Scan barcode
A review by karenaparker
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
5.0
Rereading this book for research purposes, but also finding it cathartic at the same time.
I first read it in high school and loved it. Classic good-vs-evil, girl-vs-boy, female protag with a loud literary voice that could drown out Shakespeare, Hawthorne, and all the other dead white dudes I was forced to read and praise. But back then, I didn't have the necessary eyes for it. I read it chapter by chapter, not seeing the author work her craft. Ten or so years later, my eyes are wide open.
This book is clean. Its format is non-traditional, but non-traditional for a reason. Each chapter has a purpose that states itself near the end like a punch to your gut from a bajillion miles away. It doesn't wax and wane, delivering just enough to hold you over till the next section. It's just enough to let you relive high school and to look at the adults.
Apart from bathrooms being alternately referred to as "rest rooms" between paragraphs and chapters at times, I don't have any complaints.
I first read it in high school and loved it. Classic good-vs-evil, girl-vs-boy, female protag with a loud literary voice that could drown out Shakespeare, Hawthorne, and all the other dead white dudes I was forced to read and praise. But back then, I didn't have the necessary eyes for it. I read it chapter by chapter, not seeing the author work her craft. Ten or so years later, my eyes are wide open.
This book is clean. Its format is non-traditional, but non-traditional for a reason. Each chapter has a purpose that states itself near the end like a punch to your gut from a bajillion miles away. It doesn't wax and wane, delivering just enough to hold you over till the next section. It's just enough to let you relive high school and to look at the adults.
Apart from bathrooms being alternately referred to as "rest rooms" between paragraphs and chapters at times, I don't have any complaints.