Author laurie halse anderson is ready to tell her own. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Laurie halse anderson, author of speak, is ready to shout laurie halse anderson broke barriers with speak, a novel about sexual assault. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself. Speak by laurie halse anderson ps i still read you. Speak, by laurie halse anderson, is a book about the trials and tribulations of high school life. Should any book ever be banned or require parental permission. A great book like speak incites thinking in readers, and the classroom should be an ideal place for views to be discussed. At the party, melinda feels uncomfortable and out of place. Get essay melindas artwork represents the progress that she has made.
Speak by laurie halse anderson, 9780340950777, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. An introduction to speak by melissa rangel on prezi. Speak, laurie halse anderson essays 770 words cram. One way the book speak by laurie halse anderson shows empowerment is through melindas dependence on herself, rather than others. After accidentally busting an end of summer party due to an unnamed incident, melinda is ostracized by her peers because she will not say why she called the police. Melinda, the main character in the book, called the police at a huge party right before the start of her high school career. Speak tells the story of melinda sordino, a ninth grader at merryweather high school in syracuse, new york. It reveals you what takes place in someones head when it occurs. When the novel focuses on the topic at hand, speak presents an inspiring message about using your voice.
Every year several books are challenged and banned across the nation by individuals and organizations who believe the content of the books are inappropriate. Laurie halse anderson once said in an interview, ive learned that speak is not just a book about rape. She used to be very social, outgoing, and loved until one night at a party. Accurate descriptions of the minutiae of high school will appeal to any teen who has felt like an outsider, and when melinda is finally able to speak, readers will rejoice in her triumphs. Speak by laurie halse anderson is a young adult novel that was published in 1999.
In laurie halse anderson s powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. The publisher of the novel is farrar straus giroux and was publisher in october 1999. Only then can true growth and development thrive worldover. The novel laurie halse anderson s first was a national book award finalist. Anderson s did an excellent job with making the language simple, as most teenagers would like.
Melinda, a high school freshman, is the protagonist in laurie halse anderson s speak. Anderson creates this one of a kind novel with care and deep emotions which makes speak so irrisistable. In short, the novel argues that if you are a victim of a sexual assault, you will need to speak about it in order to heal. Hopefully, reporting the attacker will make it less likely he or she will hurt you, or other people, again. Complete comprehensive study guide and summary of speak by laurie halse anderson. Praise for speak heres the thing laurie halse anderson speaks about speak. Speak by laurie halse anderson from the first moment of her freshman year at merryweather high, melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. Over the summer, she and her friends went to a party and melinda ended up calling the police, causing her friends and everyone at the party to socially reject her. Free study guide for speak by laurie halse anderson. This is a gritty, powerful book that teachers and parents could use to launch a number of discussions. The main character melinda, has a particularly hard time fitting in because of an incident that took place over the summer anderson, 1999. Speak book report by laurie halse anderson essay example.
The sdgs can only be realized with strong global partnerships and cooperation. Laurie halse andersons first novel is a stunning and sympathetic tribute to the teenage outcast. The title gives us a pretty big hint as to what this might be. Anderson s timeless and important tale of highschool sexual assault and its aftermath undergoes a masterful graphic novel transformation. Audio book sample courtesy of penguin random house audio. In a memoir, laurie halse anderson gets personal about. While in biology class melinda is passing her notebook back and forth with david and she. Pdf speak book by laurie halse anderson free download. The book i have just finished reading is called speak by laurie halse anderson. The triumphant ending, in which melinda finds her voice, is cause for cheering while many readers might also shed a tear or two. Speak was a 1999 national book award finalist for young peoples literature. Laurie halse anderson recommends books for sexual assault awareness month laurie halse anderson is the new york timesbestselling author of speak, a novel about a young survivor of sexual assault. In the book, speak by laurie halse anderson, a young girl, melinda, who used to be a popular girl is now an outcast. This is the first half of the section titled first marking period in the book speak by laurie halse anderson.
Depression is the unspoken theme that defines melindas behavior for much of the novel. Melinda, a nascent freshman, is raped at a party shortly before the beginning of school. Since its publication, speak has received both critical acclaim and censorship. She also succeeded with the moral of the story, it served a great importance. Its been 20 years since the publication of laurie halse anderson s debut novel, speak, about a high school freshman reckoning with the trauma of her rape. Laurie halse andersons speak is a novel that makes a definite argument. Analysis of speak by laurie anderson 792 words bartleby. Her parents and guidance counselor try to get her to open up about her poor academic performance, but melinda refuses to speak to them. Since its publication, speak has received both critical acclaim and. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 208 pages and is available in paperback format.
Speak by laurie halse anderson is a multiple award winning book, but it is also listed by the american library association as one of the top 100 books challenged between 20002009. How did it feel to have all new classes, all new teachers, and a new atmosphere. The book speak by laurie halse anderson had its ups and downs. Table of contents next page downloadable printable version. The author uses a lot of archetypes and allusions throughout the book to add a fuller description to the events melinda had gone through, which will. Book summary melinda sordino begins her freshman year at merryweather high school in syracuse, new york, with a heavy secret weighing on her. What did it feel like to walk into a school where you didnt know everyone. A prezi about the book speak by laurie halse anderson. The first edition of the novel was published in october 22nd 1999, and was written by laurie halse anderson. The novel was a new york times bestseller the year it was released and it was a national book award finalist as well as the winner of the 2000 ala best book for young adults award. Speak, published in 1999, is a young adult novel by laurie halse anderson that tells the story of high school freshman melinda sordino. I would recommend this book to the age group of 1216, because the theme, to my surprise is a little bit more mature, yet its at an easier reading level. There was drinking and drugs at the party, but this isnt the reason melinda decided to crash the party.
Speak, laurie halse anderson speak is book about a young girl who loses her voice after being raped and slowly gains it back over time. The book speak by laurie anderson is a book about how melinda sordino overcomes the troubles in her life, and how she learned to speak up for herself. Shocked and scared, she calls the police, who break up the party and send everyone home. Due to her trauma and inability to tell anyone about what happened, melinda spirals into a dark depression. At the end of the summer before she enters high school, melinda attends a party at which two bad things happen to her. The summer before starting high school, she was raped by a senior student, andy evans. Speak by laurie halse anderson goodreads share book. Author laurie anderson, on the assault that led, years. August before her freshman year, melinda and her closest friends attend a party with seniors and beer. A frightening and sobering look at the cruelty and viciousness that pervade much of contemporary high school life, as real as todays headlines. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous national and state awards, as well as international recognition. Laurie halse anderson is a new york times bestselling author of books for kids of all agesincluding fever 1793, chains, twisted, and many others. Laurie halse anderson uses an internal voice throughout the book to show the havoc that is attacking melindas mind. Square fish anderson wrote speak while she was working as a freelance journalist for the philadelphia.
The novel was a new york times bestseller the year it was released and it was a national book. The main character melinda, has a particularly hard time fitting in. It is a wonderful book on a really terrible topic that manages to keep a sense of humor while simultaneously horrifying the reader. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an endofsummer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her.