Speak

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. Farrar, Straus, Giroux:1999. ISBN: 0374371520.

Plot Summary:
New freshman, Melinda Sordino is an outcast. Her old friends ignore her and mouth, 'I hate you," and the other students won't have anything to do with her. Kids call her names and talk ugly about her while she is standing right there. They all blame her. Over the summer the cops were called to a party and some students were charged with underage drinking. Melinda, drunk herself, made the 911 call. She made it home without incident with the police. Alone, afraid and falling deeper and deeper into herself, Melinda can't stop the inner spiral. The only class she can remotely keep up with is art. Last year she was an excellent student, her parents are frustrated and don't understand. No one understands, but then again, no one knows why.

Critical Evaluation:
Speak is divided into 4 sections based on the marking periods at school. Then further subdivided by headings that give a clue as to what the chapter holds. Written in first person, we hear Melinda's thoughts and impressions and want to reach out and help her. As important as this book is for teens to read and gain strength and understanding, high school teachers should read it as well. We see the effects that two different teachers have. Both are flawed and real people with issues, but, Mr. Freeman, cares about his students and notices something is wrong with Melinda. Another great convention of the author is she uses popular culture. The book refers to Oprah and illustrates a segment of her talk show. This anchors the story in reality. Rachel, Melinda's former best friend begins dating Andy Evans. Would Melinda have spoken up if Andy had been dating someone she didn't care about?

Reader's Annotation:
Sometimes our pain is so great that we can not speak for ourselves. Ultimately, we can only save ourselves.

Bibliotherapeutic Uses:
Victims of sexual crimes feel isolated and alone. Reading about someone who shares their experience is very therapeutic. Understanding that what happened is not their fault is very important part of the healing process.

Genre: Issue Novels/Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Why Book Included:
I like this author and this book has an important story to tell.