Speak

by Laurie Halse Anderson

A fiercely authentic, critically acclaimed and award-winning modern classic.

'Speak up for yourself - we want to know what you have to say.'

From my first day at Merryweather High, I know this is a lie.

Nobody will even talk to me, let alone listen - all because I called the cops on an end-of-summer party.

But if I could only tell everyone why I called the police that night...

If I could explain what happened to me...

If I could speak...

Then everything might change.

'With the rise of women finding their voices and speaking out about sexual assault in the media, this should be on everyone's radar... Powerful, necessary, and essential.' - Kirkus

• ISBN10: 0340950773
• ISBN13: 9780340950777
• Publish Date: 20 March 2008 (first published 22 October 1999)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 4 April 2022
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
• Imprint: Hodder Children's Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[readingwithwrin]

“You have to know what you stand for, not just what you stand against.”

The first time I ever heard of Speak was from watching the movie. I've watched the movie a handful of times since then and it always gets to me, so when I finally picked up this book I knew kind of what to expect.
I've waited almost a year to write this review just so I can get my thoughts together so I'm sorry if I miss any details.
Speak is a novel that shows Melinda who is a survivor of rape and how her life has changed since it happened.
Melinda is a sarcastic character that is also really realistic with what happens in high school. She mentions the things that are lies, and the things that are actually true. I just really enjoyed her take on it and the friends she did make. I also loved seeing her starting to come back out of her shell and starting to be interested in things again with the help of a teacher.
This book is also full of very tough moments though. When the rapist is in the same area as Melinda we feel how tense she is and Anderson did such a good job of making me feel like I was right there with her. We also see Melinda's home life which isn't the greatest at the moment.

Overall I loved this book just as much as the movie and both are so so good. The movie includes a lot of the book which was so nice to see. The things that were changed made sense to me and really helped get the point of the story across more.
I now can't wait to read more of what Anderson writes.

[Bianca]

When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time.

[Jo]

Originally published on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I first heard about Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson a long time ago, but due to it's subject matter, I never picked it up. Back then, rape was a subject I tried to stay away from in my reading. But when Speak was challenged in 2010 I bought a copy in support (FYI, it was challenged yet again in 2013). Still, it has taken me until now to read it, mostly because of the subject matter, partly because I had so many other books. However, having read Easy by Tammara Webber in 2013 and Asking For It by Louise O'Neill just recently, I knew I was now capable of reading about rape. Though now I'm thinking it probably would have been better for me to have read it before.

Melinda called the police on a summer party she was attending in August. Now she's starting her first year of high school and no-one wants to know her. Her friends have turned their back on her, and she's a social outcast. But no-one knows why she really called the cops, no-one knows what happened, and the more time goes on, the more she retreats from the world. Her grades are falling, she bunks classes, and she finds it harder and harder to speak. Because what happened to Melinda that night, at that party, is unimaginable, unthinkable, unspeakable.

Speak was first published in 1999, when I was 12, and apart from the odd Judy Blume novel, I didn't really read YA until I was at uni for one of my modules. However, I think Speak would have been best suited for me back then, despite steering clear from books featuring rape for a really long time. Speak is very much of its time, and times have moved on. I don't really like comparing books, but I think it's necessary here; Speak doesn't come close to books like Easy and Asking For It. Although Speak doesn't hide from the truth, it's not as in your face as books being released today. If you don't know what the book is about before you read it, you don't really know what happened until over half way through, there are only hints beforehand. Melinda is keeping quiet, trying to forget, and make it through each day.

If Speak wasn't about Melinda's rape, I know it would be a completely different story, I know that. I know what happened to Melinda affects her throughout the story. But I found it very hard to sympathise with Melinda. This isn't because I didn't like her; I didn't feel much of anything about her. I just didn't really care about her as a person. And with all the time she's not speaking, well, not a huge amount happens, really. The school year goes on, she plods through each day... nothing major happens until it does, quite a way into the book. I just wasn't really engaged in this story, I'm really sad to say. I just wasn't affected by this story, and that really troubles me - because it's about a girl who's been raped, I should be affected.

