Select Publications

Speak (1999)

Laurie Halse
Fever 1793 (2000)
Catalyst (2002)
Prom (2005)
Anderson Twisted (2007)
Chains (2008)
Wintergirls (2009)
The Impossible Knife of Memory (2017)
About SHOUT (2019)
Laurie Halse Anderson is a New York Times
bestselling author who writes for all ages. However,
her best known, and (in my opinion) most powerful,
works are in YA lit. Anderson was born October 23,
1961, in Potsdam, NY. She attended Fayetteville-
Manlius HS until her senior year; she then left home
to live abroad in Denmark for thirteen months. She
came back to the Syracuse area and attended
Onondaga Community College before transferring
to Georgetown in 1981, graduating in 1984 with a
degree in languages and linguistics. Anderson began
her career as a freelance journalist and worked at the
Philadelphia Inquirer, writing children’s books on
the side. Her real breakout occurred in 1999, with
the publication of Speak.

Contact
 Book Spotlight

Speak Anderson, L.H. (1999). Speak. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Awards: National Book Award Finalist, 1999, BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, 1999, Printz Honor
Book, SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Fiction, 2000, Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year,
2000… the list goes on.
Synopsis: Melina Sordino begins high school as a social outcast after calling the cops on a party at
the end of summer. She pulls in on herself, until only the reader can hear her biting internal
monologue. But there are things that she doesn’t dare even think about. What really happened at
that party? And why can’t Melinda speak?

My thoughts: This book has become a staple in schools for grades 7th–9th grade, and for good
reason. It’s full of symbolism, while also being painfully relevant to young adults’ lives. It explores
themes of depression and ostracization, and the strength it takes to find one’s own voice after it’s
been forcefully taken away.

Wintergirls Anderson, L.H. (2009). Wintergirls. New York: Viking.

Awards: New York Times bestseller and ALA best book for young adults

Synopsis: 27 times… that’s how many times Cassie tried to call Lia the night she died. 27 times,
now haunting Lia. They used to be friends; together they were the Wintergirls… frozen, fragile,
thin. Always thin. Now Lia is left alone with her demons, and the only thing she can control is the
number on the scale, which is never low enough.
My thoughts: Wintergirls is my favorite Anderson novel, and probably one of my favorite books.
I like how it pulls the reader deep into Lia’s world, even though it might be triggering for anyone
with fragile mental health or a history of self-harm. Anderson has even said in an interview that
writing it forced her to confront her own body image and brought her to tears. For that reason, I
wouldn’t assign it to a class, but I will always recommend it for independent reading.
Ure.

Fever 1793 Anderson, L.H. (2000). Fever 1793. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Awards: ALA Best Book for Young Adults selection, Junior Library Guild selection… and
multiple nominations.
Synopsis: It is August 1793, in Philadelphia, USA. Matilda “Mattie” Cook is fourteen, bursting
with ambition and looking for adventure. She has big plans to turn the family coffeehouse into
the finest business in the whole city. But then yellow fever comes to shore.

My thoughts: This is one of Anderson’s historical fiction novels, which take on a completely
different structure than her YA books. It doesn’t read in the same poetic style as Speak and
Wintergirls. I first read it as an assigned text in 7th grade English, before I was familiar with the
author, and I remember enjoying it. Does it come across as the most accurate piece of historical
fiction? Not really. Is it worth the read, especially for middle schoolers? I think so.