Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An astonishing and moving look inside a person in pain. The author isn’t shy about what it’s about. A rape at 13, at a summer party where a seniors decided she was the ‘pretty one’ that he wanted. And her attempt to call the cops — an automatic response born by the media begging people to speak out — led to a year of ostracization, agony and silence. Overall, the prose in this graphic novel is sparse and true to the internal struggle that is hollowing the protaganist out. In addition, the art is a sharp relief that highlights the realities of school and its hidden edges. As a father, I found I couldn’t put the book down. Until it finally released me, in tears, at the end.