Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson
Date of Publication: October 22, 1999
Publisher: The Penguin Group
Summary
The book "Speak" started off talking about a person who was an outcast. The other students on the bus would not talk to them and ignored them. Nobody wanted to sit next to them on the bus except for a girl who was new called Heather who was from Ohio and later on became friends with them. This person had a bad first day of high school because of being ignored but also having their lunch splattered all over. The character talked a lot about the ex-friends such as Rachel and how they met each other nine years ago. Later on, this person was then revealed to be a girl called Melinda.
During Thanksgiving, Melinda’s parents failed to cook a turkey and ended up throwing it away. Melinda then went to gather the bones and brought it to school for art class and coincidentally her ex-friend Ivy was there. She only gave Melinda a few comments on her project. Melinda also always mentions seeing someone she calls “IT”. The “IT” she always referred to was a popular boy called Andy Evans. Every time Melinda sees him, she runs away as fast as she can. Afterwards, Heather decided that she shouldn’t be friends with Melinda anymore leaving Melinda in shock. Since Melinda’s parents did not hear Melinda talk much, they tried to talk to her teachers at school.
Melinda then talks about an incident at a party she went to causing her to call the police which ruined the party. Melinda and Ivy started talking more and decided that Andy Evans is not someone to be close to. Melinda warned Rachel about it and Andy finds out later. Afterwards, Andy went to find Melinda and he tried to attack her. She then grabbed some shattered glass and held it at his neck. After this incident, other people in the school started seeing Melinda as a hero and spread the story.
Quote
“I have to stay away from the closet, go to all my classes. I will make myself normal. Forget the rest of it” (Anderson 125)
Reaction
This quote made me think that Melinda is getting normal again. It seems as if she is gaining confidence in herself again. In the beginning of the story, Melinda said “My closet is a good thing, a quiet place that helps me hold thoughts inside my head where no one can hear them” (Anderson 51) Melinda used to close herself in and isolate herself from others. The quote above shows that Melinda has changed and is thinking differently. The author Laurie Halse Anderson did a really great job talking about a teen’s life and showing them change as time went by.
