NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A memoir in poetry by one of the most crucial activists for sexual assault survivors writing today.
“A captivating, powerful read about clawing your way out of trauma, reclaiming your body, and undoing lifetimes of lessons in order to use your voice as the weapon it is.”—Booklist, starred review
“Speak[s] for the still-silent among us, and forces all of us to acknowledge the real and painful truths that are too dangerous to ignore.”—The New York Times
When she was thirteen years old, Laurie Halse Anderson was a shy, bookish girl who was raped by a boy she trusted. Today, she’s known as the
New York Times bestselling author of
Speak and many other novels, a two-time National Book Award nominee, and an advocate and activist.
In this powerful and searing book of free verse, Anderson tells the story she’s never shared publicly before: what happened to her as a teenager, the path to recovery she built herself, and how she turned her pain into art that would go on to help millions of readers the world over.
This book is for anyone who has ever been lost, ignored, silenced, abused, assaulted, harassed, talked down to, made to feel small, or knows someone who has. It’s for the writers and the readers, the dreamers, story weavers, poem collectors, song traders, word eaters. It’s for the heartsick and the hope-filled, the furious and the fierce, the creators of call-outs, and anyone with the courage to say “#MeToo,” whether aloud, online, or only in your own heart.
Laurie Halse Anderson has received both the Margaret Edwards Award and the ALAN Award for her contributions to young adult literature. She has also been honored by the National Coalition Against Censorship in recognition of her fight to combat the censoring of literature. She is the author of the groundbreaking National Book Award finalist and Printz Honor Book
Speak. She is also author of the critically acclaimed YA books
Prom, Twitsted, Catalyst, Wintergirls, and
The Impossible Knife of Memory. She has also authored a number of middle grade titles including The Vet Volunteers series, and the historical fiction Seeds of America Trilogy, which includes
Forge, ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Fever 1793, and the National Book Award finalist and Scott O’Dell Award-winner
Chains. She and her husband live in northern New York State.
“With
Speak, Anderson opened the door for more novels exploring the deeply felt and deeply personal aftermath of sexual violence.
Shout serves as both a testament to the life-altering, lifesaving impact of these types of stories—and as an urgent and brutal reminder of their ongoing necessity.”
—The New York Times Book Review “Seriously—does ANYONE write . . . with the realism, grace, and soul of Laurie Halse Anderson?”
—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of The Storyteller“A powerful testament that bears witness not just to [Anderson's] own pain, and the pain of others similarly abused, but also to the power of speaking persistently, time and time again, about topics that most people don't want to hear.”
—The Los Angeles Review of Books
“An absolutely essential read for teenagers and the people who know them.”
—Refinery29
“Anderson’s prose is so gorgeous . . . that at times the book needs to be put down to absorb her utter mastery of language.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“In this powerful memoir told in free verse, Anderson delves into her past. . .Her potent words and willingness to shout her message are proof of the soundness of that advice.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A captivating, powerful read about clawing your way out of trauma, reclaiming your body, and undoing lifetimes of lessons in order to use your voice as the weapon it is. Fervent and deafening.”
—Booklist, starred review
“Readers new to Anderson will find this accessible. It's a strong example of how lived experience shapes art and an important book for the #MeToo movement.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“A praise song to survivors, a blistering rebuke to predators, and a testament to the healing power of shared stories.”
—The Horn Book, starred review
“Will ring out to readers who themselves believe in the power of stories.”
—BCCB, starred review
“In searing free verse, Anderson unloads decades of trauma on these pages . . . Longtime Anderson fans will appreciate this deeply personal look into how the author channeled her pain into the writing of
Speak, and readers new to her work will be swept up in her singular style, which melds bold honesty with fluttering moments of lyrical beauty.”
—Bookpage, starred review “More than a gifted writer, Anderson is an advocate for anyone who feels alienated. Her sensitive, incisive book is essential for all young people.”
—School Library Journal, starred review
“Immensely powerful.”
—Shelf Awareness, starred review
