Shout

Halse Anderson, Laurie. Shout. 2019. 296p. 228 mins. ISBN 9780670012107. Available as an eBook on Overdrive. 

Author of the best-selling book Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson returns with a poetic biography about her life and how the tragedy of her sexual assault and rape to a boy inspired the main character Melinda in Speak. Now more than 20 years old, Speak has affected an entire generation of girls to speak out about the abuse they suffered at the hands of friends, family members, trusted individuals, and people in position of authority. Unfortunately, society itself has not changed quickly enough to address the systematic issues that make girls vulnerable to abuse. 

Using free verses, Halse Anderson explains the experiences that shaped her as a writer, from the psychological impact the Second World War had on her father to the domestic violence and poverty that affected her family. She talks about the walls that she, her sister, and her parents built around themselves to avoid talking about the issues that undermined everything they were doing. Halse Anderson tells poignant family stories and how they influenced who she became. Along the way, she excoriates those in positions of power who ignore abuse, those who tolerate it, and those who encourage it. She describes how our society has failed, and continues to fail to support those victims of abuse, and how things have not changed fast enough to make our society one that is truly free and safe for everyone.

Fans of Speak, and everyone concerned with sexual assaults must absolutely read this very powerful cry for change, or even a revolution in our social mores!