CONTEMPORARY REALISTIC FICTION

SPEAK

written by Laurie Halse Anderson

Penguin Putnam Inc.

New York, New York

1999

SUMMARY

Right before her freshman year, something terrible happened and Melinda became a pariah at school.  Her friends from Junior High shunned her.  Starting High School is a difficult transition in the best of circumstances, and Melinda has an even harder time.  She cannot ‘speak’ of the ordeal she went through; she doesn’t ‘speak’ much at all, which is quite frustrating for her teachers and parents.  Her freshman art class is part of her salvation; her art project and her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, help her find her voice.  Finding her voice helps Melinda avert a second rape by the same culprit.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Anderson does an excellent job creating character young people can relate to.  Young adults often feel the same sadness, depression, and loneliness Melinda feels when she begins High School.  Heather is typical of the student trying hard to fit in a new situation, pretending to be someone she isn’t so she will be accepted.  David, Melinda’s classmate, is the typical brainiac, but Anderson helped him develop his voice too.  Even Andy Evans, the cause of Melinda’s angst, is a character readers can relate to, the bully who thinks very highly of himself.  He’s a character readers can easily despise. The conversations between all the characters is so typical of High School, readers will be drawn into the conversations and the characters’ lives.

The brief chapters and quick movement between scenarios keep readers involved in the story.  Most of the action takes place in the High School: the gym, lunchroom, various classrooms, and Melinda’s closet hideaway. The most unbelievable is the closet, but readers might dream of a place like Melinda’s closet, which makes it almost a fantasy with possibility.

Melinda’s story is one of many teenagers today.  Not all teens have a rape in their background, but they will relate to the feelings Melinda shares: fear, confusion, heartache, loneliness, terror - feelings most readers will have first-hand experience with.  Because of their own struggles with these issues, readers will relate.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Publishers Weekly - The book's overall gritty realism and Melinda's hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired.

Booklist - Melinda's sarcastic wit, honesty, and courage make her a memorable character whose ultimate triumph will inspire and empower readers.

Amazon - Laurie Halse Anderson's first novel is a stunning and sympathetic tribute to the teenage outcast. The triumphant ending, in which Melinda finds her voice, is cause for cheering (while many readers might also shed a tear or two). After reading Speak, it will be hard for any teen to look at the class scapegoat again without a measure of compassion and understanding for that person--who may be screaming beneath the silence.

Audiofile - Melinda's sarcastic wit, honesty, and courage make her a memorable character whose ultimate triumph will inspire and empower readers.

The Horn Book - An uncannily funny book even as it plumbs the darkness, Speak will hold readers from first word to last.

Kirkus - An uncannily funny book even as it plumbs the darkness, Speak will hold readers from first word to last.

School Library Journal - This is a compelling book, with sharp, crisp writing that draws readers in, engulfing them in the story.

Library Journal - A story told with acute insight, acid wit, and affecting prose.

CONNECTIONS

Anderson refers to symbolism several times in the book (typically in relation to Melinda’s English class).  Melinda has a poster of Maya Angelou in her closet hideaway.  Maya Angelou wrote “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”  Students could read Angelou’s poem and discuss the symbolism in comparing the two.

Speak has been challenged over the years.  Ask students to write why they think Speak would be challenged.  Class discussion will include rape, bullying, parents, relationships, friends, and figuring out who you really are and being true to yourself.  These are all issues young people feel strongly about.   

Students could read several of Laurie Halse Anderson’s books, comparing characters, theme, and plot.    

         Anderson, L. H. Catalyst. New York: Viking, 2002.

         Anderson, L. H., Bromley, L., & Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Chains. New  
         York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2008.

         Anderson, L. H. Fever, 1793. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2000.

         Anderson, L. H., Bromley, L., & Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Forge. New York:                  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010.

         Anderson, L. H. Prom. New York: Viking, 2005.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen and What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton are two books with similar themes.  I think the topic is a tough one and having students read more than one might be too much.  It is possible, however, to have groups of students reading different books; once finished, they could discuss similarities and differences.

Dessen, Sarah, and Nancy Brennan. Just Listen: A Novel. New York: Viking  Children's Books, 2006.

Clayton, Colleen. What Happens Next: A Novel. New York: Poppy, 2012.

AWARDS

2009 Teen Three Apples Award nominee (New York)

2005 New York Times Paperback Children's Best Seller

2005 Maud Hart Lovelace Youth Reading Award nominee (Minnesota)

2005 New York Reads Together Book

2003 Young Reader’s Award Nominee (Nevada)

2002-2003 California Young Reader Medal nominee

2002-2003 Black-Eyed Susan Book Award nominee (Maryland)

2002 Garden State Teen Book Award (New Jersey)

2002 Evergreen Young Adult Book Award (Washington)

2002 Sequoya Book Award (Oklahoma)

2002 Volunteer State Young Adult Book Award (Tennessee)

2001-2002 Tayshas High School Reading List (Texas)

2001-2002 South Carolina Young Adult Book Award

2001-2002 Iowa Teen Book Award nominee

2001-2002 Pennsyvania Young Readers Choice Young Adult List

2001 Rhode Island Teen Book Award nominee

2001 New York Times Paperback Children's Best Seller

2001 Heartland Award (Kansas)

2001 Kentucky Bluegrass Award

2001 Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award runner-up

2000 Carolyn W. Field Award (Pennsylvania)

2000 SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Fiction

2000 Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year

2000 ALA Best Books for Young Adults

2000 Printz Honor Book

2000 Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults

2000 Fiction Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

2000 Edgar Allan Poe Best Young Adult Award Finalist

2000 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist

2000 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist

1999 National Book Award Finalist

1999 BCCB Blue Ribbon Book

1999 Junior Library Guild Selection

1999 Booklist Top 10 First Novels

1999 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999.