MLIS 5603 Literature for Children and Young Adults
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Laurie Halse. 1999. Speak. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1999. ISBN 0374371520
**Link to author, Laurie Halse Anderson: http://madwomanintheforest.com/
Anderson, Laurie Halse. 1999. Speak. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1999. ISBN 0374371520
**Link to author, Laurie Halse Anderson: http://madwomanintheforest.com/
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Speak is a realistic contemporary fiction teen novel which easily brings the stigma of book challenge to any library. It is a journey towards healing. Rape. Melinda Sordino has been raped. Her trauma has left her unable to speak... to parents, to teens, to teachers. The reader joins Melinda from the first day of her freshman year to the last day. We see her brokenness after the rape, which occurs during the summer, and we see her gradual healing at the end of the year, when she finds her voice again. Through first-person dialogue, we learn, first hand, about the bullying she faces for calling 911 after her rape. We see the teachers stereotype her as a bad student, the outlets she finds to escape memories and pain, the emotional grief when "IT" continues to toy with her mind, and her friends turn their back on her, but she refuses to open up about her experience until her ex-best friend hooks up with her raper. After she confronts her former friend, things are just beginning to turn around for her when she is attacked again by the same person. This time, she finds her voice.
Most of the setting of Speak occurs in two places, Melinda's home and at school. Both adolescents and adults, alike, will recognize them as both her safe places and her agonies. Early in her freshman year, she finds ways and reasons to skip school and even creates her "closet" in an old janitors' supply room that no one uses anymore. Her journey toward healing is aided by one lone teacher-the one A she receives for the entire year, art class. Without knowing her story, her art teacher accepts her for herself and aids her journey through the art she is creating. Her parents, wrapped up in their own lives, understand something has happened, but are at loss about how to deal with her personality changes, so life is also miserable at home. All Melinda really wants to do is sleep away the memory. Touching on themes that no one really wants to broach, Laurie Halse Anderson's first novel opens the door wide open to topics that are becoming more and more prevalent in today's society, both bullying and sexual violence in teens. Even though many children face some type of bullying during their school years, the vivid picture that Anderson paints as Melinda's story is revealed helps the reader understand just how common the topic is. Sexual violence and the recovery process are also topics that many counselors of school-age children are facing. How do we cope? How is it prevented? Why don't more people and teachers recognize the signs of an abused child or an abuser? Although no one wants to deal directly with either topic, the fact remains that it can no longer be ignored in the American school system.
Organized into a quarterly grading system used by Melinda's high school, she tells the next season of her life as the school year unfolds. Much of the dialogue is told through her thought process and memories as she talks very little throughout the novel. Most of her mood, physical appearance, and personality are presented through her thoughts as she overcomes the horrible experience from the summer before her ninth grade year. Advanced readers understand will understand the symbolism of her wanting to sweep the dead leaves from the front yard and replace the empty spaces with flowers, realizing she has come full-circle within herself.
As in most rape cases, the story unfolds with a female protagonist, Melinda, and her male antagonist, Andy Evans, who is also her rapist. Within the plot line of the story, many stereotypical teenager characters emerge to present an overall look at a modern high school today. Melinda's character emerges as what society expects from a rape victim, and Andy is also what society has come to expect out of a sexual predator. Many other character types appear, including the jocks, the goths, the cheerleaders, the choir and other clubs, and the misfits. Each character group contributes, in some way, to the rising actions, climax, and resolution of Melinda's story. Don't miss this nail-biting, soul-searching novel of life after rape!
AWARDS
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
- Horn Book Magazine, "...The book is structurally divided into four marking periods, over which Melinda's grades decline severely and she loses the only friend she has left, a perky new girl she doesn't even like. Melinda's nightmare discloses itself in bits throughout the story: a frightening encounter at school (""I see IT in the hallway....IT sees me. IT smiles and winks""), an artwork that speaks pain. Melinda aches to tell her story, and well after readers have deduced the sexual assault, we feel her choking on her untold secret. By springtime, while Melinda studies germination in Biology and Hawthorne's symbolism in English, and seeds are becoming ""restless"" underground, her nightmare pushes itself inexorably to the surface. When her ex-best-friend starts dating the ""Beast,"" Melinda can no longer remain silent. A physical confrontation with her attacker is dramatically charged and not entirely in keeping with the tone of the rest of the novel, but is satisfying nonetheless, as Melinda wields a shard of broken glass and finds her voice at last to scream, '"No!'" © August 1, 1999
- Publisher's Weekly, “...In a stunning first novel, Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager. Divided into the four marking periods of an academic year, the novel, narrated by Melinda Sordino, begins on her first day as a high school freshman. No one will sit with Melinda on the bus. At school, students call her names and harass her; her best friends from junior high scatter to different cliques and abandon her. Yet Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy..." © September 13, 1999
- Voice of Youth Advocates, "...Readers will easily identify with Melinda, a realistic, likeable character. Anderson portrays a large suburban high school with a fresh and authentic eye. The cliques are there, from the jocks, to the Goths, to the "Marthas" (Martha Stewart wanna-bes). This extremely well-written book has current slang, an accurate portrayal of high school life, and engaging characters. By using a conversational, first-person narrative, the author takes the reader into Melinda's world. This powerful story has an important lesson: never be afraid to speak up for yourself." © December 1, 1999
- Booklist, "Having broken up an end-of-summer party by calling the police, high-school freshman Melinda Sordino begins the school year as a social outcast. She's the only person who knows the real reason behind her call: she was raped at the party by Andy Evans, a popular senior at her school. Slowly, with the help of an eccentric and understanding art teacher, she begins to recover from the trauma, only to find Andy threatening her again. Melinda's voice is distinct, unusual, and very real as she recounts her past and present experiences in bitterly ironic, occasionally even amusing vignettes. In her YA fiction debut, Anderson perfectly captures the harsh conformity of high-school cliques and one teen's struggle to find acceptance from her peers. Melinda's sarcastic wit, honesty, and courage make her a memorable character whose ultimate triumph will inspire and empower readers." © September 15, 1999
CONNECTIONS
Use as an introduction to interpersonal relations, dating, bullying, school, rape, violence, or sexuality.
https://austinenglish3.wikispaces.com/Speak
https://austinenglish3.wikispaces.com/Speak
http://www.ecslearningsystems.com/webstore/store/viewitem.asp?keyword=Speak&idproduct=25539
http://madwomanintheforest.com/this-guy-thinks-speak-is-pornography/
https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=6343
· Fever 1793. ISBN: 0689848919
Gather similar Adolescent books to read such as:
· Smith, Amber. The Way I Used to Be. ISBN 1442395982http://madwomanintheforest.com/this-guy-thinks-speak-is-pornography/
https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=6343
Gather more Laurie Halse Anderson titles to read such as:
· Ashes. ISBN 1416961461
· Forge. ISBN 1416961453· Ashes. ISBN 1416961461
· Fever 1793. ISBN: 0689848919
Gather similar Adolescent books to read such as:
· Sweeny, Joyce. The Guardian. ISBN 0805080198
· Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. ISBN 1451696191
Gather other Golden Kite Award titles to read such as:
· Shusterman, Neal. Challenger Deep. (2016) ISBN 0061134147· Wiles, Deborah. Revolution. (2015) ISBN 0545106079
· Wein, Elizabeth. Rose Under Water. (2014) ISBN 1423184696
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