Review – Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Square Fish
Release Date: May 10, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0312674397
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Swapped through Paperbackswap.com
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Speak up for yourself–we want to know what you have to say.” From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.”
I have had this book on my TBR pile for a very long time. Previous to reading this book I had read Anderson’s Wintergirls (which I loved) and The Impossible Knife of Memory (which was okay). This was an amazing read, I really enjoyed this and ended up reading it (almost) one sitting.
This story is told in small sections and portrays the day to day life of a high school girl, Melinda, who is friendless and outcast because of calling the cops at a end-of-party summer. No one knows the truth of why she called the cops; she was raped by an upperclassman and didn’t know what else to do. Since she was terrified and fled as the cops were arriving, only she (and the boy who raped her) know what really happened.
Miranda’s story is heartbreaking and gives incredible insight into how such a violent event affects everything in her life. She is so alone and falling deeply into depression. She doesn’t have support from anyone because no one knows the truth. The only light in her life is her unique art teacher and his art class. Watching Miranda slowly dig herself out of this deep hole and finally speak up for herself was amazing and is enough to give everyone hope.
This is a painful but completely engaging read. I just couldn’t put this book down, I was completely sucked into Miranda’s day to day life.
Overall this is an amazing read that everyone should read. It touches on a sensitive topic and is not a comfortable read. The writing style is addictive and completely draws you into the story; just an amazing book about something that should be discussed more.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
