![]() To pull the reader closer to the action, the book is written in the present tense, so we’re encountering everything directly alongside Melinda. To a large extent, this feels like a journal written by the narrator Melinda. The first person narrative is fluid and natural. The YA genre didn’t really become what it is today until after Twilight was published. When Laurie Halse Anderson tried to get this published, a publisher emailed her back and said “it’s good, but teens don’t like reading”. Twenty years ago, the YA genre didn’t exist. What makes Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson great is the time when it was published. This book was published in 1999, almost 20 years ago. “When people don’t express themselves, they die one piece at a time.” What follows is a truly heart wrenching story about a broken girl trying puzzle out the pieces of herself. While the events that occurred at the party remain a mystery until nearly the end of the story, Melinda’s torment, shame and silence are evident from page one.Īs a reader, it is not hard to guess what happened that night, but everyone in Melinda’s life are completely oblivious as to what plagues her day in and day out. The story is a coming of age for Melinda as she learns how speaking up can be a good thing.Īt the start of her Freshman year, Melinda finds herself a social pariah, having been dumped by all of her friends after attending a summer bash gone wrong, resulting in Melinda calling the cops and earning herself a leper status. ![]() She is withdrawn, feels like an outcast, and has troubling talking as a result of being raped at a party over the summer. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a character driven novel about a girl named Melinda who has just started high school. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication.īook Review: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. Theme: Communication versus Silence, Appearance versus Reality, Family and Friendship, Isolation, Loneliness, and Depression, Memory and Traumaīook Summary: Speak by Laurie Halse Andersonįrom the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. Setting Place: Syracuse, New York (United States) Major Characters: Ivy Hall, Heather, Nichole Smythe Burnell, Melinda Sordino, Andy Evans, David Petrakis, Mr.
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