If you find yourself deep in the winter months and in search of a great YA read to get through these dark days, look no further. We have you covered!
 Joelle Benoit | We again welcome a teacher candidate student, Joelle Benoit, from professor Leilya Pitra's Southeastern Louisiana University as our Weekend Picks contributor this week. Meet Joelle Benoit. She is an English Education Major at Southeastern Louisiana University, and one of her interests is reading. Her typical reading preferences include books that are realistic fiction or fantasy novels. Joelle was one of the students who helped organize a high school-university book club we titled The Page Turner Society during the fall semester. She actively participated preparing activities and questions for students to be engaged in every meeting. Joelle has a cat named Dew, and one of her favorite places is in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Our ongoing gratitude to professor Leilya Pitra and her Southeastern Louisiana University students for their recommendations this month! |
Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
| Who doesn’t know Laurie Halse Anderson, a New York Times-bestselling author known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity? Two of her books were National Book Award finalists. Two more books including Shout (2019) were long-listed for the National Book Awards. In 2010, Laurie Halse Anderson received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her significant contribution to young adult literature. She has been nominated for Sweden’s Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award seven times (!), and in 2023 she received this prestigious award. |  Laurie Halse Anderson |
Laurie Halse Anderson’s Shout is a memoir written in poetry that tells the story of how she lost her voice and how she slowly found it again through writing. Many readers know Anderson from Speak published in 1999, and Shout feels like a powerful companion text, showing the real-life experiences that shaped her fiction. The book is emotional, honest, and deeply personal, but it is also hopeful in how it shows healing through expression.
 | One of the most interesting parts of Shout is the way Anderson uses poetry instead of traditional chapters. The poems are sometimes short and sharp, and other times longer and reflective, which mirror how memory and trauma work. She moves back and forth in time, showing how experiences from childhood can stay with someone into adulthood. The book explores important themes such as trauma, mental health, identity, and growth. Writing itself becomes a symbol of survival—each poem feels like a step toward reclaiming power. Shout reminds readers that finding your voice can take years, but stories can help make sense of what once felt impossible to say. |
RSS Feed