Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
This book was a National Book Award Finalist, and I can see why. I can only hope that there are not too many girls out there like Melinda who keep a secret like she does. She keeps this huge secret throughout her entire 9th grade year in high school: at the end of 8th grade she was raped at a party. In her trauma, she called 911, but she left before the police arrived. Everyone at the party knew she was the one who had called the police and broken up the party (so they ostracized her), but they did not know the real reason why she had called the police. I certainly hope that in real life if the cops received a 911 call and found a party filled with underaged drinkers, that they would try to find who placed the call. If they had, it would have led them to Melinda and perhaps some help for her. However, in the book, Melinda does not stay to talk to the police and sneaks home; her parents and friends never know the truth of what happened. She begins a downward spiral during her freshman year in high school, but no one seems able to figure out why. Her parents are absorbed in their own lives, and her friends want nothing to do with her since they view her as a snitch. It is heartbreaking to read about this girl trying to work her way through what happened all by herself. As a mother and as a teacher, my heart broke for her. Like I said, I sure hope there aren't many Melindas out there, suffering alone. This is probably a book that would appeal to girls more than boys, although it would be interesting to hear what a boy thought about how Melinda handles things.
Comments
My favorite character was probably Mr. Freeman, who helped Melinda come out of her shell.
I thought it was funny when she nicknamed her teacher Hairwoman. I also think the relashonship Melinda develops with David Petrakis is nice. The author never mentions whether the two become more than just friends. However, it is nice that Melinda has someone to hang out with and feel comfortable around after all this time.
I thought the author did a good job presenting Melinda's relationships with other people. I hate it when things end up perfect. It's never like that in real life. Her relationship with David (and the ones she had with the other girls) seems like something that might really happen.
Calling the teacher Hairwoman helped establish Melinda's voice. In other words, as we read we feel like we are listening to a girl named Melinda, not an author named Laurie Halse Anderson.
I'm going to read another book by her, Fever 1767, as soon as I get a minute (or two!).
I read Fever 1793. Have you read it yet? I didn't like it as much as Speak, but the whole time I was thinking, "Laurie Halse Anderson is a great author! Speak is a whole universe different than Fever 1793 and that shows personality in the author. That means they can write about more than one topic and grab the reader's attention with anything." I did like the book, I guess I just wished it would've been more exciting. Tell me what you think when you read it :D