Friday night, I read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It’s the story of a girl entering her first year of high school after having been through a traumatic incident over the summer. It’s an easy read, full of quirky observations and a voice that never talks down to the reader. More important for me, however, was the message: That you must speak out. That you must talk. That change cannot come from silence.

Personally, I wish this book had been around when I was young. I lived in an abusive house, and I never told anyone about it. The first thing you learn is never to talk about family to outsiders, and you never question that rule, no matter how bad it gets. I think about all the silence. About the classes I almost failed, even though I was normally a straight-A student. I wonder why no one ever asked me what was going on, why my Geometry teacher never questioned that I could get a 99 on one test and a 50 on the next. No one ever asked, and I never said anything.

Speak is a good book. It’s crafted well with an engaging voice and a very likable main character. But it’s also an important book. If there’s a kid in your life — 10 or 11 or 12 — give them a copy of Speak. You may be giving them a whole lot more.

4 thoughts on “Speak”

  1. SPEAK is one of my favorite books. It was made into a not entirely awful film.

    In terms of your disclosure, I offer some words of advice from Tom Spanbauer:

    "Go where it hurts and write."

    Go.

  2. Thanks, Karen!

    Jamie, I have written on this subject many, many times. Fortunately, none of them were good enough to get published! :)

    I'm just happy books like this one get published. I think they really can make the world a better place.

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