First, thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I had previously read Speak by Lauri Halse Anderson and found it to be a very well written, provocative, and touching book. I think it is a story that needs to be told to help all those with similar stories in their own life. I was glad to be given the opportunity to read Shout, which could be seen as a follow-up to Speak. In this title, she gives further details of her own history as well as explaining how and why she wrote speak and experiences she had with readers after writing and sharing her story. A very talented writer with a powerful message to share.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC digital copy. I have not been compensated for my opinion and this is an honest review.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this ARC digital copy before needing to switch to other books that were being archived. The book remains on my Goodreads "want to read" list, and I will update my review to reflect an updated opinion when I finish it at a later date.

I loved the writing - several times specific lines would stop me in my tracks and I'd re-read them several times out of appreciate for the word choices and flow. The story was a really interesting look at what it was like for the author to become so famous for such a personal, difficult topic.

Memoir in verse is a unique form of storytelling. Anderson does a great job of mixing metaphor, memory, and emotion. I plan to pull out specific stories and lines to illustrate narrative techniques and poetic elements for my students.

https://www.austin360.com/entertainmentlife/20190401/laurie-halse-anderson-in-austin-to-shout-her-story-of-sexual-assault

Laurie Halse Anderson fans will devour this memoir in verse. I loved the glimpses into Anderson’s life, told poetically and with rich language I wanted to linger in. Also enjoyable were the references to so many of her novels that have been a part of my journey as a reader for decades. Andersen has been, and continues to be, an important voice for anyone who feels unheard by the world. So glad she continues to shout..

Shout is a compelling account of Laurie Halse Anderson's life and a must-read for any fan of her work.

Content warnings include sexual assault, PTSD, war, physical abuse, fat shaming, alcohol and other drug use.

“This is the story of a girl who lost her voice and wrote herself a new one.”

I expect I’m one of the only ones reading ‘SHOUT’ before they’ve read ‘Speak’. I’ve had ‘Speak’ on my ‘I absolutely have to read this book’ list for as long as I can remember but still haven’t read it. I searched my local library for it but they don’t own it. I tried for several years to buy it on Kindle but it wasn’t available to purchase in my country (I just checked and it’s still not an option). I finally bit the bullet and added it to my Book Depository order last year and it’s been looking at me ever since from my shelf, quietly asking me why I haven’t opened its pages.

Honestly? It’s intimidated me. It’s the book about sexual assault and while I’ve read so many others, I think I’ve worried about what it will bring up for me when I do finally read it. So, long story slightly shorter, my plan is to ‘SHOUT’ then ‘Speak’, and then ‘SHOUT’ again. I’m interested to see if my perspective on ‘SHOUT’ changes after I’ve read ‘Speak’. I guess time will tell.

The first section of this book is essentially memoir in free verse. Laurie takes the reader on a journey through a series of childhood memories; a father haunted by war when alcohol isn’t numbing his memories, a mother silenced, her own experiences of school, work and surviving sexual assault. I really loved reading about Laurie’s experience as an exchange student in Denmark and would happily devour as much information as I could about those 13 months; what I’ve read has sparked an interest in Danish culture.

The second section, which begins almost two thirds of the way through the book, broke my heart as Laurie shared just a handful of stories about her interactions with other survivors, whose young bodies have been invaded and lives changed, most often by those they know and should have been able to trust. Although this section made me cry one of the things that got to me the most was something hopeful - the colourful ribbons tied to fences in Ballarat, Australia in support of the abused, which ultimately created Loud Fence. The images of those ribbons of support broke me.

This section includes responses from readers, students who have heard Laurie speak, teachers and librarians; those who need to share their story, those who don’t understand what was so bad about Melinda’s experience in ‘Speak’, those who want to censor “inappropriate” reading material.

I’m not sure how to sum up the third section other than to say that it was the shortest section but also the one in which I shed the most tears. Laurie’s final poems about her parents simply gutted me.

Although it’s clearly stated in the blurb I still hadn’t thought there to be as much memoir as there was in this book. I’d expected a greater percentage of poems to be directly addressing sexual assault, even though there are plenty that do. When my expectations didn’t line up with reality I thought I’d be disappointed but I wasn’t and I’m already ready for a reread. I expect that I will revisit this book each time I read one of Laurie’s books that are mentioned here, to search out her favourite scenes and glimpses of the story behind the story.

There’s a vulnerability here and it’s entwined with strength, determination, courage, resilience and so much compassion. While I finished this book with a contented sigh I’m still yearning for more. Luckily for me, as this is the first of Laurie’s books that I’ve read (shame on me!), I still have plenty to explore.

Thank you, Laurie, for sharing some of your life in this book, for breaking my heart, growing my empathy, giving me so many amazing passages to highlight and inspiring me. I will see you on Ultima Thule.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.