Review: Speak

Bibliography:

Anderson, Laurie Halse. 1999. Speak. Penguin: New York. ISBN 0142407321

Plot Summary:

Melinda Sordino is entering high school with everything in her life wrong. After calling the police at a party over the summer, Melinda is shunned by those around her. Even her former best friend Rachel speaks to her only to mouth the words “I hate you”. No one, however, knows the truth about what happened at that party. No one, that is, except Melinda and Andy Evans, the high school senior who raped her there. Unable to deal with the horror of that night, Melinda sinks into a deep depression. Retreating further inside herself, it becomes more and more difficult for Melinda to speak, her outer silence masking inner turmoil. Surrounded by a system that punishes those who speak up, Melinda gains strength from those around her who refuse to conform to the system’s rules: principally, her lab partner Dave Petrakis and her art teacher Mr. Freeman. When Rachel begins dating Andy, Melinda is forced to find her voice and face the truth about what happened that summer night.

Critical Review:

In Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson takes the reader into the inner world of Melinda Sordino. We experience the pain that she is unable to reveal to those around her.

Through her eyes we experience the horror of rape, its devastating aftermath, and eventually hope and the beginning of healing.

In Anderson’s prose, Melinda lives and breathes; she is brutally honest, witty, and smart – usually cleverer than the adults around her. Her observations about high school life are real; cynical, and frequently hilarious.

Anderson’s book is full of symbols of new growth. As the winter cold freezes, Melinda retreats deeper inside herself, away from the hurtful world outside. Her first tentative steps to regain her life coincide with the spring’s new growth. An extended art project also reflects her inner growth. Melinda is asked to repeatedly explore one topic through the year: a tree. Her first tree is black, scarred, struck by lightning. By the end of the year, her struggling tree is coming to life: “Roots knob out of the ground and the crown reaches for the sun, tall and healthy. The new growth is the best part.”

Speak’s theme is universal - finding your voice and having the courage to let it be heard. Early in the book Melinda states “It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.” This theme is repeated throughout the book. Society doesn’t really want people to speak out. Characters in the book repeatedly meet opposition or hostility by doing so, in particular Melinda’s art teacher Mr. Freeman and her lab partner Dave Petrakis. These are the individuals, however, that the silenced Melinda admires the most.

When Melinda finds the strength to confront her tormentor the reader cannot help but feel empowered. There are books that have the ability to inspire, to strengthen, to even change lives. Speak is one of those books.

Review Excerpts:

A Michael L. Printz Honor Book

A National Book Award Finalist

“This powerful story has an important lesson: never be afraid to speak up for yourself” – Voice of Youth Advocates (December 1, 1999)

“This is a compelling book, with sharp, crisp writing that draws readers in, engulfing them in the story.” – School Library Journal (October 1, 1999)

“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.” – Kirkus Reviews (September 15, 1999)

“In her YA fiction debut, Anderson perfectly captures the harsh conformity of high-school cliques and one teen's struggle to find acceptance from her peers. Melinda's sarcastic wit, honesty, and courage make her a memorable character whose ultimate triumph will inspire and empower readers.”– Booklist (September 15, 1999)

Connections:

Read other works by Laurie Halse Anderson, such as Twisted and Prom.

Twisted has a male main character. Compare Anderson’s female protagonist in Speak with Tyler, her male protagonist in Twisted. Are they both convincing?

Invistigate different sources of help for someone who is the victim of a sexual assault.

If students were assigned Melinda’s “tree” project, what would their own personal tree look like? Students could create these with art supplies.