I just finished reading "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anders. It's a YA story that won "National Book Award Finalist" several years ago. Frankly, I enjoyed this book more than I did Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol." It's a not-too-edgy story about how a 9th grade girl copes with having been raped by a 12th grade boy. There are a few scenes that I don't see as being necessary, except to let us understand her mood, but overall, the story is great. Very poignant. And Ms. Anders' writing style is great. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to write YA.
What I especially liked was that the story was told without foul language, vulgarity, and without being graphic when it came to the rape depictions and it still was an exciting read. So, for those of you who say you gotta be "realistic" I say, you're being lazy. Our youth hear enough of that garbage in school. They don't need to hear it from us adults too. We need to be better examples.
I read this book in a YA fiction class here at USU and I agree with you; it's poignant, meaningful, and doesn't have a lot of negatives along the way.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bonnie. I appreciate your support of my opinion. It means a lot to me.
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