Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

From Goodreads,

"A searing poetic memoir and call to action from the bestselling and award-winning author of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson!

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she's never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society's failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #metoo and #timesup, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. Shout speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice-- and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore."

Goodreads - Shout

Last week I reviewed Anderson's book Speak.  The book focuses on the fictional story of Melinda who was raped by an older boy from her school.  Throughout the book, she struggles with finding her voice to tell what happened.  Shout is the moving and true story of survivors written in moving prose.

Shout is Laurie Halse Anderson's story.  It tells of her childhood and upbringing as she dealt with being raped when she was just thirteen.  The second part of the book is focused on telling the stories and interactions she has had with other survivors.  The last part is a conclusion telling of her family when she was an adult.

I absolutely loved this book.  And I mean LOVED this book.  This book was so raw and powerful.  Anderson didn't try to sugarcoat or hide anything.  She was open and honest about her own rape at the age of thirteen and how it affected her life.  As I was reading there were so many connections I noticed between Shout and Speak.  Speak felt more "real" because so many of the events in that book really happened.  I hate that Anderson had to go through the trauma she went through, but I'm glad that she was able to openly write about her experiences in both Speak and in Shout.  Anderson has helped so many people speak about their own experiences, all because she was able to open up about hers.  I honestly think that this newest book will encourage more people to step forward and tell their story.

The entire focus of this book was rape and sharing your story, but I want to focus on censorship.  There were multiple poems about teachers or administrators afraid of having Anderson's book in their schools or afraid of Anderson speaking in schools about sex, rape, and consent.  Reading about the fear that schools had, made me think of two things.  One was that I was very fortunate I went to a high school where any and all books were made readily available.  The second thing is that as a current teacher I have had coworkers who have encouraged me to not put books in my classroom library because of content.  I had a book about a boy who knows he is really a girl.  One of my coworkers told me that it was not appropriate for children and that I shouldn't put it in my classroom library because we live in a small town where being transgender isn't acceptable.  As a new teacher, I nodded my head and agreed.  Now that I think back on it, I really should have put the book in my library.  While it may offend people, it may resonate with just one kid who needed that book.  I feel like that is what Anderson's books are about.  They aren't for everyone, but they resonate with people who find themselves in the book, people who make a connection to a character.  Shout really pushed me to a point where I felt that we shouldn't be censoring books and content.  I think it is good for kids and young adults to be exposed to lots of different books with lots of different topics and content.  Kids and young adults alike have to learn to find a book that is appropriate for them.  If they find it offensive or it bothers them, then they need to find another book that is appropriate for them.

This book was moving and heartbreaking all at the same time.  I pretty much read straight through this book.  It was a quick read about a difficult topic.  I give this 5 stars.  If you have read ANY of Anderson's books then you need to read Shout.