Laurie Halse Anderson - Speak

Pros: Good character development, important subject
Cons: Doesn't tie up all loose ends

Laurie Halse Anderson’s first novel portrays the Darwinian-Like society that high-schoolers consciously or sub-consciously always seem to create. The main character, Melinda, is an abomination amongst her peers and loathes school and all of ...

Pros: Beautifully written
Cons: Short

I don't remember how I stumbled across Speak, but I did, and I'm very glad of it. I think I may have first become interested in it because the author's (Laurie Halse Anderson's) name is very similar to mine (Laura Anderson). Now that you ...

Pros: Insightful look into high school society, a quick and interesting read
Cons: Ending leaves some things to the imagination--is that good or bad?

Melinda Sordino is starting high school, but it's not the happy, exciting event that it's supposed to be. Instead of being with the group of friends she had in eighth grade, Melinda finds herself alone and friendless in the auditorium for freshman...

Pros: Clever, intelligent narrator; deals with a crime all too many teenagers must face.
Cons: Heavy-handed symbolism, overuse of stereotypes, ending lets you down.

Please Note: In order to adequately review this book, I’ve had to include a few spoilers.

Thirteen year old Melinda Sordino is starting high school as a social pariah. The summer before her freshman year, she called the police at a...

Pros: Showed the ugly side of high school.
Cons: Showed the ugly side of high school.

Sometimes when things are going bad, you just want to curl up in a ball and forget about the rest of the world. Sometimes things go so bad that you can't even find your voice any more. That is what Melinda Sordino is going through. Something happened ...

Pros: wonderful character details
Cons: rape theme may be too much for younger teens

I can clearly remember my sophomore year in high school being one of indecision and a yearning to be accepted by the group. Many students worry about these things especially in this grade and since my niece will be entering high school in the next few ...

Pros: Character growth, deep and real. Funny and heart-wrenching.
Cons: Somewhat hanging ending. But really, nothing.

I am in High School. I did not read this book because it was required of me as an assignment- I read it because I saw part of the movie. Kristen Stewart is a favorite actress of mine (And no, not because she is playing Bella in Twilight. I am not a huge ...

Pros: Excellent characterization, humor
Cons: Not as conclusive as it could be.

Starting high school is scary for most teens. For Melinda Sordino, it is terrifying. None of her old friends will talk to her, and people she doesn't know whisper behind her back. That summer, she called the cops on a party, and has been shunned by ...

Pros: Brilliantly written narration of the mind of a teenager.
Cons: Vague Ending

Melinda (the main character) and I both agree that school is an unusual thing. For one, I have to read a novel of some sort in science class every day. I always thought that we could be efficient and use that time for something like test tubes or Bunsen ...

Pros: The story is important and engrossing; the characters seem very real.
Cons: None for the recommended age group, which is 13 and up.

Speak was first published in 1999. And it's still quite relevant, to teenagers and their parents. Because the kids who were three or four when the book came out are now teenagers, there are parents of teenagers just figuring out ...

Pros: Interesting writing style, realistic characters, good message.
Cons: Sometimes confusing and a few unrealistic parts.

Imagine going into high school with no friends, no support, and no hope. Melinda feels this way; last summer she broke up a drinking party.
Speak is about an outcast girl with a secret-she was raped last summer at a party. Frightened, she had...

Pros: A wonderful character that you would love to hang out with
Cons: Too much private references

Melinda Sordino starts high school with the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude, and with no friends. Everybody hates her because she busted a high school party. She is the outcast. As she goes through the year, she self-imposes silence and eventually...

Pros: Melinda's tale should be told to everyone.
Cons: A book that changed my life but still and will forever scare me to death.

While there are other books out there I've never read one as much as I have read Speak. Its a heart-breaking book. About Melinda she's a freshman at Merry weather High home of the god knows what? She was raped at a party towards the end of the summer ...

Pros: Great plot, Anderson made me feel like I was part of Merryweather High School.
Cons: The ending left me hanging, I wanted to know more.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, is the story of Melinda Sordino's freshmen year of high school. She starts school with having absolutely no friends because everyone hates her. Melinda called the cops at the end of the summer drinking party, everyone ...

Pros: Helps those girls who need a friend
Cons: the truth hurts...

Written by Laurie Halse Anderson, SPEAK has been honored with/as:
1. 2000 Printz Honor Book
2. 1999 National Book Award Finalist
3. An Edgar Allan Poe Book Award Finalist
4. Winner of the Golden Kite Award
5. ALA Top Ten Best...