Product Description

From her first moment at Merryweather High, Melinda Sordino knows she's an outcast. She busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops - a major infraction in high-school society - so her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't know glare at her. No one knows why she called the police, and she can't get out the words to explain. So she retreats into her head, where the lies and hypocrisies of high school stand in stark relief to her own silence. But it's not so comfortable in her head, either - there's something banging around in there that she doesn't want to think about. But, try as she might, it just won't go away...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #407254 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

THE SCOTSMAN
'Highly recommended.'

From the Publisher
KEY REVIEWS
A stunning first novel... Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy. The book's overall gritty realism and Melinda's hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired. - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Nails the high school experience cold. An uncannily funny book even as it plumbs the darkness, Speak will hold readers from first word to last. - THE HORN BOOK

The plot is gripping and the characters are powerfully drawn, but it is its raw and unvarnished look at the dynamics of the high school experience that makes this a novel that will be hard for readers to forget. - KIRKUS REVIEWS

'Strong and searching novels that cover very difficult scenarios...The humanity of the protagonist really shines through in the expert characterisation and writing, making these novels really challenge the reader's empathy. I would strongly recommend these stark and thought provoking titles.' - The Bookseller, 13th April 2001

'Anderson has produced an outstanding book which invites the reader's admiration and empathy … The power of Speak to evoke a positive response in spite of harrowing realism lies in Anderson's poetic prose and witty first person narration.' - BfK, July 2001

'Highly recommended.' - THE SCOTSMAN

About the Author
Laurie Halse Anderson grew up in Syracuse, New York, and now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters. The author of three picture books published in the States, Speak was her first novel. Widely reviewed, it was a National Book Award finalist in the States, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.

Customer Reviews

Teenage hell at High School
Melinda hates high school already. Her old friends won't speak to her because she ruined a dumb high school party by calling the cops. But only Melinda knows why. And meanwhile, she's not saying. And her life is cruddy. Her parents. Well. Who in their right mind would speak to them? And her new so called friend is just with her until she finds someone cool to hang out with. Melinda knows she [feels like rubbish]. But can she pull herself out of it and speak out about the truth? This book shows you just how vile school can be. And even though it's set in the states, the issues of friendship and sex it tackles are really well written. It's funny, it's brave. It's one for the girls, but it's not a girly book. It's honest. As a school librarian, i've passed this to a couple of keen reading girls, and they both read it it one night, coming back to say how they loved it. Excellent, and recommended for any school library.

Clever, witty, and touching
I highly recommend this novel. After glancing at its first few pages, I found myself competing with my youngest sister of reading it who was in Lower School. As a teenager, portraying a teen's mind is a difficult feat. It has never been told in a form that closely relates to today's teenagers like this one. Anderson has revealed it all through Melinda, a quiet and witty character who has become more of a herione in her own story. An outcast, 'artistic' and terribly rejected freshmen girl attending a highschool of students that detest the sight of her is a bitter, yet perfect, setting for this one girl's true-to-life story. Her untalkative, solitary, yet charming character will glue the readers' eyes to every page. What makes this novel unique is that it stabs the reader in the heart: you become Melinda and react similarly to situations inside the novel while you read her world. It allows readers to experience what it feels like to be that person, a person who's ruined reputation was made by her one (desperate) phone call. You will feel pity for Melinda, learn and grow to actually cheer on her personal or social successes, and smile contently whenever she cleverly uses imagery when comparing something to another ie. a greek-god teenager, her volcanic-expolding parents at the dinner table. I tell you, this novel is the bomb of all (short) teenager novels. It will make you inseparable from reading it. A clever piece of work that must be owned by any teenager or adult. It's that good.

An amazing book
I think this is the best book you'll ever read. It's about Melinda Sordino, a girl who's just started high school. Her old friends can't stand her because she called the police at an end-of-summer party, but they haven't even tried to find out why. Her parents are barely involved in her life and Melinda just doesn't speak to anyone. Her only friend is a new girl who is using her until she can join another group, and the only class she does well in is Art, where her teacher encourages her to speak up. This book is impossible to put down. Even though it can be depressing, her descriptions of idiot teachers and high school cliques will really make you laugh, and it keeps you gripped until the very last page.
Reviewed by britishfairyprincess