Speak

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2009. Speak. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN-10: 0142414735 ISBN-13: 978-0142414736

PLOT SUMMARY
“I am an Outcast” Melinda Sordino, a 14-year-old freshman thinks as she walks down the hall on her first day at high school. Her former friends have ostracized her for calling the cops at an end of summer party. Speak is a gripping story about an incident that is so terrible Melinda retreats into herself and refuses to talk to anyone unless it is necessary, and even then, it seldom comes out in the way she intends. No one seems to care about her lack of talking, her lack of hygiene, the gnawing of her lips until they scab over and bleed, cutting classes and failing grades - including her parents - except for her art teacher in whose class she seems to find solace, compassion and safety. Melinda has built a protective shield around herself so no one can come in. Retreating into this private shell allows her the protection of not having to tell the world what has happened to cause her this total destruction of her previously happy world. This story continues with her slowly deteriorating until she is confronted with the Beast who caused her withdrawal and does she find the courage to survive?

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Written in first person, you see and hear who Melinda is and how deeply distressed she feels.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson deals with a terrifying subject (teen rape) and allows us to see through the victims mind how devastating this act of violence can impact a young girl’s mental state. High school can be very intimidating on a normal day with young people trying to figure out who they are, what groups they want to be involved in, how they look, etc. A stressful passage of life we all go through under normal times. How horrible it must be to be 14, scared, afraid, and thinking that she is alone with no one whom she trusts to share this pain.

Laurie Halse Anderson allows us to see this experience in a gentle but harsh reality. I was afraid that Melinda was going to result in suicide but was glad that was not the case. I also was encouraged to read that this book is used in high school curriculums to address this problem that happens more than we realize and that choices of support are provided allowing young people to realize they are not alone. This book should also be read by parents who will be able to see the warning signs and not be afraid to talk openly with their children. Thank goodness for caring teachers who also should be aware of their students’ mood changes and seeing the signs through cutting classes, grades changing and not speaking. Great story on a subject no one likes to address with such clarity.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Library Journal
Gr 8 Up-A ninth grader becomes a social pariah when she calls the police to bust a summer bash and spends the year coming to terms with the secret fact that she was raped during the party. A story told with acute insight, acid wit, and affecting prose. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-Young, talented actress Mandy Siefried becomes Melinda, a troubled teen who struggles to cope after a rape, as she reads Laurie Halse Anderson's award-winning novel (Farrar, 1999). Although Melinda calls the police, she remains silent about the incident even with her parents and friends. Siefried's expressive voice depicts the tender, insecure youth and her freshman year at high school. This compelling novel presents a realistic portrayal of life in a contemporary high school. The narrator reads at a quick pace, pausing effectively to increase the dramatic mood. She easily recreates the sound of a power saw, and does a fine job of whining, singing, and presenting the cheerleaders' "Go horny Hornets." Listeners will become emotionally involved in this very effective presentation which is sure to please teen audiences.-Claudia Moore, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Review
A frightening and sobering look at the cruelty and viciousness that pervade much of contemporary high school life, as real as today's headlines. At the end of the summer before she enters high school, Melinda attends a party at which two bad things happen to her. She gets drunk, and she is raped. Shocked and scared, she calls the police, who break up the party and send everyone home. She tells no one of her rape, and the other students, even her best friends, turn against her for ruining their good time. By the time school starts, she is completely alone, and utterly desolate. She withdraws more and more into herself, rarely talking, cutting classes, ignoring assignments, and becoming more estranged daily from the world around her. Few people penetrate her shell; one of them is Mr. Freeman, her art teacher, who works with her to help her express what she has so deeply repressed. When the unthinkable happens—the same upperclassman who raped her at the party attacks her again—something within the new Melinda says no, and in repelling her attacker, she becomes whole again. The plot is gripping and the characters are powerfully drawn, but it is its raw and unvarnished look at the dynamics of the high school experience that makes this a novel that will be hard for readers to forget. (Fiction. 12+)

CONNECTIONS
Laurie Halse Anderson
http://madwomanintheforest.com
Speak – Teacher’s Section
http://madwomanintheforest.com/teachers/youngadult-speak/
Teacher’s Guide
Sexual Assault Survivor Resources
Listen-A Poem by Laurie
Here’s the thing-Speak Sequel?
Hand –on Activities and Social Action Projects

AWARDS/HONORS
National Awards
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Top-10 Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults
Edgar Allan Poe Award finalist
IRA Young Adult Choice
Junior Library Guild Selection
Michael L. Printz Honor Book (American Library Association)
National Book Award Finalist
New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
New York Times Bestseller List
SCBWI Golden Kite Award
YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults
State Awards
Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award runner-up
California Young Reader Medal nominee
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award nominee (Maryland)
Garden State Teen Book Award (New Jersey)
Iowa Teen Book Award nominee
Heartland Award (Kansas)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award
Maud Hart Lovelace Youth Reading Award nominee (Minnesota)
Teen Three Apples Award nominee (New York)
2005 New York Reads Together Book
Carolyn W. Field Award (Pennsylvania)
Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Young Adult List
Rhode Island Teen Book Award nominee
South Carolina Young Adult Book Award
Volunteer State Young Adult Book Award (Tennessee)
Tayshas High School Reading List (Texas)
Evergreen Young Adult Book Award (Washington)
Sequoya Book Award (Oklahoma)
Young Reader’s Award Nominee (Nevada)
Bookseller and Media Recognition
Booklist Editors’ Choice
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon Book
Fanfare, The Horn Book’s Honor List
Los Angeles Times Award finalist
Publishers Weekly Bestseller
Booklist Top 10 First Novels (1999)
Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year (1999)