November 30, 2004
YA4: Speak
Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson
197 pages
Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.
The book is dripping with awards, including: A 2000 Printz Honor Book, A 1999 National Book Award Finalist, An Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist, A 1999 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist, Winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, An ALA Best Book for Young Adults, An ALA Quick Pick, A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, A Booklist Top Ten First Novel of 1999, A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and A Horn Book Fanfare Title.
I liked it a lot -- its really funny even while dealing with a hard subject. The main character, Melinda Sordino, is very likable and while she stops speaking to most of the rest of the world, we still get to read what she's thinking and experience the problems of high school along with her.
My favorite line: "Just in case we forget that
'weareheretogetagoodfoundationsowecangotocollegeliveuptoourpotentialgetagoodjoblivehappilyeveradfterandgotoDisneyWorld,' we have a Job Day." (p. 52)
Grade 8/Age 12 and up
Posted by Emily at November 30, 2004 08:57 AM