Title: Speak
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publish Date: October 1999
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Pages: 208pp
IBSN: 0374371520
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Range: 12 and up
Price: $11.99
Annotation: Melinda Sordino, a high school freshman, has progressively found it harder and harder to speak, leaving her mute and rejected from the rest of her classmates at Merryweather High. As her isolation persist, her depression worsens and the secret that Melinda carries cannot be silent anymore.
Summary: After an end-of-the summer senior bash, Melinda Sordino finds herself in a situation where she has to call the police. When the police show up and make everyone leave the party, everyone is mad at Melinda, including her best friends. She becomes an outcast in her high school as she retreats into herself, barely speaking to anyone. She doesn’t really have anyone to talk to and her parents are less then present and seem to be going through their own problems. The only connection she feels to the outside world is in her art class, where she's given a project of creating something with the theme of a tree.
Evaluation: An incredible read—true to form in regards to high school issues such as popularity, fitting in, self-esteem and traumatic experiences. Melinda is such a realistic character, one that I (as the reader) couldn't help but connect with.
- Speaking up for oneself.
- Date Rape, it's not your fault.
- Finding acceptance in uncomfortable situations.
Reason this book was chosen: The first book I ever read by Laurie Halse Anderson was Catalyst. I knew right away that this author had a very special gift of evoking the real life emotions of a teenager—so much so it took me back into my emotional playground of an young adult (sigh). Speak is Anderson’s first novel and has won several awards, making it a must read!
Similar Titles:
Author Website:
Laurie Halse Anderson on Facebook
Awards:
ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2000
Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, 2000
Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book, 2000
Booklist’s Editor’s Choice, 1999
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 1999
This novel has been adapted into a film. Click HERE for further details.
Below is a beautiful poem written collectively by fans of Speak and Lauri Halse Anderson
