Ever since the #SPEAKLOUDLY campaign began I've been continually moved, touched, amazed, and inspired hour after hour. I'm trying to respond individually to every single comment I've recieved on YESTERDAY'S POST. The stories you guys are telling me are amazing. If you have not read SPEAK, or you know someone who needs a copy, then please enter my giveaway. I'm giving away 10 copies of SPEAK--because that's how much I believe in this book.
So today I thought I'd share two of my favorite quotes. It's time to see SPEAK quotes celebrated for their raw beauty and honesty, not taken out of context and turned into something grotesquely misunderstood.
The first quote from earlier in the novel is sad, but it moves me and is one that I think a lot of people can relate to if they've ever felt depressed. And the second quote towards the end of the novel is far more hopeful and empowering.
I know my head isn't screwed on straight. I want to leave, transfer, warp myself to another galaxy. I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to someone else. There is a beast in my gut, I can hear it scraping away at the inside of my ribs. Even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me. My closet is a good thing, a quiet place that helps me hold these thoughts inside my head where no one can hear them (51).
I have survived. I am here. Confused, screwed up, but here. So, how can I find my way? Is there a chain saw of the soul, an ax I can take to my memories or fears? I dig my fingers into the dirt and squeeze. A small, clean part of me waits to warm and burst through the surface. Some quiet Melindagirl I haven't seen in months. That is the seed I will care for (188).
Isn't Laurie Halse Anderson amazing? For those who have read SPEAK, do you have any favorite quotes?
P.S. I just finished drafting a proposal for a class called Writing the YA Novel that I hope *fingers crossed* I'll get to teach. And the first book I included on my required reading list...SPEAK!
Beautiful Frankie!!! It is wonderful to see a novel bring bloggers, readers, and writers together. It's sensational.
ReplyDelete"You have to know what you stand for, not just what you stand against. "
— Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak)
Those are such powerful lines. The beast in my gut I have known as I have also found the small, clean part. Her words couldn't be more right.
ReplyDeleteI just read the book, like, a half hour ago, and this is what stuck with me:
ReplyDelete"Mr. Freeman: Next time you work on your trees, don't think about trees. Think about love, or joy, or rage- whatever makes you feel something, makes your palms sweat or your toes curl. Focus on that feeling. When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time."
I'm SO GLAD I read this book.
The reponses to this controversy from writers around the globe have stunned me and scraped me raw. Admiration is too thin a word for how I feel about some of the confessions I've read.
ReplyDeleteWhat I mean is, I agree with you. A thousand times over.
The second quote is my all-time favorite quote from a book. It's poetry.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourite quotes is part of 'The ten more lies they tell you in high school' section on pg 148.
"10. We want to hear what you have to say."
It's great that you're still passionate about #speakloudly! I actually watched Anderson read the poem she wrote about reader response to Speak when all this started, and I can honestly say it made me cry.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I'd love if my college offered a class about writing YA novels. Being a creative writing major, I've put up with a lot of flack in fiction classes for writing YA because they seem to think it's something you grow out of and move on to adult.
Great quotes! She has very powerful writing. An amazing campaign.
ReplyDeleteYou're awesome for giving so many copies of this away and for putting it on the reading list for your class! I was so moved by what happened that I'll be mentioning the novel in my Wednesday blog post. Stop by if you can!
ReplyDeleteGreat selections - I love them! Laurie touches lives every single day with this book.
ReplyDeleteI'm linking to your post today on the Scribe Sisters blog!
ReplyDelete