LSSL 5385- SPEAK

Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. Farrar, straus & giroux.

Melinda Sordino is a freshman in high school, and right from the start her ironic voice and pessimistic personality made me laugh, but context clues told me that her voice was a bit dark for a reason.  Melinda is a fairly depressed teenager who doesn’t feel like anyone listens to what she has to say, nor do they care to. Her parents don’t understand her. Most of her teachers don’t seem the slightest bit interested in her success as a student. Worst of all, she doesn’t have many friends because she called the cops at a party and it got busted.  Little do they know, she called the cops that night because she was raped by an upperclassman, and she continues to feel threatened by his presences on a daily basis. Through art class, Melinda finally learns to open up and speak.

The mood of this book perfectly fit our protagonist, Melinda. It was dark, dreary, and dry, yet, realistic throughout, and often funny, too. The strength of this book is that it starts with a dark mood, and the reader isn't sure where that stems from. As the novel unfolds, we start to fully understand the theme of shame and darkness throughout, and we watch Melinda grow from that shame and literally, find her voice. It's such a great connection and lesson for high school girls to read and relate to. 

This is a great book for freshman students, although, my students said it was very depressing to read as a freshman because it was a little disheartening to enter high school and read about a sexual asssault. The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Fault in Our Stars are similar books to consider for young adults, particularly high schools students. Wintergirls is another book that is also by Laurie Halse Anderson that is about a dark subject matter that would appeal to young high school students, particularly girls.