Speak (original 1999; edition 2006)

Melinda starts high school and everyone hates her. Over the summer, there was a huge house party, and she called the cops and had the party broken up. Ever since, no one will speak to her, and as a result, Melinda has decided not to speak at all. As the story progresses, the reason behind Melinda's decision to call the police, and why she chooses to no longer speak, is revealed. While this book is a little cliche in my opinion, it is very appealing to early adolescent girls. ( )

This is a good novel about a girl that is raped and a back to school party. She calls 911 and all of her friends turn on her because she called the cops but don't know why she did it. Now Melinda rarely speaks to anyone and has no friends. As she battles through an art project, other classes and lack of friends, Melinda finally opens up to someone only for them not to believe her. At the end Melinda finds her voice when she is confronted by the boy who raped her to begin with.

I'll be honest. I didn't love this book until the end. Once I reached the end, it changed the entire story for me. At first while reading I didn't understand why everyone thought the book was so good. When I got to the end I understood. ( )

Speak is a powerful and poignant novel about peer pressure, the need to fit in, and the lengths to which people will go to achieve the required social status. As a disenfranchised teen with a terrible secret, Melinda’s social status as the high school pariah is extremely disturbing because it only reaffirms her decision to remain silent while simultaneously heartbreaking because of the needlessness of the entire situation. There is nothing about Melinda’s experiences that is easy, and the effects of those experiences are appropriately complicated. It is up to the reader to discover the hidden truths behind Melinda’s actions while she unconsciously seeks solace and closure. Laurie Halse Anderson has made a name for herself by becoming the voice for hundreds of thousands of suffering teenagers who are afraid to let themselves be heard. In Speak, she brings to the fore the silent victims of date rape. It is a book that deserves to be read and discussed with every teenager in order to allow all victims the chance to be heard.

After calling the cops at a party full of underaged drinkers, Melinda begins ninth grade as the school pariah, all her former friends having abandoned her. Little do they know Melinda hides a horrible pain. Though I guessed Melinda's secret early on, the gradual revealing of all the details was still just as harrowing. As she deals with being friendless and afraid she begins to find herself through art and gardening. I found Melinda's voice to be quite realistic, quite reminiscent of my own high school experience (minus the trauma and truancy, that is). She's both funny and tragic, detached but still wanting to belong. I was completely engrossed in her journey. Next I need to see the film. I hear Kristen Stewart is actually really good in it, which actually doesn't surprise me, considering I've already nicknamed her Twitchy McStutters. Perfect for someone who barely speaks. ( )

LCSH:
Teenage girls--Juvenile fiction
Social isolation--Juvenile fiction
High schools--Juvenile fiction
Rape--Juvenile fiction
Teenage girls--Fiction
Emotional problems--Fiction
High schools--Fiction
Rape--Fiction

I would not recommend this book because I felt taht without personally expieriencing any type of sexual abuse, Laurie Halse Anderson could not accurrately portray just how prominint the reach these demons are. She wanted to write a story of healing, but realisticly, Melinda shouldn't been for more cynical, and jaded, and the healing process takes much longer. Q2P5 AHS/Aaron S

"Speak" is an exhortation. By her silence about the rape, Melinda suffers enormously. We are locked into her torment and experience with her vivid sensations of fear, embarrassment, alarm, lethargy and hopelessness. The blackness begins to lift at the end but we never see a remittance of her suffering, a validation of the book's title. A wretched account of cruel marginalization in a North American high school. ( )

This book was really inspiering it really teaches you to never give up and focus on the positve things in your life. At first this book may seem boring or wierd but it picks up part way trough. I really liked David I think he was a very important caracter in the book I think he really helped the main caracter Melinda. I think this book is amazing and would recomend it for every one going though a hard time or even just in high school. ( )

Everyone should read this book.

Not only is it heartbreaking, funny, powerful, and deeply moving, but it also reaches a level of truth that few works of fiction are able to achieve. The story and the characters feel incredibly real, as if Melinda’s story could be anyone’s story. As someone who always finds it easier to not talk about the serious things, I found this novel particularly insightful and inspiring. I highly recommend it. ( )

3) Printz Honor Book

4) Grades 6+

5) After being raped at a high school party, Melinda shuts herself off from the rest of the world. She is afraid to tell anyone about the events that unfolded during the party because rather than everyone knowing about the rape, they instead know that Melinda called the police which broke up the get together. Melinda only has two safe places in her life now, an abandon janitor closet and art class with Mr.s Freeman. Melinda eventually finds the strength to tell someone about the rape, when her old friend Rachel decides to go out with the rapist Andy.

6) An activity that a teacher can do with the students is defining the word "rape". Understanding what the word "No" means during a sexual encounter is an extremely important lesson to teach students.

Melinda is just beginning high school. Much like her peers, she is dealing with the transitions of finding her identity as a person and her place in the social ranks. However, Melinda doesn’t speak. She lost all of her friends, and rumors circle around her wherever she goes. She finds solace only in her art class, where she feels safe and free to express herself through artwork. Yet as the novel progresses, the reader discovers more about Melinda’s past, torments, and hardships. As Melinda struggles with the memories and emotions that threaten to consume her, she may be forced to finally break her silence and speak out. This novel is a fantastic read for anyone, but is particularly useful for high school students. The issues that are dealt with in Speak are heavy and emotional taxing, yet this book allows the reader to see it through the eyes of the victim, getting a first hand look at the feelings and insecurities. Although the book doesn’t “make everything better” at the end, it does give the readers tools necessary to dealing with problems, and would allow adolescents to explore their own actions and personal feelings in a safe way.

