Speak

This was the kind of book that you read and it stays with you forever.

I read this book in high school, and really loved it. It kept me reading the whole time, and I found it really interesting how for so much of the book the reader was left in the dark on so much. The more we learned about the lead character the more we could understand just why she acted how she did. It was emotional and amazing and really made me want to keep reading the whole way through. A great book for young girls about doing what is right, being who they are, and finding true friends!

This book is amazing and I love how it is actually about real situations in life, I think it is great to read when you get overwhelmed with supernatural books!

This book is great for anyone who are coming to age and be prepared to have your eyes and feel connect.

I think that the author did a good job of showing Melinda’s feelings. Showing Melinda’s feelings helped give the book something to think about. I also think she made the book better by using different things to support what she was writing. I don’t think that the author could have done anything better.

I think that the author’s writing was powerful. It makes you think about things. It also makes you feel things when you read it. I felt bad for Melinda while I was reading the book, and I think that this helped the author show how hard it is if you don’t express your emotions.

I think that this was a really good book. I would recommend it to people who like realistic fiction with realistic problems. I think it would be better for older kids than younger kids because of some scary concepts and moments. Overall, I think that it was a good book and that people would benefit from reading it.

liked this book

This story is just amazing. It is beautifully written and goes into so much depth. Its a story about finding your voice, even if what you have to say is terrifying.

Why? This question ran through my mind as I read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. For example, why did Anderson portray her main character Melinda as a sarcastic and therefore sometimes unlikeable teenager? Or, why did Anderson keep readers in the dark until partway through her novel about the incident that changed Melinda’s life? Now that I’ve finished reading Speak, I agree with Anderson’s choices but have yet another question. How did Anderson write so smartly about teenagers and high school, while also being timeless? Speak was published in 1999, but it pulled me back to the 1980’s. Despite the lack of references to cell phones and IPods, I think my adolescent siblings will also find themselves in its pages. Speak is a problem-centered novel, which contains enough depth to also be simply good fiction.

For about half of Speak, I didn’t know whether to like or dislike Melinda. Near the start of a new school, her only friend announces that the two of them must plan goals. Her friend draws four boxes, one for each marking period, and then writes “Goals” in each box. What is Melinda’s goal? “To go home and take a nap.” As the year progresses, Melinda starts skipping classes and blowing off homework. Even though I quickly realized that Melinda’s misbehaviors were arising from depression, her apathy and bitterness make her sometimes unpleasant. Melinda refers to all of her teachers except her art instructor by labels rather than their names. Despite once being a good student, Melinda makes this quip about social studies: “Who knew there had been a war with the whole world?” In the same vein, while Melinda apparently used to have lots of popular friends, she now has negative things to say about most everyone. At the same time, Melinda is achingly vulnerable; she describes herself as having the wrong hair, wrong clothes, and wrong attitude. It’s difficult to dislike someone who is so insecure. Melinda is starkly honest. She admits that she could better handle Nicole’s popularity if Nicole were a bitch, because then she could hate her. Melinda is also surprisingly perceptive. When Valentine’s Day rolls around, she notes that in middle school it was “easier to floss with barbed wire than admit you like someone” whereas in high school kids kiss right in front of everyone. If I’d been as savvy as her in high school, maybe I’d have gotten hurt less. When Melinda eventually starts tackling her problems, she shows herself capable of helping her parents, taking an interest in school, and even of being thoughtful of her peers. If it weren’t for her depression, perhaps Melinda could be a pretty nice kid.

The problem is that for about half of Speak, I don’t understand how Melinda became this way. She used to have friends, but now for some reason they all hate her. They glare at her, give her the silent treatment, and refuse to sit next to her. When Melinda finds a forgotten janitorial closet that like her has no purpose or name, she decides that it would make the a perfect hiding spot. Melinda even figures her parents would have been divorced by now if she hadn’t been born. After all, she is not pretty, smart, or athletic, but just another “ordinary drone like them dressed in secrets and lies”. All this self-pity could become nauseating, given that we don’t know the reason for it, except there are all of Melinda’s memories about the better times. She describes a previous Halloween when her circle of friends all dressed up as witches. There are even funny moments in the present, such as when her dad talks to a turkey hotline lady, makes a turkey soup, and eventually tosses dumps the failed meal in the trash and orders pizza. When Melinda lets down her guard, there are also some very sweet moments when she finds she is not completely alone.

