Book Review: Speak The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson and Artwork by Emily Carroll

TITLE: Speak: The Graphic Novel
AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Laurie Halse Anderson + Emily Carroll
PUBLICATION DATE: February 6th, 2018
GENRES: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction
PAGE COUNT: 374
PURCHASE: Amazon - Kindle
MY RATING: 4/5 Stars

SYNOPSIS: "Speak up for yourself-we want to know what you have to say."

From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless--an outcast--because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. Through her work on an art project, she is finally able to face what really happened that night: She was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is the first graphic novel I have ever read. I wanted to make sure I hit my Goodreads goal this month. Because it appears that Kingdom of Ash is taking forever to finish. *insert heavily emotional sigh here*

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting going into this book. I have yet to read the original copy of this book, Speak. I'm pretty sure I would have understood a few things better if I had read that book first. I just wanted something I could read within like three hours and call it a day. This book was hard hitting. 

I knew this book covered a heavy topic. With that being said, I'm going to go ahead and slap that trigger warning here for sexual assault, self harm, depression, anxiety, PTSD and victim shaming.

What I Liked: 

I find books that cover topics like this very interesting. Can I really say that I enjoyed anything about this book? No, I can't. I really can't. Books like this aren't supposed to be enjoyable. They're supposed to send a message. Did this book do that?

Yes, it did.

The images in this book really painted what the author wanted to share to the world. They made me feel many things. I have felt the things that Melinda feels throughout this book. This book is going to sit with me for a very long time.

This book is authentic. Reading it, you can tell that the author had experience in the matter. Anyone that has experienced this will leave this book with a heavy heart.

This book was done right. 100% right.

What I Didn't Like:

Absolutely nothing.

Overall Thoughts:

I can't believe how long it's taken me to read a version of this book. It's such an impactful read. This book is just amazing it's own way.

Who Would I Recommend To: 

Everyone needs to pick this book up and read it. Whether it's the original copy or the graphic novel. Read it.