Rating: 
Summary: Both Good and Bad
Review: Speak had both its good and bad moments. There were many slow parts during the book that seemed to be un-important to the story but at the same time built more background for the basis of Miranda's character. Speak had many funny and compelling moments and was a worthwhile book.
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Summary: Speak is wonderful
Review: I had to read speak as a summer reading book and i thought it was amazing. Laurie Halse Anderson did a very good job in the characters, story, description. I couldn't put the book down, it was excellent.
Rating: 
Summary: Journey from light to darkness and back to light
Review: Laurie Halse Anderson writes a compelling novel about a teenage girl who suffered a rape at the hands of a popular guy at school. Melinda Sordino was raped at the end-of summer party with her friends. When she calls the police, they bust up the party, yet Melinda is unable to speak of the tragedy she had endured. Her friends think she has betrayed them and Melinda spends the next school year as an outcast. Slowly but surely she works through the pain and is finally able to confess what had happened to her when her ex-friend starts dating the rapist. This powerful story of a teenage girl's journey back to the light after much suffering will capture the heart of the reader. Melinda's courage and ultimate triumph over her demons will leave the reader cheering through tears. Anderson captures the heart-wrenching harshness of Melinda's struggle for acceptance of her peers and her self.
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Summary: Teen issues that affected freshman Melinda Sordino
Review: Melinda was a outgoing girl until one night she went to a party with her friend Rachel. At the party Rachel gets raped. She inadvertly calls the cops and now is ostersized from her friends and other students at school.
At school, Melinda is affected by teen issues, such as coping with the rape, socialization of peers, family life at home, and fitting in. The first part of the book deals with Melinda not speaking to gradually voiceing at the end. I can see the symbolism of the tree assignment along with the dead tree in her yard, to relating to Melinda's struggle to be accepted and to survive every day life at school and home. When Melinda finally can draw the tree in art class and the dead tree at her home is destroyed, then I see Melinda's character doing the same. She has the courage to finally stand up to IT (Adam) and overcome or deal with that part of her life.
I recommend this book to teens who are seaching for identity or have issues that they need to overcome. Melinda's character is true of today's youth who struggle with teen issues at home and school. Learning how to deal with it is the answer.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: This is a powerful book detailing the life of Melinda Sordino and her first year of high school. In her life, though, the normal trials and tribulations of starting at Merryweather High are compounded because she is harboring a horrible secret. She shares this with no one because she feels that there is no one who will listen. Her parents are not fit to be called parents, and the teachers, she feels, are out to get her from day one. The only exception is Mr. Freeman, the art teacher, who encourages her to grow in herself.This story shows the downward spiral Melinda falls into as she is ostrasized by her peers and the one new person she thought was her friend. You will find yourself thinking throughout the story, "Why doesn't she just TELL someone?" But who could she tell? This book is a must read for girls, of course, but in addition, it would be wonderful for teachers of young adults. Do you fit into the teacher descriptions Melinda gives? Would YOU care enough to find what was wrong with Melinda?
Rating:
Summary: Don't Pass This One Up!
Review: Anderson's rite of passage novel, Speak, speaks volumes to young female teenagers who have experienced being alienated by their peers. Melinda Sordino and her friends are invited to a high school party the summer before her freshman year . . . Imagine their excitement to be invited to a senior party! Only, something terrible happens . . . Melinda calls the cops . . . and the entire Merryweather High School loathes Melinda . . . but do they have the full story? Laurie Halse Anderson masterfully intertwines psychology and sarcastic humor, demonstrating just how vicious and lonely depression can be. Melinda embarks in a lonesome journey to find a semblance of her old self. This novel offers teens much more than the usual feel-good read, showing realism and the struggle to belong in a harsh environment. This is a must-read!
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Summary: Alone and afraid
Review: Have you ever felt all alone in this world? No one to talk to, to confide in, to pal around with? Melanie is in that situation now. Something horrible has happened to her. Something so bad that she won't speak. What is it? Why won't she tell anyone? Experience Melanie's long road back to happier times as she struggles through her freshman year following a devasting party the previous summer. You'll be embarassed, afraid, worried, and scared as you follow her through the halls of Merryweather High, but in the end you will rejoice with her in her triumph. I highly recommend this book for teens and for teachers, who will view high school life from a different perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Speak
Review: Review over Speak
By: Katrina Lester I need a new friend. I need a friend, period. Not a true friend, nothing close or share clothes or sleepover giggle giggle yak yak. Just a pseudo-friend, disposable friend. Friend as accessory. Just so I don't feel and look so stupid (p.22). These are the words of Melinda Sordino, a fourteen year old freshman at Merryweather High. Melinda's life has changed dramatically since last year. Last year she had friends, made good grades, and was generally a happy person. That is until she went to a party during the summer and something horrible happened to her. Now, she finds herself without friends, failing school, and miserable. Her parents know something is wrong but they are too busy with their own lives to really intervene and help. The same is true of her teachers. However, one teacher Mr. Freeman, an art teacher, really sees Melinda's potential and talent and challenges her to put herself into her work. Through her art project, Melinda is able to express herself and the growth that she experiences over time. However, we she be able to verbally express her own agony and find the healing that she needs? This book will show you the inner struggle of a young girl with a terrible secret.
I truly believe that every teacher, parent, and young adult should read this book. I believe that this book could help all people working with young adults be more sympathetic, compassionate, and aware of the struggles facing young adults. This could also help young adults who are struggling with secrets and also help others be more of a friend to outcasts.
Rating:
Summary: Speak
Review: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a must read for teenage girls and possibly boys. It is about a young girl, Melinda Sordino, that goes to a party with her best friend just weeks before she is going to start high school. Wanting to fit in and make new friends before starting her freshman year, she decides to drink a few beers. A senior boy, Andy, comes on to her and she is completely flattered. He is tall, dark and handsome. What more could a girl want? She could start her senior high years with a bang. Everyone would know her. Melinda, being naive, did not see what was happening until it was too late. Andy raped her. Hurt, embarrassed and ashamed, Melinda did the only thing she knew to do, call the police. But when the 911 operator answered the phone, Melinda could not speak, thus starting her silence. Having the address from the call, the police show up and bust the party. Everyone, even her best friend, knows Melinda as the girl that called the police and is therefore outcast. This story is heart wrenching as it is told in first person through the thoughts that go on her Melinda's mind. The art teacher seems to be the only one that takes an interest in Melinda and helps her break through her silence by giving her an assignment to make a tree come to life.
Rating:
Summary: Spoken
Review: I could not put this book down! This book is a must, especially for high school girls. A young teenage girl named Melinda goes to a party with her friend. While there, she is raped by a senior boy. Melinda finds a phone at the party and telephones the cops. Before she can tell the dispatcher what has happened to her she freezes up and the cops trace the call. The police end up coming to the party and crashing it, thus turning everyone against her. This book describes how Melinda copes with the rape as well as how she handles being islolated by all of her old friends for calling the police that night. The author did a great job of adding humor to such an important issue that many teenage girls deal with. This book definitely inspires victims of rape of how to "speak" out about it. It also gives readers an idea of what victims of rape are thinking and how they loose their self-esteem.
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