Speak

Rating:
Summary: Speak
Review: I recently bought and read this book and I must say,that I absoltely loved it!!This book is ideal for any girl struggling in high school. Melinda (main character) is an average teenage girl,but after something terrible happens to her at a party, she calls the cops,and quickly loses her friends,so she finds it hard to speak. Melinda's viewpoints are funny and sad,all at the same time. I loved the end of this book because I loved the message it sent out to other teenage girls:nobody can speak for you,but you.No matter what happens in your life trust the voice within.Sometimes you have to speak up,you never know who you might be able to help. I highly recommend this book,it's absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

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Summary: wow!
Review: Okay, first off Amazon recommended this book to me and it was on the recommended list at school too. so with my little mind i decided to put two and two together and came up with... "wow, this may actually be a good book, maybe i should read it." and so i did

This book is amazing and it definitely has a place on my bookshelf now. it kept me guessing the whole time. and i believe its totally possible for a girl to go mute after an incident like that. how she referred to her rapist in the book kept me wondering even more.

The tree though, i looked at the cover and wondered, why the hell do they have a tree on a cover. fist i thought it was because of the woods that she got raped in, then i realized it was her art project. how her project helped her open up was extrodinary and how she was able to feel more human than ever in art class than anywhere else is even better.

I especially liked the ending when everything just happened to fall into place again. out of everything that happened to her, she was able to put the pieces back together and gain her life back again. i dont think it was the art project or something.. i think it was that one chick she met in art class. she seemed more of a friend than anyone else that shes been around. and one person makes a difference in a persons life. and because of that "friend" and maybe her art teacher as well... no definitely the art teacher as well, she was able to get her life back..

then again thats my opinion! whew.. im getting a hand cramp.

Rating:
Summary: This was a GREAT book!!
Review: ... "Speak" was a fabulous book for girls going into their teens to an adult. It described realistic situations that young girls should know about. The book was well written and kept me interested to the end! READ THIS BOOK!

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Summary: a teen necessity
Review: This is without a doubt one of my favorite books. After reading the whole thing in one day I just sat there staring at the front cover. Wow.

My reaction to the book surprised me given that I usually detest "young adult" ... books. Been there done that. A majority of them I read before I entered junior high. "I'm past that," I always sniffed as I passed the teen section.

But this...if you have ever felt alone...if you have ever been young, and alone in an MTV consumer-driven, self-inflicted generation and felt as though you didn't have a voice or anybody who could speak for you, THIS is the book to read. Written in the eyes of the intelligent and witty Melinda Sordino as she travels the jungles of high school her freshman year, this book captures in perfect detail how awful, bittersweet, and heart-breaking adolescence can really be. And it's not overly angst-ridden, mind you. Even though it's almost painful at some points to read, it's also darkly humorous and will have a chuckling every now and then. Ever sat back in a high school cafeteria and wondered what the hell you were really doing there? Guess what? So has Melinda, and she feels and thinks everything you've ever felt and thought. This is the book that you will run home to after a horrendous day of school, curl up to in your bed and read because you can relate so intensely to it. But more importantly, this book is not only a coming-of-age story, it's about learning to speak up for oneself, and learning that nobody can or will speak for you, you need to do it; no matter how impossible or HARD it may seem.

I love this book. I recommend it to all my friends. I recommend my friends to recommend it to their friends. If I were to formulate a high school survival kit this would be at the top of my supply list.

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Summary: Melinda like me.
Review: i identify with this character so much. My freshman year was quite hellish as well, and I found it quite difficult to find my voice in some situations. I love the ending of the book especially, comparing herself to a seed that needs to be taken care of. I recommend this book to anyone who needs a lift in spirit.

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Summary: Deeply Moving
Review: This is my all time favorite book. From the first time you read that first few sentences you will be drawn into the book and almost thrown into the book itself. I loved the way the plot unfolded so it never got boring. I am NOT an avid reader but this was recommended by one of my friends and she let me borrow it. I finished it the day that I started it which was well past 12 midnight with school the next morning. That is atomatically a very good sign that it is an excellant book. I simply couldn't put the book down. Because of that book and writing style, she lead me on to read Catalyst, her newest book, which is also a good but Speak is definelty, by far, better. I have found it easy to relate to the characters, especially Melinda and the way she views life. Her sarcastic wit and outlook on life make it humorous in a dark sort of way at times. I also like the universal theme(s) that are at the book's core. The honesty and truth as well as symbolism bring a lot of meaning to the reader. You will see what I mean the minute you begin reading the book. I recommend people to read this book because it gives you a depper insight on understanding society, people, and the world around us. Never judge a man (or woman) before walking a mile in their shoes.

Rating:
Summary: Speak up and be heard!
Review: (I'm actually 15 but didn't feel like making an account...oh well)

Speak is the kind of book that when you finish, you stay and stare at the last sentence and think about the whole book. It basically changes you somehow. Melinda is a character that you get attached to and at several times you want to help her. The book makes you smile and frown, laugh and suddenly stop laughing. It's not quite a rollercoaster ride (I suggest go ask alice for that) although it is amazingly well written. I have to admit the ending is slightly disapointing but nothing more. A must read not only for teenagers but also for parents.

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Summary: A Little Let Down
Review: This book is about a young girl who's an outcast and seems to be hated by everyone, but you don't why. It goes through her first year in high school, and shows how helpless this young girl feels and how she overcomes her problem and speaks about it.

I read this book because all of my friends' and teachers said it was sooooo good. The opening did immediately get my attention. Then I was a little let down after that, it got harder and harder to focus on the book and continue reading. I suggest to anyone interested in this book to give it a chance because, of the good story line and great ending, but it went along slowly (not for impatient people).

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Summary: My favorite book of all time
Review: This is my favorite book of all time. I've read it 6 times and it still rocks.

I can totally picture myself as Melinda Sordino. I can imagine everything she's going through, and all of her pain. People said this book was unrealistic? Unrealistic was Annie's Baby! This book is one of the most realistic teen books I have read in a long time.

Clearly the people that didn't like it must not have understood it very well. Adjectives are used very well, and everything is so descriptive. Each character I could picture as one of my friends.

Please, please buy this book, and if you don't like it, give it to somebody else as a birthday gift, because this is one book you SHOULDN'T leave somewhere at the back of your bookshelf. This one deserves to be read.

Rating:
Summary: Speak - Valley High School
Review: Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson
"I rake the leaves out of my throat."
Imagine a day in the life of a ninth grade outcast. This is a book that leads us through the miserable life of such a 9th grade outcast. Melinda Sordino made it very clear to others that the cops coming to the party was all her fault, so her friends desert her. Will she ever be able to speak the truth?
This is a very good book, because of the way Anderson words the paragraphs and how she describes things in detail. The quote from above is an example of a metaphoric phrase that the author uses throughout the book. The reader can share Melinda's pain and hear her voice. Melinda tells about the every day life of a teenager, which is sometimes humorous.
Melinda is into art. Readers who like art as well as dramatic stories should take another look at this book. A book for young adults can always change the way the reader looks at things. In this book, you will find that people look at Melinda different because a rumor that was spread. You will also find that in some parts of this book, it is written as a script. It also has short sections at a time, written like a diary. Speak is a book for many kinds of readers. Although this book is for young adults, parent and teachers could see a whole new world in Speak.
Laurie Halse Anderson was raised in Syracuse, New York, which is where the book Speak takes place. Growing up, Anderson's favorite book was the dictionary. For her sake, that was good, because she is a horrible speller. Practice with words has paid off with Anderson's first book for young adults. Speak won the ALA's Printz award, which hopefully will be the true beginning of more great books for teens.