Speak

 

Anderson, Laurie Halse. 1999. Speak. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.  ISBN

978-0-374-37152-4

(Photo obtained from Books in Print)

Plot Summary

At the start of her freshman year in high school, Melinda Sordino’s social status has met rock bottom after calling the police to an end-of-summer party.  Melinda spends the entire year speechless, hiding from herself and everyone and everything she’d ever known in an attempt to survive what really happened that night.

Analysis

“Sometimes I think high school is one long hazing activity: if you are tough enough to survive this, they’ll let you become an adult.  I hope it’s worth it.”  Speak challenges what society thinks they know about controversial topics.  Speak possesses concepts of sexual assault, bullying, suicide and social distress page after page with an extremely inspiring protagonist.  Surprisingly, Melinda is multifaceted; she does not fall victim to the flat and unnatural depictions that are produced when adults try to write about a contemporary high school setting with no frame of reference.

And while the topic is nothing short of serious, Anderson incorporates humor into the storyline to ensure that the less-than-stellar topic is easier to swallow and more age-appropriate.  Dialogue between characters is not common but Melinda’s inner dialogue is plausible, natural and gives the overall storyline dimension.  Readers find themselves rooting for Melinda and wanting to be there for her, to support her.  Deemed a social pariah, Melinda is pretty much on her own; the emotional castrations between the characters that don’t know Melinda’s secret (but are preview to the emotional presentation) are also well-developed.  Melinda’s parents, although somewhat frustrating at times, solidify the stagnant situation Melinda has found herself in.

Anderson uses subtle and thought-provoking imagery with reoccurring parallelisms (a tree as a symbol for life, words as a symbol of bravery) to weave together the lessons in this poignant tale.  “The air swirls with sawdust.  Sap oozes from the open sores on the trunk.  He is killing the tree.”  “Dad: (…) “By cutting off the damage, you can make it possible for the tree to grow again.” “I want to insert the glass all the way through his throat, I want to hear him scream.  (…) His lips are paralyzed.  He cannot speak.  That’s good enough.” “The tears dissolve the last block of ice in my throat.  I feel the frozen stillness melt down through the inside of me, dripping shards of ice that vanish in a puddle of sunlight on the stained floor.  Words float up.”

Possessing the true merits of an appropriate learning tools or teenagers, the lessons with Speak are unrivaled and should be added to curriculum and reading lists across the nation.  Melinda will prevail, she will not be defined by the detours life has presented.  Like or dislike, everyone can take a little something from Speak.

Review Excerpts

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY – “"Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy."

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL – “This is a compelling book, with sharp, crisp writing that draws readers in, engulfing them in the story.”

Awards, Mentions and/or Honors

1999 Winner - Golden Kite Awards 2000 Winner - ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Awards 2000 Winner - Carolyn W. Field Award (Pennsylvania Library Association) 2002 Winner - Garden State Teen Book Award 2002 Winner - Sequoyah Book Award 2002 Winner 0 Volunteer State Book Award 2002 Winner  - Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award 2002 Winner - Evergreen Young Adult Book Award 1999 Nomination - National Book Awards 1999 School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2000 Nomination - Edgar Awards (Edgar Allan Poe Awards) 2000 Nomination - Michael L. Printz Award 1999 Nomination - Los Angeles Times Book Prizes 2001 Nomination - Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award 2001 Winner - Bluegrass Award 2001 Nomination - Maine Student Book Award 2002 Nomination - SCASL Book Award (South Carolina) 2002 Nomination - Iowa Teen Award 2003 Nomination - California Young Reader Medal 2002 Nomination - Virginia Reader's Choice Awards 2003 – Nomination Black-Eyed Susan Book Award 2004 Nomination - Grand Canyon Reader Award 2004 Nomination - Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award

Lists

Booklist Editors’ Choice (1999)

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year (2000)

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon Book (2000)

Fanfare, The Horn Book’s Honor List (Various)

Los Angeles Times Award finalist (2000)

Publishers Weekly Bestseller (2000)

Booklist Top 10 First Novels (1999)

Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year (1999)

Enrichment Activities

Lesson Plans: http://www.viterbo.edu/perspgs/faculty/GSmith/LessonPlanforSpeak.htm and http://austinenglish3.wikispaces.com/Speak and http://www.webenglishteacher.com/lhanderson.html

Books like Speak

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If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Scars by Cheryl Rainfield