Book: Speak
Title: Speak
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Genre: Contemporary Young-Adult Fiction
Pages: 198
"Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute..." - Official Synopsis
I think I've held off so long to post this because I don't really have much to say about the story itself. I identified with the character and enjoyed the writing style which used simple, short sentences like the mind of an average 16 year-old while not lacking in emotion and, oddly, humor. I think the story is an important one that could offer insight both to someone who's never had the misfortune of going through something so traumatic as well as for someone that has and is having a hard time working their way out of it. Any person at all conscientious toward the human plight ought to read Melinda's story.
I loved the inclusion of humor as it shows that someone can be in a deep, deep depression and have lost all hopefulness yet still maintain a sense of humor. In some cases it may even be a coping mechanism. To those reading that are unfamiliar with the feelings Melinda is going through, this acts as a warning that even a humorous demeanor could simply be a facade - don't write off other major warnings if a person makes a joke or two.
Having gone through my own phases of not wanting to speak - through painful memories, shock, general shut-downs - this story resonates with me, even now that I'm almost (within days of originally reading the book) thirty years old. Sometimes it seems as if it really is necessary to shut the world out in order to sort through everything that's going on in your head. I can see why some people may not have appreciated this book - it's more than likely that they've had happy lives and never had to feel this kind of ripping anguish, to which I'm incredibly happy for them. And envy them. To them, I could see how Melinda would come off as weird or whiny but I would hope they can muster at least a smidgen of empathy for her. Having been there myself? She seems perfectly normal and, now, well-adjusted.
Melinda's parents are an example of an all too typical occurrence where both are preoccupied with their own shit that they don't even see their daughter's pain, or are in a situation where they don't know how to handle it so they sit in denial. Part of this is brought about by society's demand for more money and bigger and better things and the typical family's want to fit in thus both parents working, leaving no one around to properly raise or simply know their child. Or even worse, the expense in raising a family today, with even just one child, and the demand of both parents being out of the home for work. It's incredibly sad that it's often a necessary thing. I'm a huge advocate for a Donna Reed resurgence because I feel like children really need a parental figure, be it mother or father, that makes it their job to raise said child. Raising a kid is more than just making sure they have food and clothes, it's so much more than that. I firmly believe that this is one of several factors in the growing violence of our youth as well as, evinced by Melinda, mental issues.
The school's inability to choose and stick with a mascot is obviously symbolic of the protagonist's - and any teen, really - struggle to find her own identity.
Loved the combined future career suggestions for Melinda being Forestry and Communications. She can speak about trees!
Quotes:
I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don't have anyone to sit with.
"You just chose your destiny, you can't change that."
My bed is sending out serious nap rays. I can't help myself. The fluffy pillows and warm comforter are more powerful than I am. I have no choice but to snuggle under the covers.
Next thing you know, she'll be drinking black coffee and reading books without pictures.
They worship the stink of Eau de Jocque. They rent beach houses in Cancun during Spring Break and get group-rate abortions before the prom.
I know my head isn't screwed on straight. I want to leave, transfer, warp myself to another galaxy. I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to someone else. There is a beast in my gut, I can hear it scraping away at the inside of my ribs. Even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me.
The hopping bone's connected to the jumping bone, the ribbet bone's connected to the fly-catching bone.
It's all about SYMBOLISM, says Hairwoman. Every word chosen by Nathaniel, every comma, every paragraph break - these were all done on purpose. To get a decent grade in her class, we have to figure out what he was really trying to say. Why couldn't he just say what he meant? Would they pin scarlet letters on his chest? B for blunt, S for straightforward?
The student council started a counterpetition. The Honor Society wrote it. It describes the psychological harm we have all suffered from this year's lack of identity. It pleads for consistency, stability.
Maybe this is why kids join clubs - to give them something to think about during class.
Vocabulary
vespiarya nest or colony of wasps or hornets
(I figured as much based on 'apiary' - yay Psypets! heh)