Speak

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the narrator's authentic voice and felt she was very believable. I do have to admit that I actually enjoyed the movie ending better, but as a whole I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy YA fiction.

I really enjoyed this book. It really got me thinking. My English teacher and rowing coach (yeah) recommended this book so I had to read it. I felt it taught well that people act a way for a reason and you cannot just go and think "they're rude and I am never speaking to them again." The plot was really good and *small spoiler* I loved how in the end, Melinda's parents kind of get better as well as Melinda.

A humorous read that take on a painful subject and shows the strength and grit of teens. Does not "candy coat" an incredibly sensitive subject. Teens should read this so they may be better able to deal with pain in their lives.

I was surprised by how good this book was considering the heaviness of the subject matter. You sense unequivocally Melinda Sordino's shame and hatred and most of all, disconnect with the world around her. Melinda's feelings are murky, and yet strong. She knows she is hurt, and yet, she is not sure she wants to live. She describes things with no attachment or sentiment, as if she does not want to be involved with life ever again. She may not be speaking, but Melinda is always thinking, and her observations are both clever and witty. She will need help, but at least at the end, she wants to heal. I love that this book was not maudlin. It wasn't preachy. It wasn't full of wrath or dogmatic. This was purely Melinda's story, and how she coped with a terrible thing. It might sound strange, but I found this book intensely interesting, and I even enjoyed reading it, because I wanted to know what happened next. A very powerful book.

I had very high expectations for this book because of previous reviews. I thought this book dragged on; it takes too long to find out why the main character is not speaking. I skipped a lot of pages to get to the end faster...

Lynn

In perfect condition!!!! Love this book so much, definitely would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read. I've order many books online that say new and I get it with pages folded or with writing in them, so thank you seller for being honest and sending me a perfect book :)

I read it straight through to the end without stopping. As a survivor of sexual violence Melinda's story resonated with me deeply. As an advocate, this is a good place to start the conversation about sexual violence, consent, respect, and self care.

Amazing. The main character is beautifully written and the setting is realistically written. This is by far the best book I've ever read. I think everyone should read this book because no matter who you are or how old you are, you can learn from Speak, from Melinda.

This book may well be classified and a "young adult" or "teen", but it is in fact for everybody who cares about their child. Abuse and the child victim's inability of SPEAK of it - some of have been there. I think this is a very important book.

I feel this book is extremely important for teens and adults to read. It glimpses into the horrible world of a young girl's trauma. It shows us her life. Her struggle. And the common reaction, which helps people understand what they can do and how they can help. It shows how disrespectful other people can be to each other, as well as how beautiful they can be to each other. Great book. Finished it within an hour or two. Maybe less.

This book is on the required reading list for high school freshman. This book deals with a tough subject but seems to be very relative to what is going on in our society. As a parent I feel that this book should be read first as a family and discussed prior to the student reading it as part of a class.

Although difficult to take at times, this is a remarkably poignant tale that needs to be read by every female. Yes, there are some who are too young to understand, too innocent to know what has taken place (thankfully), but the younger we begin to educate children to the dangers of rape, whether by someone familiar or a stranger, the more apt they are to avoid the experience. This is a well-written account of a girl in her teens who is raped at a party she attends with her best friend. It goes beyond the incident itself and into the aftermath when she becomes an outcast. So many girls and women face this dilemma - to remain silent or to speak up. The young girl in this book has the same decision to make.

Laurie Halse Anderson writes from the first-person perspective about a subject that most people don't want to talk about. She lays it open like a fresh wound and doesn't back off. It's hard-hitting and gritty, devastating at times, but ultimately hopeful and healing. I highly recommend this book to anyone: mothers of daughters, young teens, and those who have experienced this type of degradation firsthand, that they may find a way to speak.Speak: 10th Anniversary Edition

This book was recommended to be from several of my closest friends. Having taught high school, it intrigued me to read about school from the student perspective. As you learn quickly, Melinda is damaged, however you must continue to read to find out from what, or whom. I could not put this book down! It is incredibly empowering and simply stunning story of a young woman who has been through too much.

Usually I'm a very adequate writer and can express myself and thoughts very clearly - but this book, it leaves me speechless. I have so much to say but just can't even seem to come close to fabricating a sentence or even an essay that would do this book justice. An a amazing book with the sarcastic humor and wit of our generation but also a very relatable and moving story that portrays the reality of high school or young man/woman's life in general. Overall, a fantastic story that now takes a spot with my favorite books.