I was surprised to learn that Speak was Anderson’s first book. In less capable hands, Speak could have mired in negativiity. I have seen this happen in far too many other young adult novels. Or it could have turned into a self-help book guised as fiction. I have seen this happen in many television movies. Instead through Melinda’s commentaries on high school life, we see Melinda evolve not just as person dealing with a problem, but also as an adolescent learning the repercussions of speaking up but also of staying silent. In less capable hands, Speak could also have failed to deliver a satisfying end to the mystery running throughout it about what happened to Melinda. Anderson deftly depicts Melinda’s descent into mental hell through her struggles in art class. Melinda’s art teacher Mr. Freeman gives each student a piece of paper with the name of an object, which they’ll spend the rest of the year trying to turn into art. Melinda picks: tree. At first she wants to throw it back, thinking it is too easy. She isn’t allowed. As the year progresses, she finds that expressing her emotions through a tree is incredibly difficult. Through this symbolism, Speak shows the journey that Melinda takes in trying to repress and then later reveal of an event that happened to one night.

Speak is a well-crafted. Anderson undertook the challenge of introducing a disenfranchised teenager and convincing readers to like her. How much easier that challenge would have been if Anderson had revealed from the start what had happened to Melinda. Anderson also undertook the challenge of revealing details about the events of that August night, only as Melinda was ready to deal with them. How much easier Anderson’s challenge would have been if she’d simply told a straightforward story about how Melinda came to terms with the fact that bad things can happen. That she instead took the higher road, readers are blessed with a complex and richly textured story that is still applauded over ten years after its publication. Anderson is still writing problem novels. Speak is an impressive introduction to her writings.

This was a sad book for me. I have read my share of books with ostracized main protags but Speak really taps into the realistic aspects of a party gone wrong and the horrible outcome that plagues Melinda.

High school is harsh. Drama is a shark in the ocean of teenagers. Unfortunately, Melinda feels the wrath of the shark attack. The swarm of loneliness that sinks inside her when everyone abandons her for calling the cops at the party she happens to unfortunately attend.

Once you read this book, you can truly see why it accumulated so many literary awards in the first place. Laurie Halse Anderson creates Melinda, a realistic teenager who combats abuse, loneliness, and fear in a sanctuary that condemns her for a crime that was a matter-of-fact cry for help from Melinda.

For sometimes, fear clouds the truth, hides it from the world and is unseen. High school drama is the shark, and the truth is attacked by those masses of razor teeth.

Reader reviewed by jmj

·         Summarize the book and relate the author's main point, or thesis. (Somewhere early in the paper, identifies the author briefly.) [The authors point in the book was to show a story of a young girl who was raped. The author was trying to give the message that rape is bad and should not happen to anyone. He shows the story of how it can ruin someones life in one second.]

·         Describe the author's viewpoint and purpose for writing; note any aspects of the author's background that are important for understanding the book. [He wanted people to see how it could happen even when youre in high school. Also wanted people to see the emotional and physical burden that it brings up on them and that they never forget what happens. This was also done so that people know you can move on after something like this and that there is still hope out there.]

·         Note the most important evidence the author presents to support his or her thesis.  [She went to a party and was invited in the woods by a jock and he raped her. She tried calling 911 but all she did was get a party busted and more people to hate her. She becomes very depressed and stands offish and everyone can tell. She began to do things she never did, skipping school&etc. Then he tries to rape her again but she screams and someone sees and finally has a little bit of proof that he has done something.

·         Evaluate the author's use of evidence, and describe how he or she deals with counter evidence. (See pp. 18-19 for a discussion of counter evidence.) [He didnt use much evidence in the book besides the girl getting raped and Melinda screaming and her friend coming. Other than that she has no proof that he raped her or anything because she was scared to call and report it. Luckily he got what he deserved.]

·         Is the book's argument convincing? If so why, if not, why not. Cite examples from the text. [Because of how they were in the janitors closet and she was screaming no and held up the glass to his throat. To me that shows me that there was real emotion going on in the story. Also its convincing because most people dont tell anyone because they are scared of what will happen or what wont happen.]

·         Compare this book with other books or articles you have read on the same subject. [I havent read any other books about this subject other than this one. I would like to say that this book seems real and is relatable in many ways to people in these kinds of situations. Not many books grasp the concept of what really is going on, make the situation not as a big of a deal]

·         Conclude with a final evaluation of the book. You might discuss who would find this book useful and why. [I love this book and the story that it gives because it could help people out. There are many people who can benefit from this book and the first people are rape victims. Maybe they will see this has an opportunity to tell the truth and be free from the secret.]