Reading guide for Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Beyond the Book |  Readalikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson X
Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
  • Critics' Opinion:

    Readers' Opinion:

     Not Yet Rated
  • First Published:
    Mar 2019, 304 pages

    Paperback:
    Mar 2020, 320 pages

    Genres

  • Rate this book


Book Reviewed by:
Adrienne Pisch
Buy This Book

About this Book

Reading Guide Questions Print Excerpt

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

  1. Why is the book divided into three parts? Why is the poem "Speak, Draft One, Page One" in Part One instead of Part Two?
  2. Reread "librarian on the cusp of courage" and discuss her interaction with Anderson. Is the librarian courageous at all? What does courage look like for survivors of sexual violence? What does courage look like for teachers? For school communities? For authors and other artists?
  3. Anderson repeatedly calls attention to the etymology and de nition of words, and several poems explicitly compare words. Reread "two opposites of rape," "the word," and "shame turned inside out." How do these underscore her argument about the power of language?
  4. Anderson ends her introduction with the following sentence: "This is the story of a girl who lost her voice and wrote herself a new one." Discuss what events or attitudes silenced her voice. Find evidence in the book that she has written herself a new voice.
  5. Anderson says, "Danish is a tricky language," and explains how the pronunciation uses very different sounds than English. Why do you think she includes so many Danish words in her poems, particularly if she knows much of her audience is unlikely to speak the language?
  6. Reread "cave painting." What turning point does this articulate in Anderson's writing life?
  7. In the poem "Catalyst", the author describes how names in her novels are very carefully and deliberately chosen. Find examples when Anderson uses names in her poems. Then re ect on why so many of her poems never offer a name (or pseudonym) for her subjects.
  8. What messages about words and sharing stories did Anderson receive as a child? Use poems such as "unclean" and "tsunami" to compare those childhood messages to her mature understandings about speaking one's truth.
  9. Why do you think Anderson wrote Speak first instead of writing a memoir about her experiences with sexual violence?
  10. The majority of Shout is written in free verse. What effect does reading this in poem form have on the reader? What is left out and what is emphasized through this form?
  11. There are three pieces in Part One that use prose instead of free verse. Reread the numbered paragraphs in "amplified," "ninth grade: my year of living stupidly," and "chronological cartography." Why are these stories told in prose? How is the tone different than the free verse?


Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Penguin Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book:
  20 Years of Speak

Become a Member

Join BookBrowse today to start discovering exceptional books!

Find out more


Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Moonrise Over New Jessup
    Moonrise Over New Jessup
    by Jamila Minnicks
    Jamila Minnicks' debut novel Moonrise Over New Jessup received the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially...
  • Book Jacket
    The Magician's Daughter
    by H.G. Parry
    "Magic isn't there to be hoarded like dragon's treasure. Magic is kind. It comes into ...
  • Book Jacket: The Great Displacement
    The Great Displacement
    by Jake Bittle
    On August 4, 2021, California's largest single wildfire to date torched through the small mountain ...
  • Book Jacket
    The Island of Missing Trees
    by Elif Shafak
    The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak tells a tale of generational trauma, explores identity ...

Book Club Discussion

Book Jacket
The Nurse's Secret
by Amanda Skenandore
A fascinating historical novel based on the little-known story of America's first nursing school.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Once We Were Home
    by Jennifer Rosner

    From the author of The Yellow Bird Sings, a novel based on the true stories of children stolen in the wake of World War II.

  • Book Jacket

    The Last Russian Doll
    by Kristen Loesch

    A haunting epic of betrayal, revenge, and redemption following three generations of Russian women.

Who Said...

Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

R Peter T P P

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.