"Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Anderson,
Laurie Halse. (1999). Speak. New York, NY: Square Fish. ISBN: 978-0-312-67439-7
On the outside, this book is about
the trivial things a teenager goes through. On the inside, it is like watching
a slow-motion car wreck from inside the car. The narrator gives us the
perception of living through a rape attempt and the various parts of life that
disintegrate after. Melinda seems like a normally troubled teenager, albeit a little
more anxious than her peers, starting high school. As it turns out, she is far
more troubled than the reader thinks because a senior attempted to rape her at
a summer party. This caused her to spiral into a very lonely, dark place and
nobody looked close enough at her to notice the change.
Melinda is such a neutrally
likable protagonist that its easy to imagine her being a friend, classmate,
student or sister. She is shy and reserved and nobody really knows her.
From a teacher’s perspective, this
book broke my heart. It made me wonder how many students I have that nobody is
looking closely enough at to notice such change. Melinda reminded me of a single
person in particular and made me wonder how many signs I have missed in other
kids. This is definitely a good book to read in our current climate. Often,
people are so busy with their own lives that they forget to check on those
around them. Much like Thirteen Reasons
Why, Speak can serve as a lesson in
compassion, karma and dogma to any who read it.
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