Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson is a realistic fiction novel based on the author’s true experiences during her childhood. The book switches back and forth between Melinda, the main character, and Laurie Halse Anderson. She was sexually assaulted multiple times in high school. She has to overcome the many challenges she faces throughout her journey. The book is written in a verse to portray her many emotions. Anderson doesn’t have an easy time at home, her parents are constantly fighting to the point where her father is abusive to her mother. She is constantly trying to ignore them and continue on without the pain they make her feel. School is not any easier. She struggles in her classes to the point where she is failing. She has no friends or emotional support to help her with these struggles. Laurie Halse Anderson does a wonderful job of making you feel like you are in her shoes, and you are feeling all of the horrible emotions she is. The boy that raped her scares her enough that it makes the reader bite their nails when she walks through the halls by him. To get away for a little while Anderson decides to be a foreign exchange student for a semester. While she is away she learns many things about herself and makes many friends. By the end of the book, she finally stands up to the boy that harassed her. He is about to hurt her again when she stands up to him, and the girls on the softball team hear her yelling and come to help. She finally gets away and is able to continue on with her life without being constantly scared. She wrote Speak and Shout which share her experiences and her thoughts and empathy about the dangers of sexual assault.
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