In her book, Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson introduces a girl who is entering high school with the weight of a secret on her shoulders. Melinda Sordino was a B student with plenty of friends until rape stole everything from her. Not only does Melinda have to deal with this traumatic experience, she immediately black listed at her new high school because everyone knows that she is the one who called the cops at the party, what they do not know is why she called. Melinda floats through her classes unable to remove the blinders from her eyes or plugs from her ears long enough to listen to what her teachers tell her to do or complete an assignment on time.
Anderson's style of chunked writing emits more emotion between the lines that can even be expressed through words. The often used phrase "Me: " demonstrates the inability of the character to put a voice to her emotions. Anderson adds to Melinda's struggle by including external triggers to her emotional retreat, including her parents absence in the home and their constant fighting which gives her less reason to tell them why she has withdrawn from her former self, begins to gain weight, fail in her classes, and lose her friends. Not only does Melinda retreat emotionally but she also finds and old janitor's closet to retreat to physically when she is unable to deal with her surroundings.
Anderson organizes the books around the four quarters in Melinda's school year as she travels the road of grief and acceptance while also having to deal with her rapist being around every corner and even taunting her at times. In a complimentary role, Anderson includes the art project that Melinda has been assigned to work on for the entire year, that of creating or drawing a tree. As Melinda struggles to sleep and with the memories of her rape her tree also struggles to appear real or alive. It is not until Melinda shares her experience with Rachel that her grief can become alive in the form of her art project tree.
The book is a quick read that easily turned the pages of the developing story. Although it was easily readable it broached a severe case of rape, rejection and alienation that many young people face on differing levels of severity. For this reason the books should be read by all young adults. It is important for a book like this to exist in every generation so that it's audience of abused, neglected and alienated teenagers, or even the one's doing to the abuse, neglect or alienation can begin to realize it's affect and change their behavior. This books discusses the use of symbolism and reading further into a text than what the author has explicitly given the reader and reaching for a deeper meaning, while Rachel is rebelling against this process, Anderson is demonstrating in her writing the absolute necessity of being able to read between the lines and read the symbolism given in a book like Speak, or The Scarlet Letter.

I enjoyed reading "Speak" and highly recommend the book to high schoolers. It was assigned as a reading assignment for you young adult lit class and I can see why it was. The character, Melinda has something to say. Will you listen?

Speak by Laurie H. Anderson touched me at once with the author`s sincere and honest writing about the never ending story on sexual harassment. This multi -faceted book should, in my opinion, be obligatory reading for boys and girls from the age of 11, perhaps?:-)because it will enlighten their concept of the world we are living in, which I find very stereotyped and still filled with lots of taboos. So women all over the world:Make yourself heard and don`t let anyone bully you.

Thank you Laurie H. Anderson for your enlightment that made me reconsider my childhoood and todays society.

Yours sincerely
A girl from Norway

This is a very powerful book to teach adolescent girls and boys about consensual sex and the shame that rape victims feel after their attack. The main character begins the book as a depressed, moody teenager who we later find out was raped at a party by a classmate in eighth grade. Her fellow classmates' misconceptions of the events of that night causes them to lash out at her, ignore her, and otherwise make her life miserable. It is painful to watch such a young girl deal with such a terrible situation, but by the end of the novel, she finds her voice and is able to confront and expose her attacker. I was first exposed to this book in a young adult literature class, but I wish that I had read this book in high school. The main character's feelings of loneliness are familiar to all teens, whether they are rape victims or not.

Think about young adolescents. Think about your own experiences. Then think about being silenced because of just one experience.

This is a story that demonstrates the silence on the outside and the loud, tumultuous rage on the inside.

I couldn't put the book down.

Adults, adolescents and anyone who deals with adolescents will definitely gain insight from reading this book. As adults we sometimes forget how stressful it is to be an adolescent even in the best of situations.

I had wanted to read this all through highschool and never did, the book was always "checked out" so I bought it finally.. I love this book and will read it again I'm sure.. It's just the story of highschool and what I'm sure most girls go through at some point in your highschool life... Cliques,parents,teachers,parties, it's all in this book but it's so good... Check it out!

A little too controversial for my school board to approve, but nonetheless, as a 9th grade English teacher I have recommended this to all my students - male and female. This should be required reading for every high school teacher as well. We don't always remember what's actually going on in the lives of our students.

I would reccommend these sellers. They were quick about getting books out. the books were all in shape described. very very satisfied with their service and look for them in the future for other purchases.

Great story. Heart wrenching and devastating what the main character had gone through and so young. Her parents made me so mad but she survived and came out stronger. I loved all the different paths Melinda takes throughout the book to work through her situation. Wonderfully written, I will be looking for this author's other novels.

This book really is an extremely well written won. It shows how a young girl moves on from a very traumatic event. This book shows the inner working of a young girl who fighting a with herself. In all I recommend this book to any person (boy or girl) of any age, who wants to read a book that has a strong message that really speaks to the reader.