportunity to turn away and decide she's done enough.

The large scale fighting is mostly offscreen in this one, although Letta takes part in a couple of skirmishes. Her struggles aren't small, though, and there's a lot of sneaking around and trying not to get caught. Definitely one for adventure lovers! It's probably best to start with the first novel, The Wordsmith, though. The backstory is mostly explained in this one, but it'll still make much more sense if you read them in the correct order.

These are a brilliant series that will make people think about the language they use every day.

There’s a new leader in Ark and she’s even more vicious than her predecessor, with language now being kept from children from birth. Letta has escaped and moved into the rebel community where she’s running a clandestine school, trying to keep words alive. When the rebels are captured, Letta goes on the run, finding new family and allies along the way – and they ready for the final battle for words.