Tolog Review: Speak

Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson
reviewed by Caitlin Bury

What’s the most horrifying thing that you could think of happening to you as a freshman?

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson revolves around the life of Melinda Sordino. Melinda is starting her freshman year at Merryweather High School in South Carolina and it’s not off to a great start. The summer before ninth grade, she went to a party with her friends and was raped by a junior, Andy Evans. When she finally escapes Andy, she calls the cops to the party and some people get arrested. When school starts in the fall, she is shunned by her friends and pretty much the entire school because a lot of people that were arrested went to Merryweather. Melinda starts failing every class except art, the only class where the teacher understands and believes in her. 

Speak is a book I would recommend to someone feeling like an outsider. Melinda is an outsider and has problems different from many people but she always has the same struggles of trying to fit in like everyone else. This book can get you through hard times of struggles with yourself or others or just days when you feel like a loser. This book really spoke to me because everyone has times when they go through awful experiences, some worse than others, and really need something to ease the pain. For example, Melinda was raped and she found refuge by having guidance from other students or teachers who gave her a quick second of courage. I may not have gone through the same traumatic experience Melinda did, but I found I could really connect with this book because I am also a freshman in high school, trying to find my way and to move on from the days of past grades. But, you do not have to be in high school to connect with this book, you can be any age and maybe having a rough patch in life, this book will help you to understand it’s okay to be sad but to reach out to others.

This book is unlike anything I’ve read before and I can’t really compare it to anything else. Speak made me think more about myself and my surroundings and made me think about giving everyone a little more thought to truly understand them.