The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: The Impossible Knife of Memory

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Release Date: January 7, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy's PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down. 

I'll be the first to admit that the only book of Laurie Halse Anderson's that I've read prior to this, was Speak. After hearing so much about her and her books, I put a lot of expectations on The Impossible Knife of Memory and it paid off, because this was a really special story.

Hayley Kincaid hasn't had what you would call a traditional childhood. But for the past five years, normal meant travelling across the country with her veteran father as he attempts to run away from the memories of war that haunt him. Now that Hayley is about to start her senior year of high school, though, her father decides that she should go back to a regular high school to increase her dances of getting into college. But moving back home means that her dad's episodes are more frequent and Hayley starts to feel like she's becoming the parent. And at school there's Finn, the hot geeky guy who likes her, but has his own troubles to deal with. Will Hayley be able to let go of the memories that haunt her before it's too late for her to really live her life?

Like I've already admitted, the only other book by Laurie Halse Anderson I've read is Speak. It's not that her other books haven't appealed tome, but rather that they have been so talked up that I was afraid I would be disappointed if I read them. But I figured I would give The Impossible Knife of Memory a chance, it sounded different and like it could be a very special story. And it was. This story wasn't the uplifting kind. There were moments that were downright painful to read, they were so raw and realistic. But it was most definitely a moving story, especially when considering the subject matter it dealt with. Laurie Halse Anderson portrayed Hayley and her dad's struggle in a way that felt read and felt completely raw. Reading Hayley's story and seeing her struggle and her pain often broke my heart. She didn't hold anything back when it came to telling her story, and at times the whole thing almost felt hopeless. But there were still some bright spots in the story, moments that showed that there was some hope left for Hayley and her dad. And they needed whatever hope they could hold on to.

There's so much I could say about Hayley and her dad. Right from the start, I knew Hayley would worm her way into my heart, and she certainly did. Hayley is the kind of person you want to root for. She just needed to be cut a break and she more than deserved one. But more than anything Hayley deserved to be taken care of, instead of her taking care of everyone. And her dad did his beat, but there was only so much he could do if he didn't first start taking care of himself. But he tried and you've gotta give him some credit for at least trying, even if he wasn't always successful. The person that really shone tough, was Finn. Throughout everything he was always willing to stand by Hayley's side, even if he had troubles of his own at home. I liked that he didn't have a perfect life because his imperfection is part of what made him so perfect for Hayley.

Laurie Halse Anderson's The Impossible Knife of Memory was a powerful, moving and incredibly touching story. Though moments were downright difficult to read, Hayley's and her dad's story is one that deserves and needs to be read and shared by everyone. 

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: Speak

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Puffin

Release Date: April 1, 2001

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute...

I had heart a lot different things about SPEAK before but it wasn’t until the Banned Books controversy that I decided to finally pick up the book and read it. It was an incredible read, nothing like what I expected and I mean that in the best way possible. This book should most definitely not be banned and I strongly believe that everyone should read SPEAK at least once in their life.

Melinda no longer has friends and she no longer knows how to open up to anyone. She is content staying by herself in her own bubble and doesn’t see the point anymore. Know one knows what happened to her at that party. Everyone just thinks she called the police just to get everyone in trouble. But that is quite far from the truth, a truth that she doesn’t know how to tell anyone. Melinda just goes through school numb, trying to survive and not alert anyone to her situation. But will she be able to find her voice and speak again?

First off, SPEAK is not written in the traditional way. There aren’t really any chapters, just different short sections that relate to particular events. The closest thing I could compare it to is a diary. Melinda reports everything that is going on in her life and in the world around her but everything is said in a really detached manner, as if she isn’t affected by everything happening. Which in a way it is, since she is trying to get away from it all, she’s afraid of what will happen if she starts listening and paying too much attention to all the voices. The way Melinda describes her life makes the story that much more powerful. From the way she tells her story you can really tell that she isn’t going through something easy.

The story itself is one that needs to be read and heard. One of the reason we are so uncomfortable with subjects like rape is that no one is willing to talk about, which is something that needs to change. Obviously it’s not an easy subject and by no strength of the imagination is it a pleasant subject to discuss. I’m not saying that that is what it should become, simply that the only way to do something about the issue is to actually talk about it. In the book, Melinda knows she needs to talk about what happened to her but she doesn’t know how and that is true of many victims of rape. If a book is capable of getting people to open up then all the more power to the book and its author.

I honestly do not understand why anyone would want to ban SPEAK. Laurie Halse Anderson wrote a powerful story on a subject that makes most people uncomfortable, but that alone is not a reason to ban a book. If you don’t want to read a story about a girl trying to go on with life after having been raped then don’t. But, honestly, you should read this book regardless because it really is a book that needs to be read.