Speak

Rating:
Summary: I LOVED IT!!!!!
Review: This book was FABULOUS! It is DEFINANTLY, for teens or adults! I finished it in a hour (litteraly)!!! Then i've had it passed around my school becuase everyone wants to read it, and I havent had it in MY possesion for a month now, bcuase people love it SO much!

I hope you LOVE it too!

Rating:
Summary: I'm Speaking Up About a Good Book!!!
Review: With no friends, Melinda Sordino, enters high school as a tattle-tale who's in no social group. No one gives her the time of day, after she ratted out a party that had beer at it during the summer. Finding comfort in a janitor's closet is where she keeps in a secret that is eating her alive. She ignores her family and skips classes to avoid students. Will she find friends? Will she break down and tell her secret? You'll just have to read and find out!!!

I really enjoyed this great novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson. The plot was carefully planned out, and the main character is very hard to understand, which keeps you guessing. This book would be greatly enjoyed by young teenage girls.
There was nothing about this book that I didn't like. Every part of this story kept me guessing on what would happen next. Anyone who enjoys books that have a little suspense and humor would surely enjoy this well written novel. So stop by your library and check out this great book.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but not for everyone
Review: This book is primarily a psychological profile, NOT an action book. If you can identify with the narrator's situation and feelings, you will like, maybe even love the book. I will agree with those that say the story is a downer and supporting characters are totally underdeveloped, but it is an easy read and
a healing/helpful piece of work for the rape victims or those individuals whom have had other crisis in their life. Besides, you can read it in a day.

Rating:
Summary: and they all lived happily ever after......
Review: I am not going to say that this was a bad book, because it wasn't. I thought, up until the end, it was very well written. The book was very suspenseful and had some realistic situations. I could see some of myself in Melinda. What I don't get is why it had to end so badly. I mean so she so unpopular and then.....she got popular? Things just don't happen that quickly. What makes a really good story is the ending. If a story is good then the author rushes through the end, then it makes me wonder why I thought it was so good. I was very disappointed with the author when she had Melinda tell her art teacher in the end. If she wouldn't tell anyone about it before, why would she tell her art teacher? It was her fault she was so unpopular in the first place, she secluded herself to much. I just think the ending should have been better.

Rating:
Summary: High school-Misunderstood
Review: The book "Speak" is about a misunderstood girl who is a loner in high school. She spent her summer without any contact with her friends which caused them to grow apart. In high school she has no friends because, besides the fact that she didnt keep in contact, she ruined a summer party and called the cops. Then Heather comes along who befriends Melida (The girl). She tries the whole year to keep her cool and she makes her own private spot in the janitor's closet, just as a place to get away when school's becoming rough. It's mainly about how she struggles through her freshman year, then towards the end of the year, she makes friends and people start to like her again.
The things that I liked most about the book were that she was very good at expressing herself in art. Like her art had a lot of meaning to then, they weren't just globs of paint, they had a purpose. Another thing I like about the book was that the writer really knows how to relate to a high school loner.
What I disliked was that the girl only had one friend, and at times she would push her friend away to. That to me is very dumb, I mean the girl is nice to you, talks to you, is your ONLY friend and your pushing her away? thats just stupid to me.
My favorite part of the book is when she is shooting the hoops in gym, and makes every one of them. The coach is really getting happy now and she is feeling warm inside as well. At that point she finds her strenghts in high school, that's really a big accomplishment.

Rating:
Summary: speak
Review: I love this book Speak, it has such a meaning to it like don't be afraid to meet new people, don't go to parties if you are going to cause drama or any type problems at a party like Malinda did.
I can relate to her in some ways like afraid o meet new people, feeling insecure about yourself, and just not wanting to put yourself out there. Andersons book is Inspirational. Her book is definitely on my top ten - list. I would recommend it to anyone who is afraid to make new friends or anyone who likes to go to parties and is in for a surprise in the book Speak. It is a great book and I am exited to read Andersons next book.

