Punk & Pedagogy
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RAISE THE FUTURE

Speak

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Silence gets loud.

For you if

you or someone you love has gone quiet in a way that feels like more than just being reserved

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After a sexual assault silences her, Melinda finds her voice through art and defiance. Anderson’s groundbreaking novel shattered taboos and gave countless readers the language for survival. It’s not a story of victimhood — it’s a reclamation. Speak, even when they’d rather you didn’t.

In effect right now

Somebody decided you shouldn’t read this. Read it this week.

It only works if nobody notices. Get a copy, pass it on, and tell the people who made the call that you did.

Get Your Copy →

A Virginia school board member called it "soft pornography" in 2010. It is a teenage girl's first-person account of her rape and its aftermath. The challenge mistakes a survivor's testimony for titillation — which is itself an act of silencing. The book exists because survivors need to see themselves. The challenge exists because some adults still can't tell the difference.

The record

  • Iowa

    2023

    Removed statewide (state law or state board rule) · At least 31 Iowa districts

    Public libraries

    Initiated by: government or statute

    In effect nowLast verified Oct 2, 2026Source ↗

Where This Book Lives

Themes
coming of agesexual assault

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