My awesome friend Ms. Frisk couldn't wait to read this one, so she actually bought it, and she was kind enough to share it with me, so thanks, Ms. Frisk!Speak is probably Laurie Halse (pronounced Haltz) Anderson's most well known book, and it is a very powerful novel which I think every student entering high school should read. And now she's written another incredibly powerful novel. This novel centers around two girls, Lia and Cassie who were best friends 4eva, until recently, that is. And now Cassie is dead and Lia's trying to deal with it. But Lia has big problems of her own. You see, one of the big ties between she and Cassie was anorexia. That's how Cassie died, and Lia has already nearly died from it as well but she's supposed to be getting better. Supposed to be.
This is a super intense book that I am really glad is out there, because I think there are many people dealing with anorexia and this will speak to them and those around them. But...it's not a book I can say I loved. It was just too hard to read because it was so painful to be a book I enjoyed or liked. those adjectives just don't fit this novel.
The pacing and prose increased the intensity, and the author uses some unconventional methods such a cross-outs to show the distorted reality of Lia which I don't ever remember seeing before but which I thought worked extremely well. I read a review of this book that exactly says what I was feeling when reading it. "As difficult as reading this novel can be, it is more difficult to put down." Readers of this novel cannot help but feel Lia's pain, and will be thinking of it long after the last page has closed.
I saw a video on YouTube last week that I think fits really well with this novel and that poses an important question for us as a society. I hope it provides you with some good "think about it" moments.
Due to the nature of this topic, I recommend this book for mature readers only. This book will be available at the WOMS library soon.
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