Rating:  Summary: Emotions run deep Review: The reason I love this book so much is because I can relate to so many of the things she does and why(crawling in bed and never wanting to leave, skipping school not because wants to be a rebel, she just needs to get away etc.). Words cannot express the feeling. But the end reminds me that every situation has hope and that it's never too late to fix something. I guess what I'm trying to say is the book is inspirering.
Rating:  Summary: Excellent book! Review: I highly recommend this novel! It addresses the issue of teen rape and the aftermath of such a tragedy. In the book the main character, Melinda, has has suppressed the memory of the previous summer and her rape at the hands of a popular upperclassman. She alienated all of her friends, and the rest of the school, by calling the police to the party where she was raped. As a result of her injuries, she experiences a sense of removal from what she is experience, sort of a disassociative disorder, and she finds it hard to speak. Her difficulties in the following school year are humorous, yet poignant. She finally becomes empowered through a cathartic art project and strikes back at her rapist, saving her self-esteem and endearing herself to others. Great book for teen girls, who might empathize, and teen boys, who need to know the other side of the issue.
Rating:  Summary: Whine-A-Thon Review: Sheesh! I think a book about a girl who was horribly date raped and took a year to get the nerve to talk about it could have been made exciting and dramatic. Instead we get this horribly self obsessed chick whining and moaning and carrying on about this and that and t'other for chapters. Bored me stiff. I guess I'm just a little tired of "spoiled teenage whining" books after adopted two children from China and seeing teenagers their age begging in the streets for food, but anyway.
Rating:  Summary: The Best Book! Review: There are a lot of social groups at Meriwether Highschool like the jocks, cheerleaders and Marthas and Melinda Sordino doesnt belong to any of those groups at Meriwether highschool. It is because she called the police at an end of summer party hosted by her ex-best friend Rachel Bruins. Melinda called the police because she was raped by a drunk senior named Andy Evans. One day a new girl named Heather moves and goes to Meriwether highschool. Heather becomes Melindas only friend. Then Heather joins the Marthas group(A group that does good deeds for the community) because she is tired of Melinda always having a bad attitude. That meant Melinda was back to having no friends. Finally one day at school, Melinda Sordino stands up to senior Andy Evans because he denied raping Melinda while being drunk at Rachels party. Then she becomes the most popular girl at Meriwether Highschool. I loved reading this book because it is a page turner and their was a lot of descriptive detail.
Rating:  Summary: Great summer book Review: Speak was a good book. You could feel the character's feelings. The detail and voice which this book possesed is great. The book is at times slower than what I like. Still, the plot was excellent. Most of the characters were great. The person I hated the most was Andy Evans. He brought a bad rep to guys. The fact that someone can go from a total invisible outcast with no friends into someone who gains a friend back is a good lesson for people to learn that it doesn't matter who you are you will still have a friend.
Rating:  Summary: It is a bigger issue than you think Review: It's the beginning of a new school year. Melinda is going into High School. Here you don't want to be caught wearing the wrong clothes or be in the wrong group. Too bad her school year started all wrong even before her school year began. She is not liked by most because she called the cops on the party. A lot of powerful people are arrested. She called not because of the party but because of something else. Too afraid of speaking out she keeps silent. When her friends life is in danger she must speak out no matter what will happen...This book is about the will-power of one and getting over the fact that something has happened to you. It is a very compling book. I will remember this book for years to come.
Rating:  Summary: The BEST!!!! Review: I LOVE this book!!! You can really relate to Melinda and how difficult it is to cope with her terrifying problems. I read this book 4 times, and each time I loved it even more!!! READ IT!!!
Rating:  Summary: Don't pass this book by! Review: "Speak" was an awesome book. I am 14 and am going to start high school soon. I read this book in 2 hours. I just could not put it down. The story starts out with a sort of confusing beginning. Melinda says she is unliked for calling the police at a party, but you keep wondering WHY she called the police, and why everybody hates her, and who IT is. You don't find out until the end of the story, but it's worth the wait. I reccommend this book to ALL teenagers. It's truly captivating.
Rating:  Summary: Insightful and darkly funny Review: Melinda is a freshman in high school, and she is an Outcast. Because of something that happened over the summer, none of her former friends are speaking to her, and people who don't even know her recognize her name with hatred. She narrates the book in first-person, delivered in little sections that can't even be termed chapters--that's part of what made this book go so fast. As we continue reading (the book is divided into four major sections, termed "Marking Periods", which have a report card at the end of each) we learn more about what happened over the summer. She called the police while she was at a party, and a lot of kids were arrested. The reason she called the police isn't given until the end of third marking period, when Melinda realizes that one of her (former) friends is in danger unless she has the courage to speak out. As the school year progresses, the book's tone gets darker and more frightening. Paralyzed by fear, Melinda slowly loses her ability to speak, and chews her lips to bloody pulps. Her few remaining human connections--her science lab partner, her art teacher--still accept her for who she is, but her busy parents are oblivious to the torment their daughter is experiencing. Even when she is disciplined for poor grades and cutting class, they don't know how to make her talk to them, and don't take the time to try to listen. The only way she manages to express herself is through her art project--to draw, paint, sculpt, a tree. As her emotions and character changes, so do her trees. Even though the subject matter of the book is very dark and frightening, I found the book overall to be full of humour. Melinda mocks the high school cliques, her parents, and herself, in the monologue running inside her head. And the end of the book manages to be uplifting, so that even as your tears are still on your cheeks, you smile and know Melinda will be okay. I am not a fan of the Oprah Book Club or After School Specials--I just don't enjoy stories about tormented women or the problems plaguing women and girls in today's society. I am not trying to criticize those stories, because I know they serve a very important purpose; I'm just saying that they're not usually my cup of tea. But _Speak_ took me by surprise. I was moved by this book, and I think it's one all women (and really all men, too) should read.
Rating:  Summary: WONDERFUL! Review: Ok im not the book reading type but once i picked up this book i couldnt stop! It usually takes me forever to read books but this one was just so good! It was sad, funny, and weird. This was a GREAT book and if i were you i would buy it. I hope the author makes MANY more books like this one because i will read them all!
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