Laurie Halse Anderson: Speak
I saw the movie adaptation of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (halseanderson) before I ever had the chance to read the book. I enjoyed the movie, but I knew the book would be better. Our library doesn't have more than one copy of each book, and Speak was always checked out when I thought to look for it. Finally, ten years after its publication, I was able to read it.
After calling 911 from a party at the end of the summer, Melinda Sordino is starting her freshman year of high school as a social outcast. High school is hard. When your best friends suddenly hate you, it's worse. When complete strangers hate you, it's a nightmare. To make matters worse, Melinda's parents aren't getting along, leaving her with no one to talk to.
Melinda's best defense is silence. She recedes into a world of loneliness, talking to no one. As time passes, her grades begin to slip, she starts skipping class, and she becomes more withdrawn from the world around her. Her escape is an old janitor's closet in the school, where she spends a lot of time, secluded and thinking about--and trying hard to forget--the secret she can tell no one, the secret that forced her to dial 911 at the party.
The only person who seems able to break through the wall Melinda has built around herself is her art teacher Mr. Freeman. Through the projects he assigns and the ways he pushes Melinda to create and think, she finds an outlet for her pain.
When the unthinkable happens and Melinda's ex best friends begins dating "IT," she decides it's time to tell her secret. What follows is a confrontation that helps Melinda find her voice again.
It's not difficult to imagine different readers responding to Melinda like the characters in the book did--accepting and encouraging, critical, or self-absorbed. For me, Speak was difficult to read. I felt helpless and uncomfortable as Melinda struggled. Still, the story was so compelling that I couldn't put it down.
Laurie Halse Anderson perfectly captured the pain and cruelty of high school, right down to the cliques and vicious rumors. The plot was well-crafted, the characters very real. Melinda's insightful and witty observations of high school life were right on point.
I can't say enough good things about this book. I'm glad I finally got the chance to read it.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