Speak

Rating:
Summary: IT CAN HELP
Review: this book can help girls that are going through things like mel does in this book. It may just be a book but it gives you courage to be your self and to stand up for your self. In fact it, and other books like it have inspired me to write a book, look for it soon thank you

ELISA

Rating:
Summary: yup- it kicked
Review: This is porbably one of the best books I have ever read in my life. It was so realistic and you can really relate with some of the things she writes about, like the "clans" at school. You know- like the goths, thespians, cheerleaders, marthas, plain janes, ect. ect. ect. This book talks about what goes on in a lot of our teenager minds but we don't talk about. It's deep but sarcastically funny in a dark way. I also apprieciated the fact that it was written in an original way- like a diary almost. So now that you've read all the other reviews telling the story, I'm telling you it's good. (Yep, stayed over at a friend's house and read till 2 am. Couldn't put it down.)

Rating:
Summary: Victim Empowered by the Author
Review: This is a stunning work, if only for its important voice and not also for its deft handling of a disturbing issue. A few pages of reading reveals that the main character is a victim, but what is so great about this book is that Melinda is not just a victim. She's smart, funny, thoughtful, and even -- especially -- strong. All teenage boys and girls should read this, to get a better understanding of sexual assault and to get to know a character to whom they can surely relate.

Rating:
Summary: Speak
Review: Speak is written by Laurie Halse Anderson. In short, it is about a depressed girl who bottles up her thoughts.

Melinda Sordino enters the ninth grade with no friends. At a high school party over the summer, she is dillusional and calls the cops, busting everyone there. Only she and HIM, Andy Evans, know the truth. Because of this great misunderstanding, Melinda is labeled an outcast. Throughout the book, she thinks to herself and keeps her thoughts to herself. But she realizes that you can't do that, or else it will haunt you from inside.

Aside from the point, this book does a pretty good job of describing a realistic high-school situation. Melinda's take on life is both depressing and mildly humorous. It is a little mature, so I'd reccommend it to teens and mature preteens.

Rating:
Summary: I liked this book...
Review: This book I thought was very good. I liked the way it was written. Sort of a mental diary. New clues coming along though the book. I would recommend it but not to younger kids.

Rating:
Summary: amazing and breath taking
Review: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is an amazing and breath taking novel. Speak takes you to the inside of an American high school and shows you that one little mistake can ruin your life. Anybody who has been through high school can relate to this book, the bullying, the name calling and the fights. Speak will keep you wanting more from the first word to the last.

Rating:
Summary: Speak- You cant keep quiet about this book!
Review: This is such an great book. As a senior in High School, i could relate to what she was saying in the book. We have all been though her stuggles and we have been though the hardships of high school. This is a book for any gender, becuase it will speak to everyone. Once you read this book, you wont forget it!

Rating:
Summary: i loved this book
Review: I think this book was fabulous. I couldn't put it down. I liked how she totally ditched heather. i want to read more books this good. -a 12 year old girl

Rating:
Summary: 9th Grader who loved this book!
Review: I really enjoyed "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson! I am in 9th grade and I chose this book for a report not really knowing what it was about. The reading was a little easy for me. I could really relate because I am in 9th grade and so is the main character. She describes her first year in high school and the author was so accurate about what high school is really about! I recommend this book to middle school students so you can get a feel of high school and I really learned a lot about this book and I really got to feel what Melinda, the main character, was going through!

Rating:
Summary: A Tormented, Realistic Portrayal of a High School Outcast
Review: At first glance, Melinda Sordino is a high school outcast, ostracized for calling the cops on an out of control party the summer before her freshman year. In cynical, depressed first person prose, Laurie Halse Anderson portrays a young girl who suddenly finds herself without friends and constantly hearing whispers behind her back. Her response is to withdraw into herself and speak as little as possible. No one knows why Melinda called the police at the party, and she doesn't tell the reader why until the last third of the book, but it is apparent that she experienced a traumatic event. Through her semi-friendship with a social-climbing new girl, and her admiration for a boy who sticks up for his beliefs, Melinda continues to become more withdrawn, her feelings only coming out in her work for her art class, the only place she feels comfortable. It is only when her former best friend starts to date a popular senior that we find out the truth, that the same senior raped Melinda at the party. It is with this development that Melinda starts coming out of her silence, and begins a slow fight back. Anderson's skilled prose gives Melinda a soul. We feel her pain and loneliness, but we do not pity her. Her voice is one of fear and confusion, but also of strength and humor. Despite the serious nature of the novel, there is humor in Melinda's voice. From descriptions of the various cliques and the incompetence of some of Melinda's teachers to her report card, on which she grades herself not only on math, gym and spanish, but also on clothes and attitude, we see school through the eyes of someone who is not a cheerleader, and it's funny. At the same time, we understand her torment, her alienation and her inability to speak about the rape. When she decides to begin to speak about her experience, we applaud her, and feel as though we have made an important journey from fear and silence to strength. Through her strong character, Anderson gives a voice to all rape victims. Melinda shows us how the elusive journey through silence, alienation and fear to fortitude and recognition of power can be made without losing a sense of humor or recognition of herself as a person.