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scleija's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this was going to be a sappy, girl-finds-boy-girl-loses-mom-boy-helps-girl-and-in-return-gets-a-girlfriend book. It was. But was a good sappy book. I really think the author has some good talent.
plattin's review against another edition
5.0
Abelove's Go and Comeback is widely regarded as a YA classic and is not one of my favorites, so it was with a wary heart I began this one, only to quickly realize I should not have been thus prejudiced. The two novels could not be more different. Saying it Out Loud is set in the 1960s when the heroine, Mindy is 16. Mindy's mother is dying from a cancerous brain tumor. This is one of those books that Kenny reads the jacket and then says, "why are you reading this?". Indeed, sometimes I wonder the same things since I often find these types of books, particularly those aimed at youth, lacking in emotionally currency. Not so with this one. Abelove's treatment of the complexities of grief at an already complex age are as emotionally dead on (pardon the pun) as I have ever read. The writing, though not complex, is eloquent and achingly poignant while still having the voice of a sixteen year old girl. I love the opening paragraph, "When I was little, I thought that people died when they used up all their words. I thought everyone was born with a certain number of words and when they used them up, it was time for them to die. Not everyone was born with the same number. That would be too easy..." This is a short book and while the material is weighty, the words themselves are not difficult, so it would be accessible to all. (I was distressed to see it had been assigned an AR level of 4.1). I would recommend this to many readers especially those who may have enjoyed the Lurlene McDaniel books and are looking for something similar.
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