Rating: 
Summary: The best book I have read in high school
Review: Speak is not only the seemingly true narrative of a young outcast, but a look into the harsh life that is high school. Anderson writes with a style available to all ages, though Melinda, the book's main character, is only in the ninth grade. I'm a Junior in High School, and the language, humor, dialouge, and overall effect left me full and overwhelmed, and as of yet, I have read this book at least five times.
Though the story is told in first person and in a somewhat unusual manner (paragraph breaks and subject matter) any high school student can relate to the humor and truth in each word. Anderson uses themes that every teen can relate to, and the underlying story is -never- lost. I love the new appraoch to teen literature, and have already begun a collection of Anderson books.
I HIGHLY recommed this to anyone willing to stray from the norm and take a different look at life, without missing out on the humor and sometimes never ending trials of the teenage experience.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book!
Review: Melinda is a teenager outcast. Who feels she needs to keep her mouth shut to stop the violence. She busted an end-of-the-summer party because someone rapped her outside. Now when she meets up with this guy. He tries to beat... her, but she gets away. I feel sorry for this teenager, but I'm glad she choose to bust the party because she would have been more miserable if she hadn't. This book I rated 5 [*s] because it's such a page turner in some ways. It so realistic that it seems true life like a non-fiction story. I wish Laurie Halse Anderson would make a sequel. It was a great book!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book Ever
Review: The best book ever -- that is how my teenager daughter describes this fascinating account of a girl's struggle to come to terms with a traumatic event in her life. I listened to the unabridged book on tape and agree that it an excellent and compelling journey for teenagers and adults. The reader comes to know Melinda intimately, feeling her frustration while watching her grow. Strong on character development, the book draws the reader in and keeps the interest level high on every page.
Rating:
Summary: Speak, Review By:Jessica Paterson
Review: Speak
By:Laurie Halse Anderson
Young Adult
Keenly aware of the corrosive detail of outsiderhood and the gap between home and daily life at highschool.It has the green sap of creativity coursing through its veins; its smart, painful, and redemptive. Its a powerful novel.
This novel is different from other books i have read. This book is very powerful in its words, and this book is like what someone girls life is like in highschool right now.
This book is probably what most young teenagers think about them self. I used to think I was an outcast and I bet most people at my age once in a life time thought that too. They think that they have no friends and that no one likes them to even think about being friends with them. This quote backs up of what i am saying,Im an outcast,(says Melinda Sordino) on page 4.
My reaction to this book, is that it would probably be a good idea for highschoolers to read. Speak is based on a girl who went to a party with alot of friends and something bad happen to her. Speak might teach those girls out there stuff that can do to prevent things happening like what happen to melinda.
Rating:
Summary: This book deserves 6 Stars!
Review: This book is now my favorite book. I got it as a gift, and I couldn't put it down. Anyone looking for a book for a teenaged girl: this is the perfect holiday gift!
Rating: 
Summary: It was pretty good!
Review: I really enjoyed this book...but it didn't keep me hanging on...I read it in bits and pieces, and it took me a long time to finish up. It's just a story of a teenage girl in the midst of finding herself all over again. She doesn't try to fit in and doesn't care about anything. I really got hooked in the end though, I thought it was great. So if you're bored, read this book, I thought it was pretty good!
Rating:
Summary: The best book ever!
Review: I think that this was one of the best books I have ever read! It captured my attention right from the very first word to the last! It is a great book for high schol students to relate to. I definately would recomend this book! :)
Rating:
Summary: 100% AWESOME!!!
Review: I loved it! I never thought that this book was going to be any good. But, it was AWESOME! I never read a book in less than a week. Every second I had in class and home, I would take advantage and read. I would go to sleep at 2 in the morning knowing I had to wake up at 6am, I would stay reading. It was mysterious, as Melinda (the Main Character) will say that what occured to her was only refrased as "it". I was more wanting, and interested to finish and get to the end of the book. It was AWESOME!!!! I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Speak is an excellent teen novel!
Review: Speak is an excellent novel about a girl dealing with a tragic teen crisis. It is a compelling story of how she manages to overcome her fear and anxiety related to the event, and manages to find herself in a high-school world of rejection.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic ... should be required reading
Review: Few people love adolescence. Overprotective parents, hormones, calculus, varsity sports, and fitting in can make a kid's life incredibly difficult. Well, what if your parents weren't overprotective at all and didn't even bother talking to you except to scold or insult? What if you had hormones but were too terrified of the opposite sex to make a move? What if you couldn't fit in because you're a social pariah? Meet Melinda Sordino, the outcast poster child. A high school freshman, she's Merryweather High's on-the-fringe, outcasted even by the outcasts. The reason? She called the cops on an upperclassmen party over the summer, and nobody likes a narc. But there's a reason to Melinda's party bust, including why she's going mute: a brutal rape by hearthrob senior Andy Evans (whom Melinda, in her interior dialogue, nicknames IT and BEAST). And the only way for Melinda to keep from snapping is to withdraw into herself and stop speaking."Speak" paints a sharp, lonely, and hilarious contrast between Melinda's world and that of the Merryweather High populars: the Marthas (Martha Stewart clones who love coordinating outfits, school events, and underclassmen's untimely demise), the jocks, the cheerleaders ("We are the hornets! Horny, horny hornets!"), and even Melinda's pseudo-friend, Heather from Ohio (who, through Melinda's see-through-the-crap gaze, watches as she goes from gawky new kid to popular-in-training). The novel is sprinkled with hilarious and ironic episodes, such as how the school can't decide on a mascot (apparently, the "Merryweather Trojans" doesn't send a good abstinence message, "Merryweather Chiefs" is disrespectful of Native Americans, and "Merryweather Hornets" inspire the cheerleaders to compose lewd hormone-charged cheers [see above]). There's Merlinda's parent's funny bickering sessions, a Harvard-destined biology class partner, a cracked art teacher, and enough blonde foreign exchange students to make Melinda wonder if all American kids are naturally dumpy-looking. This book is a prize enough, but Melinda's viewpoint only makes it better. She is shy and vulnerable, but at the same time very wise and poignant. As I sat reading it, I got to see the other side of the high school fence: that of the lonely kid who everyone sees as a nutcase when, in face, they're quite normal. Everyone turns up their nose at Melinda because of her silence and her non-popularity, but no one suspects that she's just another kid who happens to be suffering deep inside. This book should be mandatory reading for high school students (and trust me, I hate reading lists!). Seeing the world through someone else's gaze is a total eye-opener.
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