Speak feat. Lucia Lorenzi

The time has come for Brenna and Joe to discuss Laurie Halse Anderson's revelatory 1999 YA bestseller, Speak, its 2004 made-for-television film adaptation starring Kristen Stewart and the recent comic with art from Emily Carroll. Joining us for some difficult conversation is Lucia Lorenzi, who helps to unpack why both book and film are so powerful and important.

This episode is quite broad, and it addresses sensitive topics such as rape, suicide, depression and trauma. Many of these topics can be triggering, so we recommend listeners proceed with their own self-care in mind. 

Up for discussion: the humour that Anderson embeds in the text, the use of symbolism and allusions to classic lit such as The Scarlet Letter (see previous Book One episode) and why the film's ending does and doesn't work for us. Beyond the texts, we chat about the importance of institutional rules, training and creating a space for both teens and adults to  speak their own truth, as well as the issue of responsibility. 

It's heavy, but it's important.

In homework: Joe (re)introduces The Babysitter's Coven by Kate Williams, Brenna promotes a contemporary Indigenous Hardy Boys  series called The Mighty Muskrats by Michael Hutchinson and Lucia strongly recommends Renee Watson’s Piecing Me Together, as well as the Call Number Subscription Box which is a subscription service for books by Black authors.

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