Rating:
Summary: Read, But With Caution
Review: This book was fantastically written. It was passed around my seventh grade class, and I can honestly say I was gripped until the last page. Anderson tells the story of a freshman in highschool who has emotional problems following a party she and a friend attended the previous summer. She is shunned at school, and her parents don't understand what is happening to her. She experiments with cutting herself and contemplates ways out. She stops speaking.
My only qualm with this book was that it stuck a nerve. It was a bit too close to home, and it affected me very deeply at the time I read it because I was going through something similar. I almost passed it on, but a friend pressured me to finish it. I did, but it was probably not the right thing to do at the time.
To those who have been sexually abused, get help. It's not wrong to speak up, and it is NOT YOUR FAULT, regardless of what the abuser would have you think. PLEASE TALK TO SOMEONE. Be very, very careful with what you read, and don't read something if your gut tells you not to (even if a friend suggests you do). Come to terms with the world before you pick this up. I wish you luck.
To those who have been shunned, or are being shunned, don't read this. Yet. Someday, come back and visit this. But give yourself time. You don't need this now. GO TALK TO SOMEONE. It's the single best thing you can do for yourself. I wish you luck.
This book brings people to their knees. Be careful when you read it. By all means, do read it at some point, just think on it before you order it.

Rating:
Summary: Just Stand Up and Speak
Review: From her first day at Merryweather High, Melinda has been the school-wide outcast. Like ninth grade is not hard enough already! She hasn't a friend in the world after she busted the end of the summer party by calling the cops. Everyone was drinking and "having fun." Well not from Melinda's side of the story. It is at that very party that something happened to her that changed her life. Now even thinking about that August day makes her stomach turn. She really needs someone to talk to-like maybe one of her old friends. There is Nicole the insane jock girl, Ivy the suffering artist, and above all there is Rachel. Rachel was Melinda's best friend. They did everything together. They took swimming lessons, they painted each others toe nails, they even knew each other's deepest darkest secrets but not even Rachel knew what had happened to Melinda, despite the fact that she was at the very same party. Never the less, they are all useless now because not any of them will talk to her. Everyone knows her as the girl who busted the party- if they only knew her side of the story, then things would be very, very different.

That's exactly how you hear the story, from Melinda's point of view. I think that this is very important because this way you can see all of the things that she sees, you can hear all of the things she hears, and you can feel her pain. Since no one will talk to her, Melinda retreats into her head where she is safe and alone. She never realized that by doing so, she has become more mute to her surroundings then ever before. It is not so comfortable inside her head, either-there is something banging around in there that she does not want to think about. IT haunts her everywhere she goes, IT is around every corner waiting to strike again. Even though she tries to avoid it, it will not go away. Even with this pain inside, she still refuses to speak to anyone about what happened. No one must ever know, ever. So she continues on with her gloomy life, until she can't avoid IT any longer after there is a painful confrontation. Once that happens-she can't be silent. She must speak the truth.

I feel that the overall theme of this story is that even when something bad happens you must not keep it inside! Although I
know that it is hard to speak up for yourself, keeping your mouth shut is worse.

I really enjoyed this book because of a lot of reasons. This book is one of Laurie Halse Anderson's finest as you can see. It represents life for a teenager so clearly that you laugh when you hear about something humorous, you gasp at times of suspense, your fingers tingle with anticipation to keep turning the pages, and at some points, you might honestly shed a tear or two because the entire time, you know what it feels like. You understand Melinda's pain, you have been there before. It is so true and honest and clear. Along with that, it is an overall great story with a powerful ending that teaches a lesson to not just teens, but adults as well. It is a very strong read. It definitely has some controversial things in it that I would not recommend to children. This is definitely one for young adults. Though it has some rough parts, it is an amazing story that will stay with you forever.

Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: Speak was about a girl name Melinda Sordino, a freshmen at Merry Weather High School, who goes through many problems in life. At the beginning of the book Melinda goes to school with no friends. All of her old friends do not like her anymore. During the summer Melinda called the police when she was at a party. All of her friends got mad because a bunch of people got in trouble for the party. Melinda has to cope with not having friends, her parents fighting all the time, and the fact that she was raped by a boy named Andy Evans. She finds comfort in art class. Mostly because Mr.Freeman, her art teacher, will listen to her. Melinda fixed up an old janitor's closet that she stayed in to get away from everything at school. It felt more like home then her own house. Andy Evans tired to rape her again in that closet. She fought him off and he got in trouble. At the end of the book Melinda opens up and starts to talk to people about her issues. She tells Mr.Freeman what has went on and he listens.

Rating:
Summary: 'No' Means 'No'
Review: Not only was I able to read 'Speak' in one day, but I found it to be very liberating. I am a victim of rape...was a victim of rape...when I was 18...some 15 years ago. The silence will surely kill you on the inside in a way that the physical act could never do. Rape takes away a very important part of you..in my case and 'Melinda's', it robbed us of our virginity. The saddest part is that for a 13 year-old girl, the concept of the first kiss is still at arms length, let alone a physical relationship. I commend the author for sharing this story in a format that can bring inspiration and education to teens as well as adults.