Speak
				Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2001. SPEAK. New York: Puffin Books. ISBN: 014131088X
					Like every high school, students in Merryweather High naturally drift into their own clan…unless the student is an outcast like Melinda Sordino. Though she ended the previous school year with friends, Melinda was automatically ousted when she busted an end-of-summer party. What nobody knows is the reason why she called the cops, the reason why she tries to avoid thinking and feeling---"Mr. Freeman thinks I need to find my feelings. How can I not find them? They are chewing me alive like an infestation of thoughts, shame, mistakes" (page 125)---and the reason she eventually has to speak the truth.
		Told in first person, SPEAK captures the raw emotion and feelings that one lonely teenage girl keeps bottled inside. Melinda now views her school and the people in her school, including her ex-friends who abandoned her after the incident, threw the eyes of an outsider. Everything is described exactly how she sees it; for example, instead of referring to teachers by name, Melinda refers to them by appearance, such as “Mr. Neck” and “Hairwoman.” Though the overall subject matter is intense, the voice Melinda uses is often laced with dry, honest, and occasionally dark humor.      “In a stunning first novel, [Laurie Halse] Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager” (Publishers Weekly review). Though the reason for Melinda’s distress is not revealed until later in the story, Anderson uses foreshadowing to help readers solve the puzzle. “Our frog lies on her back. David spreads her froggy legs and pins her froggy feet. She doesn’t say a word. She’s already dead. A scream starts in my gut – I can feel the cut, smell the dirt, leaves in my hair” (page 81). The emotions that are mixed in with the descriptions allow the reader to see the scene unfolding, to hear the desperation in Melinda’s voice, and to want to encourage Melinda to speak the truth.      SPEAK captures the attention of readers from the very first line, “It is my first morning of high school. I have seven new notebooks, a skirt I hate, and a stomachache.” And holds tightly the attention until the very last page. “This is a compelling book, with sharp, crisp writing that draws readers in, engulfing them in the story” (School Library Journal review). Sherman, Dina. 1999. School Library Journal. New York: Reed Information Business, Inc. Review found at http://www.amazon.com Publishers Weekly. 1999. New York: Reed Information Business. Review found at http://www.amazon.com                                                 YA Literature Home Page