Speak

Rating:
Summary: Interesting- take 2
Review: Steve is a 16 year old adolescent that is in trouble. He is accused of a felony murder along with James King. Steve, King and 2 other guys were to hold up a drug store and split the cash 4 ways. The crime gets carried away. The owner pulls a gun and gets shot.

The story is written from Steve's perspective and in movie format. He struggles trying to convince himself that he is innocent. Is he really? O'Brien, his lawyer shows no signs of believing he is innocent. He wonders if the jury will?

The setting of the story switches back and forth from a Manhattan Detention Center and the courthouse. Steve receives support from his family while in the dentention center. He wonders if his family will believe him in the end. Will you?

This story is geared toward young adolescents. It would be helpful to show teens consequences of their actions. The lesson learned is to be careful with who you hang with. They may get you in trouble like Steve's friends.

Rating:
Summary: REALISTIC
Review: The author gets the reader hooked on the book by keeping the problem a secret. After reading the book, I realized how helpful and realistic this book is for troubled teenagers. Some young people can and will be able to relate to some of the issues within the story.

Rating:
Summary: Speak
Review: Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a perfect example of high school life. The main character, Melinda, seems to have no friends and the underlying impression is that no one likes her. Her parents do not seem to really know or care about what is going on in Melinda's life. Something happens in the book that causes her to have problems dealing with relationships. The kids at school have nothing to do with her and she just feels lost. Melinda finds the oddest places to cope with her pain. She realizes by the end of the book, how much she has grown and learned to cope with her problems. I would highly recommend reading this book. It was easy to follow and to understand. What happens to Melinda could happen to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Very touching novel
Review: Laurie Halse Anderson's novel, Speak, is very well written. It's an entertaining, riveting tale about a girl who calls the police to a party which results in several of her peers getting busted. Something happened at the end-of-summer party that changed her life forever.
Upon returning to school in the fall, the main character, Melinda Sordino, is blackballed by her classmates. She chooses to deal with her problem and those around her by silencing herself. There is an internal battle going on inside Melinda's head throughout the novel. She finally finds refuge in one of her classes, art. The art instructor is a very caring individual who notices that Melinda is acting strangely and that she is different and withdrawn. He wants to help her so he shows empathy toward her. She begins to use art as an outlet and finds meaning and symbolism in it.
Anderson does an extraordinary job using symbolism throughout the novel. She deals with a very serious subject, yet her writing is extremely witty and funny. I found myself laughing aloud while reading it.
School can be a very negative experience for many young people. The life of a ninth grade student is told from Melinda Sordino's point of view. She is unpopular and berated. The cruelty displayed by her peers, comfortable in their cliques, is something many young adults will be able to identify with. By the end of the novel, Melinda finally speaks! She tells why she called the cops that night. At first no one believes her, then another event happens that turns her life around. You have to read this book!

Rating:
Summary: Speak
Review: A work of fiction that reads like non-fiction. Melinda is a fourteen year old girl that is shunned by her friend. She calls the cops at a party and her friends don't understand why. She holds a terrible secret inside and doesn't tell anyone about what happened at the party that night. This is a story of not fitting in; of personal voyages; and of discovering the strength we all have inside ourselves to stand up for what's right. I would recommend this book to all young adult readers.

Rating:
Summary: A Book That Covers All Emotions
Review: When I first picked up this book to read, I was not looking forward to it. But with in the first 10 pages I was hooked. When writing this book Laurie H. Anderson was on the right note as to how school can be for someone like Melinda. By this I mean a student who does not fit in with one of the clicks or a student who feels that they have something to hide. In Speak Melinda go though what every female fear most, loses all of her friends, and has to start high school. Oh and Melinda has one other problem, and that is she has to see the "Beast" or the cause of her problems at school. Any girl in middle or high school would love reading this book to see how Melinda deals with being in a new school, without any true friends, a secret to hide, parents to deal with, teacher to try to please, and an art project to do. Speak is truly a book the covers all emotions.

Rating:
Summary: Speak - A great read
Review: I completly enjoyed reading Speak. Eventhough, its not the type of book I would pick for myself, I usually go for a light read. It is a book I am glad I have read. I can very easily understand Melinda's character and her actions. The other characters;her friends, teachers, parents, etc. make the book believable and sometimes funny. The setting is very realistic of a typical high school and adds another degree of believability to the book. I would reccomend this book to any teen aged girl. It is a great story and you will be glad you have read it.

Rating:
Summary: Unspeakably Fabulous
Review: Wow! Every young girl should read this novel. I loved it from the first page to the last. I couldn't stop thinking about the main character after I had finished reading the book. Halse made Melinda seem so real to me. I could identify with her because we have all experienced the fear of what happened to Melinda. I think that we have all had a time in our lives too when we didn't quiet fit in with others around us and we have had to think about who we are in the world. Also, accepting ourselves for who we are without regard to what others think of us became an important part of this novel. When Melinda was shunned by her classmates she had to think about what caused them to behave in that way. Then she had to think about whether the decisions she had made previously have been the right decisions. What Melinda faces are real life decisions that teens have to face and I loved every minute of this read because it was so believeable.

Rating:
Summary: Laurie Halse Anderson Speaks Volumes with Speak
Review: I found this book intriguing to say the least. After the first few pages, I was captured. I could just imagine the scenes in this book actually occuring in the high school I attended. Anderson captured the language and actions of the young adults in her story. Even the thoughts portrayed by the main character were right on target. I can just hear the voice of a high school student coming through in this book.
This book deals with many topics high school students face daily. It deals with family issues, peer pressure, cliques, dating, and social issues. I think every adult and young adult can find a character in this book that they relate to.

Rating:
Summary: Good book for reluctant readers
Review: After reading the first pages of this novel, your experience with the book will "speak" for itself. This novel is written in a journal form and would be excellent for students who are reluctant to read. It would also be a great read for those students who seem to not always "fit in."

Melinda, who used to be a totally different girl, now hardly speaks to anyone since a situation that occurred at a party over the summer. The book takes the reader through Melinda's first year in high school and the difficulties she encounters due to that one fretful night before the new school year.

Without any friends, Melinda has a hard time finding herself and figuring out where she fits in. Throughout her freshmen year, Melinda begins to open herself up through an art project her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, gives her. She begins to finally be honest with her feelings and finds the confidence to speak out about that summer night.

This novel will make you laugh out but will also make you reflect on the bitterness that Melinda is experiencing. It is a book that emphasizes the importance of facing our fears and finding healing so we can move on in life. It will be a book that will leave you with something to "speak" about!