Speak

I think many can relate to the emotions and situations the author describes in SPEAK. This book is written in what I think of as a cross between diary entries and a modern day sonnet. It's almost as if, as readers, we are inside Melinda's mind and witnessing her thoughts first hand, as she feels things. School is not easy. Even the people you think have it made, probably have issues that no one can see. I think that it's really important to remember that and keep it in mind while reading it.There are some things Melinda describes at the beginning that REALLY hit home to me. At my school we had the two-faced Christians who claimed to be all about God and were inviting everyone to church on Sunday. Their moms sold Mary Kay and their daughters were walking advertisements for the product. I have nothing against Mary Kay, but in Jr High? My mom only let me wear pressed powder and lip gloss but these girls had an entire make-up arsenal in their lockers and knew how to use it--eyeliner and all. But, it's ok that they looked made-up and kinda slutty, right? Because they looked perfect and say they love Jesus so... it must be ok...right? NOT. What most parents don't know is that those were the same girls that wore the itsy-bitty string bikini's to the parties and were the first to suggest a game of spin-the-bottle if there were boys around.*gags:p*Why am I telling you all this? Well it's to demonstrate that people aren't always what they seem and that there is a double standard in schools and it's not fair. Melinda started a downward spiral after something horrible happened to her. Her grades slipped, she quit taking care of herself, communicated as little as possible and subconsciously retreated from friends, all in what people call a "cry for help". She was depressed, and even I could see it. But because she is at the age when so many kids and even some adults are focused on their own self interests it goes unnoticed OR comes off as her being emo or anti-social.No one seems to get it...and when she does finally reach out to someone, no one wants to hear it. Image is everything in school and it doesn't take much to ruin someones reputation. I think if anything this book shows how bad decisions are made when drinking is involved at a party where as my dad says boys can't be trusted because "Hormones are raging at that age" and how even today people are hypocritical and two-faced and as my mom says it's a "good lesson to learn cause the world is full of hypocrites". It also shows how someone can heal slowly from a really bad event and though, they never will forget what happened that somehow they find healing.Throughout the book Melinda finds some comfort or "sanctuary" in her art class and there is a really great theme of trees and growth through out the book. In class she is creating a tree for a project, and at home her dad has someone come to cut down some dead branches on a tree. It took me a little bit to understand it all but what I got from it was this...By pruning a tree and cutting off the diseased branches you give the tree a chance to grow bigger and stronger. It's the same way for life in the sense that if we shed all the bad stuff that holds us back we can move forward and grow.One more thing I want to add. I downloaded the audio version of this book on Audible and cried. The reader is SO amazing. I felt like I was listening to someone spill their heart out to me and it really touched me. If you can afford it, I suggest getting both the audio and the printed book. Also, I understand that this book isn't for everyone. Some people will read it and take Melinda's inner dialogue out of context or miss the sarcasm. For me personally, it's what made the book feel real, but I'm not so naive that I don't see that it takes a mature reader to grasp the true message of Speak.

j'ai d'abord connu cette histoire par le biais de la superbe adaptation cinématographique.je me suis donc jetée sur le livre. et je n'ai pas été déçue.l'histoire de Melinda est très touchante. On entre dans la tête d'une jeune adolescente qui a vécu la plus horrible des choses : le viol. on se rend compte que cet événement va bouleverser sa vie.mais ce livre est bien plus qu'un simple roman. il y a une véritable morale. je pense qu'il nous apprend qu'il ne faut pas se renfermer sur soi même et finalement, perdre le contact avec tout être humain. les gens sont là autour de nous pour nous aider quand on en a le plus besoin.ce livre montre aussi l'importance de l'art. il nous permet finalement de nous exprimer de beaucoup de façons différents.Bref, ce livre est une magnifique histoire qui fait véritablement réfléchir.Un vrai bonheur.

In her book, Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson introduces a girl who is entering high school with the weight of a secret on her shoulders. Melinda Sordino was a B student with plenty of friends until rape stole everything from her. Not only does Melinda have to deal with this traumatic experience, she immediately black listed at her new high school because everyone knows that she is the one who called the cops at the party, what they do not know is why she called. Melinda floats through her classes unable to remove the blinders from her eyes or plugs from her ears long enough to listen to what her teachers tell her to do or complete an assignment on time.Anderson's style of chunked writing emits more emotion between the lines that can even be expressed through words. The often used phrase "Me: " demonstrates the inability of the character to put a voice to her emotions. Anderson adds to Melinda's struggle by including external triggers to her emotional retreat, including her parents absence in the home and their constant fighting which gives her less reason to tell them why she has withdrawn from her former self, begins to gain weight, fail in her classes, and lose her friends. Not only does Melinda retreat emotionally but she also finds and old janitor's closet to retreat to physically when she is unable to deal with her surroundings.Anderson organizes the books around the four quarters in Melinda's school year as she travels the road of grief and acceptance while also having to deal with her rapist being around every corner and even taunting her at times. In a complimentary role, Anderson includes the art project that Melinda has been assigned to work on for the entire year, that of creating or drawing a tree. As Melinda struggles to sleep and with the memories of her rape her tree also struggles to appear real or alive. It is not until Melinda shares her experience with Rachel that her grief can become alive in the form of her art project tree.The book is a quick read that easily turned the pages of the developing story. Although it was easily readable it broached a severe case of rape, rejection and alienation that many young people face on differing levels of severity. For this reason the books should be read by all young adults. It is important for a book like this to exist in every generation so that it's audience of abused, neglected and alienated teenagers, or even the one's doing to the abuse, neglect or alienation can begin to realize it's affect and change their behavior. This books discusses the use of symbolism and reading further into a text than what the author has explicitly given the reader and reaching for a deeper meaning, while Rachel is rebelling against this process, Anderson is demonstrating in her writing the absolute necessity of being able to read between the lines and read the symbolism given in a book like Speak, or The Scarlet Letter.

Although difficult to take at times, this is a remarkably poignant tale that needs to be read by every female. Yes, there are some who are too young to understand, too innocent to know what has taken place (thankfully), but the younger we begin to educate children to the dangers of rape, whether by someone familiar or a stranger, the more apt they are to avoid the experience. This is a well-written account of a girl in her teens who is raped at a party she attends with her best friend. It goes beyond the incident itself and into the aftermath when she becomes an outcast. So many girls and women face this dilemma - to remain silent or to speak up. The young girl in this book has the same decision to make.Laurie Halse Anderson writes from the first-person perspective about a subject that most people don't want to talk about. She lays it open like a fresh wound and doesn't back off. It's hard-hitting and gritty, devastating at times, but ultimately hopeful and healing. I highly recommend this book to anyone: mothers of daughters, young teens, and those who have experienced this type of degradation firsthand, that they may find a way to speak.Speak: 10th Anniversary Edition

"Speak" follows the narrator, Melinda, as she undergoes a new school year with no friends and being an outcast after calling the police the year before to a party. At the party, we eventually find out that she had been raped. No one knows this.Not only does this illustrate school and peer groups, but it also really shows you how girls are. I think that 10 years later, that the characters are very familiar to girls that my sister deals with in elementary school and going into middle school. Girls aren't so friendly as they are sometimes portrayed. I think that it's good for someone to write a book like this. It also deals with a crucial issue and how you do finally have to speak. That speaking is the only way you're going to finally heal and for the world to come to some sort of order.I had never read "Speak" before and I'm 26! I had to read it for English 482 (Adolescent Literature). I found that not only are the plot and characters beautifully and uniquely written, but I absolutely LOVE the formatting.