Speak: The graphic novel by Laurie Halse Anderson - ESSENTIAL

Anderson, Laurie Halse Speak: The graphic novel, illustrated by Emily Carroll.  GRAPHIC NOVEL.  Farrar Starus Giroux, 2018.  $20.  9780374300289.  Language: PG (16 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (rape mentioned, cutting); Violence: PG (fight)

The last big party before the end of summer and Melinda calls the cops.  No one at the party ever asks why, but Melinda spends the entire school year in almost petrified silence because she was raped at that party.  Her only outlet is art, but even there she doesn’t really excel.  As the year creeps on, she finally finds her voice.

I have never forgotten my first time reading Speak.  And all Anderson and Carroll have done is made the graphic novel experience as good as the original.  I can’t say its better – because it is a different experience.  But both versions are as excellent as ever.  Even with the graphic quality, everything is treated sensitively, in a manner that still makes it an excellent choice for every library.

MS, HS – ESSENTIAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher