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I loved Laurie Halse Anderson’s keynote at the recent SCBWI LA conference, so wanted to read her most well-known novel. Even a decade after its initial publication, Speak is a darkly accurate portrayal of high school hell. By about a third of the way through the novel, I was muttering under my breath, “SPEAK out, already!” When Melinda finally does, I cheered. Anyone who has been pidgeon-holed, bullied or assaulted will relate to this novel.
