Review: Shout

Shout
by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 12, 2019

SHOUT by Laurie Halse Anderson is, in part, a sequel to SPEAK, Anderson’s critically acclaimed 1999 novel. In SPEAK, Melinda struggles to find her voice and speak out about having been raped. Melinda was a semi-autobiographical version of Anderson herself. However, SHOUT diverges from this fictional character and world, revealing Anderson’s true and heartbreakingly real experience as a girl growing into adulthood (then later, tells of the resistance she faced after writing SPEAK). Written entirely in verse, Anderson begins innocent anecdotes that, with one phrase, devolve into nightmares. Her pin-prick attention to detail and expressive prose is indulgent and gripping at the same time. One of the most moving elements of this book is her portrayal of her parents, conclusively complicated, yet loving and hopeful. Anderson describes her parents with detail and care, remembering vivid, emotional, and colorful moments in which Anderson’s childish perception and mature hindsight both play a part in revealing truth. Anderson’s personal and often emotionally raw verse is effectively moving. Throughout SHOUT, the horrors of sexual abuse and rape are laid bare to the reader. Anderson pulls no punches as she approaches the topic with fury and passion. While beautifully written and incredibly moving (more than one tear was shed), SHOUT is a vessel through which Anderson calls boys and girls, parents and teachers, to awareness and to action.