finished shout by laurie halse anderson the other day. it was excellent. shout is anderson's memoir, told through poetry. she's really great at conveying emotion and events in only a few lines of prose. i appreciate authors such as herself, writing stories for the melindas of the world. growing up in the seventies, there obviously wasn't much for adolescents in terms of sexual education and mental wellness other than to wear pads and to use condoms. her own mother didn't even explain menstruation to her, just handed laurie a box of tampons.

speak was the first of many (catalyst, wintergirls, twisted) works of hers that i read. as an isolated, lonely thirteen year old, melinda spoke to me (pun fully intended). during the many conferences of lha regarding speak, she's spoken about the importance of conversations around consent and sexual awareness in teens and of today's youth. as she outlined in shout, she's had many teens come to her about their own experiences of assault or general feelings of isolation.

god i cant express how important and valuable it is that there is an author writing about the multitude of problems young people face. speak was published in 1999 and resonates with me and so many others currently. it is necessary for there to be a dialogue surrounding mental health and sexual assault that isn't in hushed tones or adults trying to censor books that teens NEED to hear. there's definitely someone out there who realized something happened to them because they've read speak/wintergirls/twisted/catalyst. 

laurie halse anderson writes for the girls you know that don't speak in class and spend their free periods in the library.

laurie halse anderson writes for the boys that are pressured by their friends into getting with a girl.

laurie halse anderson writes for the teens self medicating with substances to cope with something that's happened to them.

and for that, i applaud laurie halse anderson.