Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Poetry Winner



Shout

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she's never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society's failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #metoo and #timesup, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. Shout speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice-- and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore.

how was your book

I've not got around to reading it yet .....

I’m looking forward to reading this.

Did anyone get around to reading this? I just read it over the weekend and finished it. I gave it 4 stars. I thought some of the chapters were amazing and some were just pretty good. I’m also curious to know if anyone has read any of her earlier work.

Hey Michelle, I started it yesterday and will more than likely finish it tonight as I'm over half way through.

I honestly don't know how I feel about it at the moment. Some parts I'm finding really hard hitting, insightful and completely flooring me and other parts I'm totally lost as to what the point is and thinking "what is she waffling on about"

I've read Speak a few years back (which this is kind of a follow up) and I loved that one, if loved is the right word for such a book. However that one is prose rather than poetry.

Poetry is something I keep trying but I'm not too familiar with, and free verse poetry (which this is) even less so. I think that hasn't helped with my understanding of it all.