Speak

Rating:
Summary: BORING!!!
Review: Speak is one of those books that you keep reading thinking it will get better. Thinking you will finally reach the climax. Well, there is no climax, and it definetly doesn't get any better. There is no plot to this story. Speak is written through the eyes of a teenage outcast. It is in the form of her journal. If you like books that don't follow a story line and have no definite point, you will love this one. By the end you are tired of hearing this girl complain. I definetly do not recomend this book to anyone! I give it two thumbs down.

Rating:
Summary: Darkly funny -- one of the best YA books I've read.
Review: This is definately one of the best books I've ever read. Melinda's voice was caustic at times, but very funny. Like she was whistling in the dark. I liked the parts about the school mascot. I think David Pedrakis was my favorite character, and Andy was obviously my least favorite. I could see and feel Melinda's trauma and pain. I'm homeschooled, but I have friends that go to high school and from what they say the book's descriptions of the high school classes and cliques seemed pretty accurate. I hope to buy more of Laurie Halse Anderson's books soon; they'll probably be just as good or better than this one!

Rating:
Summary: the most realistic book i have ever read!
Review: this book was one of the best i have ever read. all of it seems very real. people who have allready been through high school can relate to some of Melinda's problems. If your in high school you can especially relate to this. Most of all if you are still waiting, like me, to expierince highschool you can appreciate the humor. even if the book is meant for high school kids i was still able to understand it. i would suggest this to anyone who feels they can understand the seriouse part of the book, also. i knew from the first time they mentioned "IT" what they meant, but some people wouldn't. as a guidline i wouldn't give this book to anyone under maybe 10.

Rating:
Summary: a true book
Review: Laurie Anderson's novel Speak is one of the truest books I have ever read. Her 13 year old protagonist is a nearly friendless high school outcast. She is friendless because she called the cops at an end of summer senoir party. Many of the kids at her high school were arrested for underage drinking or had friends who were. So her freshman year she is the class scapegoat and in this position Melinda observes her fellow students. Her observations are filled with wit and truth. She also shows how truly hard life can be when the only family communication is routed through post-it notes. TH notes are just one of the ways Melinda is silent. Her silence deepens as the school year goes on and she falling farther and farther into her own world of torture. A painful secret lurks in Melinda's not so distant past. This secret was the beginning of her silence. Her silence however is shattered at the book's end when she loudly confronts her fear. It is an amaing moment in a book you can't put down. It is one of the truest books I have ever read and when I was looking for my voice it was a wonderful guide. I hope laurie Halse Anderson will keep writing.

Rating:
Summary: Oh my
Review: ok i know there r just tons n tons of ppl who consider reading to b the devil n since my whole family is like that i know. but this book is supr interesting n it just keeps ya goin. i could just sit n read it in a day cuz it just goes so fast like that. the girl Melinda like ruined things 4 a lot of ppl includin her social life but the sad part is that there is a secret n i dont wanna ruin it 4 u ! so IT like totally takes ova her life n in the end she conquers all that matters. read this book ok it is awesome!

Rating:
Summary: It's going to be in my classroom from now on!
Review: In my search for young adult literature which features an interesting and modern female protagonist, I have read several excellent books. Based on the extremely enthusiastic recommendation of some of my high school students, I read "Speak" and knew right away I had found a book worth buying in quantity and studying in class. The hilarious, pointed observations of high school life alone make the book worth reading, but its understanding and insightful treatment of a serious problem makes it worth studying.

Boys may object, calling it a "girl book," but I predict that they will enjoy the book within the first few pages as they laugh at Melinda's wickedly funny comments on high school and later sympathize with her conflicted emotions about "Him." Get this book, read it, enjoy it, and pass it on to a high schooler you know!

Rating:
Summary: speaking about speak haha
Review: well I just finished this book this afternoon so its really fresh in my mind... from the start, most people can tell what has happened to Melinda but we keep it in the back of our minds hoping that it was anything than our worst fear. Her first year in high school is filled with torment about the incident, the fact that she doesnt really have that many friends after that party, and her home life. This book is really good and I would recommend it to teenagers.

Rating:
Summary: An incredible experience
Review: While on vacation, my cousin stayed in a hotel across from [...]. She bought two books for "young adults", one of them being Speak. She lent me Speak while she read her other one. As soon as I got into it, I couldn't put it down! I finished it in one day. I had three pages left when I was called me down to dinner. I yelled down, "Just one more minute!" But they told me my food was getting cold. I ran downstairs, shoveled down my food, then ran back up and finished it. This is an incredible book that I could realte to very well because I myself am an outcast. I could understand how Melinda felt. I told my cousin about this book and she dropped the other one to read Speak. I loved this book. It teaches kids about drinking and [...]. I highly recomend this book to teenagers.

Rating:
Summary: Speak
Review: Mel didn't want to tell what had really happened at that party, not even her recently ex-best friend. She called the cops and busted up the party, she went from having a group of people to having no one but the peppy new girl. Her grades were uncharacteristicly low and she didn't take care of herself. She would talk to very few people and art became her outlet. Her work showed pain, her suffering which she kept to herself. When she speaks about what did happen that night where everything went so good, so wrong, everyone thinks she is jealous. As a high school student, I realized that popularity has so much control over everyone that innocent people are ripped to shreds. This was one of those books where i stayed up till 2a.m. reading it, those are the best kind of books. I hope everyone that reads this will think about their actions towards others without knowing the whole story. Though it ends on a good note, you wish it would continue, but you know everything will be okay for Mel in the end.

Rating:
Summary: A Hit at Camp
Review: I sent this book to my 15 year old daughter at camp. She tells me everyone else in her bunk read it too. I wasn't sure whether she'd like it because of the rape, but there's a lot of empowering going on in the story. She says the other kids became interested in the book because she kept gasping and groaning and cheering. All agreed that it was an excellent book.