Speak is a very touching novel about a young girl tormented with depression and the troubles of being a freshman in high school. Speak discusses very controversial subjects, but does it in a meaningful and reasonable manner. It introduces these troubles (which will be kept secret!) but shows the reader ways that someone could deal with such tragedies. A very good read for middle school age and above. ( )

This book introduces teens to tough issues.

Highly acclaimed and controversial, Speak brings readers into the tormented inner world of high school freshman Melinda, following her through the academic year from the first day, when both she and the reader learn the extent of her social status as a pariah. Melinda’s peers alternately harass and ignore her, and her old friends from junior high have abandoned her as they’ve split off into different cliques. As the novel unfolds, the reason for Melinda’s situation is explained: she called the police at an end-of-summer party, getting many of her classmates into serious trouble with the law and their parents. But this alone doesn’t explain Melinda’s increasing withdrawal from her school and family, or her silence in most situations; eventually, it is revealed that Melinda was raped, and her assailant is a popular upperclassman who is still present in her life. The first-person narration is natural, never overtly expository, and Melinda’s bitter observations and keen eye for detail make her an engaging and believable character. The rape, revealed in flashbacks, is not graphic, but the subject matter still may not be comfortable for some younger or more sensitive readers. More in-depth discussion may be called for, making this a good choice for book groups or classrooms. Highly recommended, ages 13+. ( )

Review: http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2011/08/audiobook-review-speak.html ( )

Melinda spends her freshman year of high school lonely and depressed due to an incident at a party which led her to call 911 and now the other kids are angry with her for doing that. She speaks little, but shares her thoughts about school and life in the book. A little over halfway through the book we find out why she is depressed and finally she tells other people about it and must fight back and begins to heal. ( )

I loved the book Speak because it had a girl who was shy and doesnt talk often. I can relate to Melinda because i dont talk often either. im really bad at making friends so reading this book actually helped me to by telling the truth i can now make more friends. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read for me at the time (Freshman year in High School) and it sent a strong message to its readers. I think she could've ended it a bit differently but I would recommend this to younger teenagers. ( )

The story is of Melinda and one of her worst years, which also happens to be her first year in high school. The story is a first person account from Melinda’s point of view of her struggle to come with grips of a bad incident that she’s keeping secret from everyone, including herself that happened over the summer.

I thought the book was done well enough and the story does show levels of denial as Melinda gropes with this problem. The writing is very simple and I did find myself glossing over the book many times trying to get to the next section. The first person limited perspective seemed to limiting at times, Melinda’s not seeing the world very well and so her descriptions of the word is, well, boring. And through the use of blatant symbolism, her secret is revealed fairly early on, which makes the reveal not very revealing. In many respects, I think this story could be told effectively in a short story and many parts seem to be added just as a filler.

On the other hand, I do know that this book and others by Ms. Anderson are very loved by the teen crowd, especially those that like reading books like “The Child Called It” by Dave Pelzer. I will say that this book did open up discussions about high school life with my sister and we learned about many things that we endured which neither of us knew about. Though nothing as traumatic, nor did these events traumatize our later years. So if a book can get you talking, then it’s doing something. So regardless of some of the literary holes in this book, I do think it does accomplish the goal of getting readers to talk about traumatic events in our lives. And maybe, it helps others speak up sooner, rather than later. ( )

BY: NOA

Speak was really good.
The title was really something that I couldn't have thought of.
The reason I love the title is because it fits in really well with the rest of the story. How the main character ruins an end-of-summer party by calling the police and she doesn't tell the truth about what REALLY happened.

I can definitely relate to the troubles with trying to fit in and having no friends to support you as you go. I've been the new girl before, we all have and sometimes it's just what you have to do. I think that there were some same that I would have done that the character wouldn't do. (like skipping school)

One thing I like the most about the book is that it keeps me hanging- a lot! It's really at the end of the book when the author tells you the accident and why her previous friends wont talk to her. ( )

This book was a very good book. It was about a girl who was all alone in her school. Every time she trys to make a new friend they ignore her. She thinks life is rough for her. They walk away and she does not know what to do. She thinks her life is over untill she stands up and makes a speach. She says that it does not matter how others look just to be friends with them or for them to be popular. After this speach she learned that all she had to do was speak.

I gave this book a four star rating because she had a lot of detail in the book. She did not just make it a boring book. She made it a book that you would want to keep reading and see what happens. Also because she used a very high grammar. ( )

This book is a very serious, very realistic book about a young girl's struggle with depression and loneliness after being raped at a party at the age of 13. The issues and feelings she deals with are very intense, but also relate-able to many teens today. A good book to be used with teacher's discretion, to address the issue of abuse and neglect. The main character does not seek help for a long time, and the disastrous effects this has on her life show how vital it is for students to seek help when dealing with such a huge crisis. Along the way to finding help, the main character deals with fear, self-worthlessness, depression, apathy, anger, confusion, family abandonment, and many other struggles that teens often deal with in today's world. If used with proper guidance this book could be incredible for reaching students who don't feel like they can talk about their problems.

I think this book is really good and interesting. It makes you think to be responsible. You have to know with which people you are friend with.

ILOVED THIS because it talks all about high school and teen life. ( )

I think that this book is really good but really confusing because so many thing happen in this story. This book is a good one because it really entertains you. Speak gets you thinking, and that's what counts. ( )