YA Lit Week Four: Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson - 1999

Read for week four of Young Adult Lit course

Course Theme for the Week: Integrity: Making Moral Choices

Title: Speak

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Year: 1999

Publisher: Puffin

Date Read: 2-13-2011

Overall: * * * * * (5/5)

GoodReads Blurb: Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute...

My Review: I think this was the third time I've read Speak. The first time I read this book was in high school, and I was probably a freshman or sophomore. I remember instantly relating to Melinda, not because of the specific problems she faces, but because of how she handles them and how she curls up into herself. I felt like spending a day in her head would be eerily similar to spending a day in my own head.

This isn't exactly and easy book to read. It's harsh and depressing at times, but ultimately Melinda grows stronger by the end of the book and she finally lets the truth come out about her attack. Throughout the book I just wanted to have Melinda yell at somebody about what had happened, but she does know that she has to tell her former friend (Rachel, I think) when she begins to date the boy who hurt her.

In relation to this week's theme in the list course, integrity, I would say that Melinda had strong morals. She knew right from wrong, even though she couldn't admit what had happened to anyone. However, when a former friend gets involved, she knew she had to tell the truth because she didn't want her friend to get hurt the way that she did. It took a lot of strength for Melinda to break her silence, and her friend shunned her for it anyways. Although it works out in the end of the story, it was still hard for Melinda to do the right thing and try to protect someone who had ignored her all year.

I think this is a good book for high school students to read because it is honest and exposes that situations like those that Melinda face do happen to people all the time, and sometimes it is really hard for the victims of such violence to take a stand and let the truth out.

To Purchase: Amazon

Other Books By This Author: Wintergirls (2009), Twisted (2007), Catalyst (2002)

Currently Reading: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Books Read in 2011: 21

Bleed - Laurie Faria Stolarz - 2006

Title: Bleed

Author: Laurie Faria Stolarz

Year: 2006

Date Read: 1-26-2011

Overall: * * (2/5)

GoodReads Blurb: Over the course of a single summer day, ten teenagers in Salem, Massachusetts, will discover important truths about themselves and each other.

There is Nicole, whose decision to betray her best friend will shock everyone, most of all herself; Kelly, who meets the convicted felon she has been writing to for years; Maria, whose definition of a true friend is someone who will cut her. Then there is Sadie, a chubby eleven-year-old whose mother forces her to wear a “please don’t feed me” sign stapled to her shirt; while Joy, a fifteen-year-old waitress hoping for true intimacy narrowly escapes a very dark fate. Derik discovers that his usual good looks and charm won’t help him hold onto the girl he wants, while nineteen-year-old drifter, Mearl, is desperately looking for a place to call home. Sean is torn between his loyalty to his girlfriend and the possibility of finding something more with her friend, while Ginger’s single-minded pursuit to bring down her nemesis only proves that they may be more alike than she thought.

Seamlessly woven together, this incredibly powerful and compelling collection of stories chronicles the very real trials of today’s teen experience.

Plot: * * (...Was there one?)

Characters: * * (Undeveloped)

Style: * *

My Review: I really was not a fan of this book. I felt like there might be more than one chapter from each person's perspective. Instead, it was a bunch of short stories, that sort of intertwined, but didn't really. They weren't long enough to have any message or conclusion. Really, each of the character's was just a tidbit crazy, and they all kind of needed a reality check. I think if this book had a little more depth and a little more of a plot line and an end point, it could have been really interesting. I was curious about how each character would end up. Instead, their stories are just left off in the middle. I'm assuming Stolarz wanted to leave her readers with questions, but I really didn't gain a connection to any character with the exception of 11 year old Sadie. I would not recommend this book to others. I will stick with the Touch series though, because those books have good strong characters and plot lines.

To Buy: Amazon

Currently Reading:

For School: Forever by Judy Blume, Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

Other: XVI by Julia Karr

Book Read in 2011: 9