Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

Date of Publication: 1999

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 198 Pages

Cost: $16.00

ISBN: 0-374-37152-0

Reading Level: Ages 12 and up

Awards and Honors:

1999 National Book Award Finalist
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
Booklist Editors' Choice

Plot Summary: When Melinda Sordino, a soon to be high school freshman, agrees to attend an end-of-summer party, she doesn’t think anything of having a beer or two with her friends. But suddenly she’s alone outside with a cute senior boy, and he’s on top of her despite her insistence that it’s not what she wants. Afterwards, Melinda calls the cops, but her fear prompts her to run away before she can tell them or anyone else that she has been raped. When school starts up she’s harassed or ignored by everyone for having busted up the party and gotten kids in trouble. It’s not until the end of the school year, when her old best friend begins to date her rapist, that she finds the strength to come forward about what has happened to her and begin the healing process.

Evaluation: This book is a compelling depiction of a very difficult, but nonetheless realistic, topic. The rape scene is not graphic but Anderson has done an exquisite job of conveying the depth of Melinda’s emotional anguish in the year following the event. The reader will empathize with Melinda and wonder why her family and classmates are so blind to her pain. All in all, this book has a lot to offer for young adult readers of both genders, with the hopeful message that healing is possible even when it doesn’t seem like it should be.

Annotation: Melinda Sordino must find the inner courage to confess what IT did to her at that end-of-summer party before the same fate befalls her old best friend, and so that she can finally begin to heal.

Links:

Lesson Plan for Speak

A Video Interview with Laurie Halse Anderson

Related Reads:

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Author: Stephen Chbosky

Publisher: Pocket Books

Date of Publication: 1999

Format: Softcover

Page Count: 213 Pages

Cost: $14.00

ISBN: 0-671-02734-4

Reading Level: Ages 14 and up

Plot Summary: This novel is written in the form of letters addressed to an anonymous outsider by Charlie, a quiet, introspective, and incredibly intelligent freshman. Charlie is very much a wallflower, viewing the social scene at his high school from the outside. He has had to deal with a lot of tough stuff in his life, including the relatively recent suicide of his old best friend. Unable to reach out to classmates his own age, Charlie eventually finds himself in the company of a group of seniors, who introduce him to cigarettes, drugs, and sex. Towards the end of the novel, Charlie realizes the root of his problems stem back to being sexually abused by his great aunt.

Evaluation: The engaging format of this book ensures the fact that it is a captivating page-turner. The reader is quickly drawn into Charlie’s unique perspective on life in high school. Charlie’s naïveté is incredibly endearing to his new friends Patrick and Sam as well as to the reader. The smoking, drugs, and sex might be offensive to some, but high school students will recognize the truth in the author’s handling of these topics. The matter of sexual abuse, which is introduced and resolved within the last few pages of the book, seems a little contrived but does explain some of Charlie’s more noticeable quirks.

Annotation: Charlie paid attention when Patrick urged him to start participating in life, but he never imagined that participating in high school could be so difficult and rewarding at the same time.

Links:

An Interview with Stephen Chbosky

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Brave by Louisa Luna

The Torn Skirt: A Novel by Rebecca Godfrey

This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn by Aidan Chambers

Storky: How I Lost My Nickname and Won the Girl by D.L. Garfinkle