Recently a coworker asked us to send some of our favorite Banned and Challenged book titles and a little snippet about it and/or why we love it. I emailed her back and said did she want them alphabetically, order of importance or just my favorite? How did I approach it? I thought, send a few favorite author(s), but that was too many. Just every book I read that has been B-and/or-C? Way too many to do. Therefore I said “Make it simple.” And found a […]
I was probably the target audience for this book when it was written, 25 years ago. But I still love it today.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
“Your words are kindling, twigs covered in wax, soaked in lamp oil, sticky with tar. Your breath is a match, scratching along sandpaper… Whisper break the silence, one word, then two…with every word spoken a loud victory. The words burst into flames, the silence, broken.” This imagery from the novel’s foreward was so powerful and poetic, and the story hadn’t even started yet! But what a great story it is, and beautifully told – even though one doesn’t think of freshman year of high school […]
“Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say”
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Bingo Square: Getaway, replacing Edibles Melinda has started her freshman year of high school as an outcast. Over the summer, she called the police on a party, which resulted in some people being arrested. Even her oldest friends are furious at her. Her parents seem mostly irritated by her, especially towards her lack of effort at school, but she finds some solace in her art class. There the teacher allows them to experiment and is encouraging of Melinda’s work. New girl Heather, desperate to fit […]
The wonder of women
Wonderful Women of the World by Laurie Halse Anderson
Biographies by various authors and illustrators to show the real Wonder Women of the world are on the pages of the graphic novel, Wonderful Women of the World. From names you know (the Williams sisters, Greta Thunberg) to people you might not have heard of (Teara Fraser, Francisca Nneka Okeke), we fly, learn water is weird, and learn how to be ourselves through our love, expressions and fighting. There are several extras and author biographies included. This is not an easy read, but a thoughtful and […]
Yes, please speak
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
After finding Shout, her memoir follow-up to Speak, at a local thrift shop, it felt only fitting that I found Speak at one too. A quality copy, too, unlike the copy of Shout, which had been missing its dust jacket. I had thought back when I read Shout that I needed to see what had caused such a stir, inspiring book bans and making uptight folks lose their cool, and now that I’ve read it… this is quite tame, honestly. Like almost always, the book bans feel like a gross […]
Let us all shout
Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
Another thrift store find. My copy is missing the dust jacket, and its pages are stained by an unknown substance on the bottom of the book, but I’m not gonna complain too much for $2.99. I recognized the author, yet I cannot recall with certainty whether I read her most well-known work, Speak, or not. I have this nagging suspicion that I have read something by her, but I can’t place for sure what. Regardless, I picked up Shout because of that familiarity and my […]
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