Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson
1999
Peguin Group
New York
ISBN: 0439903467
Plot Summary:
Because of a phone call to the police during a high-school kegger, Melinda Sordino has become an outcast--friendless, mocked, alienated, and bullied. Melinda's confusion regarding her plight leads her to become increasingly withdrawn; building a safe haven in a janitor closet, she recedes further and further within herself.
Seemingly going days without uttering a word, she develops a strong affinity for art-- drawing, sculpting, and attempting to build the perfect tree. Melinda's art teacher encourages her artistic inclinations, and to express herself, both verbally and aesthetically.
Critical Evaluation:
A wonderfully written character study of a very, very sad girl; Anderson pulls no punches in her explication of a depression felt through Melinda's skin, eyes, ears, heart, and soul. Melinda's experiences are spoken through a clear, articulate teenage voice, a voice that attempts to break through the bullshit and the lies and the expectations that she already knows will haunt her throughout her life.
Anderson's views concerning adolescence and depression and loneliness are never told or editorialized; instead they are felt through Melinda's pain and the acuity through which she narrates it.
Reader's Annotation:
Melinda's first year of high school is recounted in snippets of daily classes, emotions, and miscommunications. Will she rise above or sink into the mire?
Author Information:
Laurie Halse Anderson's first book was Speak, which rose to widespread popularity, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and named one of the top ten first books of 1999 by Booklist. In 2004, Speak was made into a film starring an as yet unknown Kristin Stewart.
Anderson's bibliography has only grown since, and the acclaimed Wintergirls is her most recent book.
Genre:
Girl's coming-of-age/ YA fiction
Booktalking Ideas:
*Can Melinda overcome her recent tragedy and re-discover her self?
*Is Melinda's increasing silence itself a visceral roar?
*Why are Melinda's parents so blind to her pain?
*Or, can it be said they are blind to her muteness, rendering the book itself a story of the struggle to master and express one's senses?
Reading Level/ Interest Age
Appropriate for teens 13 and up; emotionally satisfying at any age.
Challenge Issues?:
Challenges: Sexual assault themes; depression; extreme self-hatred.
Answer to challenges: Reviews of the book, along with its countless awards and popularity amongst teens will be demonstrated. The book's place within a YA collection will be demonstrated through the relevance of its themes, the sensitivity of their portrayal, and the necessity of its particular voice.
Why Include Speak?:
Its inclusion in numerous "best-of" lists was reason enough.