Part of me thinks that maybe I'm just too old for this book, or it's because it doesn't come close to the novels we publish today in regards to just how candid they are from the get-go. None of this means it was a bad story, though, it just didn't do it for me. Melinda had her moments of being a little amusing, and from Anderson's poem Listen, it's quite obvious that so many people loved, were deeply affected and helped by Speak. I'd say Speak is a great story to introduce younger teens to the subject of rape in fiction, but I personally much prefer the books we're seeing today.

N.B. You might be interested to know that words such as "retarded" and "spaz" are used in Speak. I don't think such words were as looked down on back when this was published as they are now, but they did make me wince to read them.

[thebookdisciple]

Haunting. I couldn't put it down.

[Leah]

After my non-starter earlier today, I was desperate to read something fairly quick so I could start something brand new tomorrow. Speak is a book I've heard a lot about, but personally I just didn't feel it. All the right emotions were there, and it definitely sent out a powerful message, but bar that, I just wasn't feeling it. The way in which the book is written is a big part of that, because although it was well-written, it was very distant, very vague. It is definitely, however, a book worth your time!

[wyvernfriend]

So, Melinda Sordino called the cops on a party during the summer and now she's an outcast in her school. She's not dealing well with her year and it's showing but many people, including her parents aren't seeing that it's a real problem, they can only see the top layer.

As the story unfolds we find out what's wrong, we see how she's shamed by her school mates and ostracised by everyone, they blame her for what has happened. The story has been spoilered by a man who wants it banned for soft port because of the rape scene which lasts half a page and is disjointed, upsetting and brutal. As it should be.

And you think that this couldn't happen and you read about the poor girl in Texas on the cheerleading squad who was thrown off the squad because she wouldn't cheer her rapist. (go google it)

It's not an old story, it's not a new story, it's a story that has been told too often and shouldn't be told again, it would be wonderful if we lived in a world where this was unusual, where we could look back in horror at a time that was and a "norm" that was so abnormal, but we can't. This book needs to stay read, needs to stay in the hands of teenagers who need to hear it's eventual message of hope.

It's a compelling, heart-wrenching story and it's really worth looking for and reading.

[zarahoffman]

Melinda Sordino enters high school as a social pariah and is ostracized by her peers who don't know her dark secret– they only know the she called the police to a summer party.
Now Melinda is silent, unable to speak. This story is about her road to confession.
Characters
Melinda Sordino is the protagonist whom the reader joins on her journey to gaining the courage to speak again. While she is a selective mute, she finds a way to express herself through Mr. Freeman's art class and turns a secret janitor's closet into a shrine to art and a home away from home.
Mr. Freeman is Melinda's art teacher and the only person she thinks she may be able to talk to. He's a little kooky, but kind and understanding.
David Petrakis is perhaps Melinda's closest thing to a friend. He's her partner in Biology and tries to get her to stand up for herself.
Rachel is Melinda's ex best friend who dumped her after Melinda called the cops to the party. She, like everyone else, doesn't know Melinda's secret.
Story
Starting on her first day of high school, Melinda feels sick to her stomach. She knows she'll run into everyone at the summer party and will have to keep her head down.
Alone and depressed, Melinda starts skipping classes and only really enjoys art and hiding out in her janitor's closet.
Her grades start to slip, enraging her parents who don't understand why their star student daughter is suddenly getting C's and D's.
Style
Written as vignettes, the story only emphasizes certain events (sometimes with large gaps in between) which can make it feel like a choppy read, but the visceral imagery make the reader suffer with Melinda and root for her empowerment.
Other Notes
I would not read this without asking someone to talk to. When I read it the summer between 4th and 5th grade, I had nightmares, so I suggest having a reading buddy, a parent, or other adult be there for you in case you need help coping with this tough story.
There is also a good movie version starring Kristen Stewart (before Twilight) as Melinda Sordino.