Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Bibliography:
Plot Summary:
Melinda Sordino is a freshman in high school with a dark secret that changed her life the summer before school. As she navigates her way through new schedules, multiple classes, adjusting to the loss of old friendships and awkward new ones, and trying to find her voice, she increasingly becomes more of an outcast and isolated. During the summer, Melinda went to a party where she was sexually assaulted by one of the popular seniors. In an attempt to protect herself and piece together what happened, she called the police, resulting in busting the party and quickly becoming the most unpopular person at her school. Nobody is willing to listen to Melinda's story, and worse yet, the boy she calls it is still a threat to her. As time passes, Melinda finds comfort in an art project exploring multiple creative forms of trees but still struggles to find the strength to talk about her trauma. As she works through angst, despair, and depression, Melinda discovers the inner power she's been desperately needing and finally stands up to the boy who raped her, speaking out about her abuse and finding confidence in herself once again.
Critical Analysis:
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a contemporary realistic fiction novel that has been challenged and banned several times since its publication in 1999 for content about rape and sexual assault. The novel is about a young teenage girl who was sexually abused the summer before starting high school. Anderson's work is significant because it presents realistic trauma relevant to society today and the dynamic development of the protagonist as she begins to heal from her experience. Melinda Sordino is a critical and believable character whose emotional growth is vital to the plot development that slowly unfolds throughout the story. Each character is appropriately represented through life-like dialogue and language, enhancing the narrative by reflecting the current age of teenage personalities.
Speak is written for teenagers and young adults who will benefit the most from reading or listening to the novel. The setting perfectly captures life in high school, including honest and bold statements such as a list of the top ten lies you're told to believe about high school. The setting also signifies universal themes of personal growth through the season changes of New York, the underlying significance of trees surviving terrible conditions, and Melinda's emotional transition into adulthood. The themes in the story emerge naturally without forced moralization. Laurie Halse Anderson's strong style presents plausible traumatic concepts told in the first-person point of view that represent real people and real-life issues relevant to the slow build of the climax and satisfying conclusion. The book avoids stereotypes of victim-blaming and shaming, which is especially important in inclusiveness and representation.
If you can listen to the audiobook version, I highly recommend trying this medium to read Speak. I borrowed an MP3 audiobook from my local library through their OverDrive service. The unabridged 20th-anniversary edition is narrated by Mandy Siegfried, who does an excellent job of capturing Melinda's essence with controlled pitch and clear pronunciation. The sound quality of the audiobook is crisp and doesn't have distracting background noises or music. The book is also easy to listen to because Siegfried maintains a steady voice throughout the novel, slightly changing her tone or speed for each character. The listening experience is pleasant and interesting, and the narrator successfully keeps the audience engaged without overexaggerating or bland expressions. Please enhance your reading experience by listening to this unique story come to life. Readers and listeners will empathize with Melinda's journey and learn the importance of advocacy, support, and having the strength to speak up.
Review Excerpts:
Awards & Recognitions:
- 1999 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature
- 1999 SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Fiction
- 2000 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
- 2000 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult
- 2000 Michael L. Printz Award Nominee
- 2001 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee
- 2002 Evergreen Teen Book Award
- 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson may be a difficult novel for some young adults because of the realistic horrifying subject matter of sexual assault. If anyone struggles with similar traumatic experiences, please provide the National Sexual Assault Hotline, 1-800-656-4673, and encourage them to share this information as advocates and speak out against abuse.
- Part of Melinda's healing process is her discovery and passion for art. Assign teens a topic to explore through art mediums, whichever they wish to try, including drawing, painting, sculpting, writing, and more. In the novel, Melinda is assigned to create an artform with trees. Other subjects you can include in this project are nature, architecture, people, animals, food, and complex ideas such as love or hate.
- After reading Speak, read the free-verse poetic memoir Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson, a call for action in the current age of speaking up against sexual assault.
- Anderson, Laurie H. Twisted. ISBN: 9780670061013
- Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks). Go Ask Alice. ISBN: 9781416914631
- Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why. ISBN: 9781595147882
- Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. ISBN: 9781471116148
- Green, John. Looking for Alaska. ISBN: 9780007523160
- Mackler, Carolyn. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. ISBN: 9780763620912
Extra Content: To Kick Those Boredom Blues
Here's a video of Laurie Halse Anderson's poem "Listen" in honor of her novel Speak.