Speak

Anderson, L. H. (2009). Speak. New York: Speak.

Originally published in 1999.

ISBN: 9780141310886 | paperback | 197p. | $8.99 USD

Annotation:  A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school.

Cover image courtesy of goodreads.com

Book Talk:

“We fall into clans: Jocks, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, Cheerleaders, Human Waste, Eurotrash, Future Fascists of America, Big Hair Chix, the Marthas, Suffering Artists, Thespians, Goths, Shredders.  I am clanless…I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude.  And I don’t have anyone to sit with.  I am an Outcast.”  --Melinda p.4

Merryweather High is filled with groups, but Melinda doesn’t belong to any of them.  Gossip has spread about her breaking up an end-of-summer party with a call to the cops, and now kids are whispering and talking behind her back.  But was the call an attempt for help?  As she wades through the stares and snickers, she is haunted by something in her head that won’t go away.  She keeps pushing it down trying to forget, but it always comes back to the forefront.  She desperately wants someone she can trust, a friend to confide in, but will she ever get her chance to Speak?

My favorite thing about the book:

When Andy and Melinda meet near the end of the book, Andy attempts to take advantage of her again. Melinda fights back and finally breaks her silence. After seeing Melinda broken and scared for most of the book, it is inspiring to see her stand up for herself.

First Sentence:

“It is my first morning of high school.  I have seven new notebooks, a skirt I hate, and a stomachache.”

Favorite characters:

Melinda and David

Awards/Honors:

2000 Michael L. Printz Honor Book

1999 National Book Award Finalist

Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist

ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults

Learn More:

Don’t miss the movie version of the book from 2004 starring Kristen Stewart.  

Watch the author, Laurie Halse Anderson, in this multi-part interview where she talks about her life experiences that made her the writer she is today.