Speak

Bibliographic Information:  Anderson, L. (1999). Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.  ISBN 014131088

Plot Summary: Melinda Sordino just started high school, and she is a complete outcast.  Her ex-best friend hates her, the cheerleaders hate her, the seniors hate her; everyone hates her.  She wishes she could tell them why she decided to call the cops at the end of summer party they all attended, but she finds it too difficult to speak.  She wishes she could rid herself of the guilt and shame.  Thirteen is too young to be drunk.  Thirteen is too young to party.  At thirteen Melinda was raped by Andy Evans, one of the most popular boys at school.  Melinda cannot find the strength to speak those words.  She suffers her freshman year of high school with a semi-friend, Heather, who ditches her to join the service-oriented, outfit-matching, snobbish girl club known as the “Marthas.”  Melinda finds solace in few places: an old custodial closet, and in the art room with Mr. Freeman.  Weighed down by slipping grades, disconnected parents, and concern for her ex-best friend who is now dating Andy Evans, Melinda finally finds the strength to speak, but will she finally explain what happened? 

Critical Evaluation: Laurie Halse Anderson did so well adopting the voice of an adolescent with a dark secret.  The voice of Melinda Sordino is that of a young, injured, lost adolescent.  It is difficult not to care for Melinda, and as she trudges through her first, and awful, year of high school, her small victories become the reader’s victories too.  Anderson captured the culture of high school most adults reluctantly remember: reputation is everything.  Melinda learned the hard way that whistle blowing has its consequences.  The way her friends abandoned her at a time she was most vulnerable is frustrating, but they were sucked into the superficial trap of that high school culture.  Many adults can relate to Melinda’s falling out with her friends because of a social code violation.  Speak exposes a traumatic event experienced by, no doubt, many high school girls across the country, and it portrays the struggle a girl faces when violated in such a horrible way.  It took Melinda a few months to really process what happened to her.  She wasn’t just hurt; she was raped.  Her eventual decision to speak up for herself liberates her not only from her manipulative friend Heather, but from Andy himself, and from the social torture endured over the past year.  Speak has the potential to encourage real-world Melindas to speak up and liberate themselves from the shackles of rape. 

Reader’s Annotation: It’s the first day of school, and already Melinda has had a Ho-Ho wrapper thrown at her on the bus, mashed potatoes flung at her shirt, and her best-friend, until a few weeks ago, just mouthed “I hate you.”  Welcome to high school.

Information about the author: Laurie Halse (pronounced Halt-z) Anderson began her writing career as a freelance reporter.  After hundreds of rejection letters from publishers she joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators where she found a support system.  Anderson has published picture books, young adult novels, historical fiction, and an elementary chapter book series titled “Vet Volunteers.”

           Many of her books made it to the New York Times bestseller list, and she has received numerous awards for her writing.  She lives with her husband, four children, and dog in northern New York (Anderson, n.d.).

Genre: Realistic fiction

Curriculum Ties: English (literature)

          

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1.    Facts about teen rape

2.    Confessions from the custodial closet

Reading level/Interest age: 12+

Challenge Issues: The book contains issues of rape and minimal drinking.  There are minimal language issues.

To defend challenged material I would:

1.    Read/watch/listen to the material to become familiar with the content.

2.    Familiarize myself with the Arizona Common Core curriculum standards http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/teacher/ to defend how the material can support the learning of these standards.

3.    Refer to the Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

4.    Refer to the collection policy of my library.

5.    Collect reviews from staff/students/patrons who have used the material

Why I included this book: Speak is an iconic young adult books.  It has received numerous awards like the ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Printz Honor Book, ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults, the YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults, and others.  In 1999 it was Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.  The transformation Melinda undergoes is an important coming-of-age story that all teens need to read. 

References:

Laurie Halse Anderson. (n.d.) Webpage.  Retrieved 19 March 2013 from

           http://madwomanintheforest.com/laurie/.