It is getting harder to talk. My throat is always sore, my lips raw. When I wake up in the morning, my jaws are clenched so tight I have a headache. Sometimes my mouth relaxes around Heather, if we’re alone. Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze. What is wrong with me? It’s like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis.
I know my head isn’t screwed on straight. I want to leave, transfer, warp myself to another galaxy. I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to someone else. There is a beast in my gut, I can hear it scraping away at the insides of my ribs. Even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me. My closet is a good thing, a quiet place that helps me hold these thoughts inside my head where no one can hear them.
(from Speak, pages 50-51)
(I already knew what this book was about before picking it up, and it didn’t affect my reading at all. It’s hard to discuss the important aspects of the book without giving away what happens to the main character. It’s probably common knowledge, but I just wanted to warn you all up front.)
In Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, Melinda Sordino begins her freshman year of high school — a confusing and scary time for teenagers — as an outcast. After being raped at an end-0f-summer party, Melinda calls the police, and not knowing what happened, her friends and other students are mad at her for breaking up the party and causing some of them to be arrested. Not sure how to deal with the rape, Melinda turns inward and stops speaking unless absolutely necessary. It’s an easy thing to do since no one in school is talking to her anyway — unless you count the new girl, Heather, who sees Melinda as someone to hang out with while she searches for the right clique — and her parents are pre-occupied with work and maybe some marital problems.
Melinda understandably becomes depressed. Her grades plummet, she skips class, and she gets in trouble with teachers. She carves out a private space in an old janitor’s closet, which further highlights her withdrawal from the world. Her only refuge is art class, where Mr. Freeman (appropriately named) recognizes Melinda’s talent and encourages her to express herself.
Her parents’ reaction to these changes is especially sad. They see their daughter go from having good grades to failing her classes, and one would assume they would notice that she no longer has friends. Not to mention the fact that she no longer speaks. Rather than reach out to Melinda, her mother says she doesn’t have time for this. Her parents are concerned to a point, but it felt more like annoyance and exasperation to me, though that might be Melinda’s perceptions.
Written in the first person, Speak allows readers to feel Melinda’s pain, her struggle between the part of her who wants to wallow in sorrow and the part of her who wants to live again, and the intense fear when she encounters “IT’ in the hallways or around town. Speak has been banned because it’s about a teenage rape victim. I can understand that such a topic may make parents uncomfortable, but we have to accept the ugly fact that Melinda may be fictional but her story rings true to many young girls. Anderson does not write the rape scene in a graphic manner, managing to pack a punch in a very short paragraph with little description.
Why would people want to pull from the shelves a book that could empower a girl in Melinda’s situation, give her some comfort, encourage her to tell someone about her pain, and seek help? I understand the need to shelter our daughters and sons from the hurts of the world as much as we can, but censorship does not accomplish that. Speak should be used to start a dialogue with teens, and you can be sure I will recommend it to my daughter when she’s a bit older.
Disclosure: I borrowed Speak from my local library. I am an Amazon associate.
© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Sounds intense!
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Definitely!
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Anna, this has been on my TBR list for a long while. It really sounds good.
BTW…thanks for linking my review of Metterhorn. Have you read UNBROKEN; Hillenbrand? I think you would love it.
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I hope you get a chance to read it. Unbroken is on my to-read list for sure!
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I do remember the blogworld going crazy when this one was banned, and that did make me wanna read it
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I first heard of the book a few months ago, when there was talk about someone calling the rape scene “soft porn,” which is completely ridiculous. I was just browsing the YA section in the library, and when I saw this book, I figured I may as well read it and see what the fuss was about.
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Anna, you nailed it. Especially with this: “Speak should be used to start a dialogue with teens…”
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Thanks, Beth!
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Lovely review — I’m glad to see so many readers giving this book it’s due esp given all the book banning drama. Challenging books do such good esp when one is a teen; many a hard YA novel helped me through my bad times.
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Thanks! I agree; I used books as a way to escape my problems growing up.
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I agree with you! This book is wonderful and should be used to open dialogue – it would be crazy to ban it!
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I just never understood the book banning thing. Sure, parents should have a say in what their children read, but they shouldn’t make that decision for other parents as well.
I find that books really do allow me and my daughter to have some great conversations on a variety of topics. I hope she will read this book when she’s a bit older.
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This is such a powerful book. I can only imagine it would help countless teen girls who find themselves in a similar situation. Far from being banned, it should be recommended highly!
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I definitely agree. I think this book should be read and discussed in school, age appropriately, of course.
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Anna, great review! What an awful plight for Melinda! This book sounds like a book to be read and discussed, not banned.
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Thanks, Suko! I really wanted to hug Melinda, and I pray my daughter never has to walk in her shoes.
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I read this last year after I read it got banned. I liked it much more than I thought I would and I liked the writing style.
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The writing style is perfect for this book. I really felt like I was reading the thoughts of a teenager. It brought me back to those days in high school that I’d love to forget.
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I haven’t read this one, yet. I really do plan to this year though. I’ve been good about not reading many reviews regarding what the book is about, I tend to skip that and focus on what people thought of it. So while I have a very very general idea, I’ll be going in “blind” for the most part. I’m with you, it’s a subject matter that should be there for kids to read about, because it’s something that does happen and they need to know that.
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I’ll keep an eye out for your review!
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A fantastic review, Anna! It’s hard to believe that even today there are people who think Speak should be banned. As you so simply & aptly put it, this book should be used to start a dialogue with teens, to talk to them about the very important issues raised here.
It amazes that there are people who think they are protecting children by hiding things from them. I want to know what they do when terrible things happen to a teenager.
Oops, sorry, I’m getting going….! Anyway, I’ve got to read this book!
Thank you Anna for your review!
~ Amy
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Don’t apologize! I’m enjoying this discussion!
I can understand how people think hiding things from their children could protect them, but that only works to a point. You can’t lock them away as teenagers; they have to break out on their own at some point. It’s scary (I’m almost there with my daughter) but it’s important to teach them about the world so they know what they might be up against and how they can navigate the rough waters. I’m very open with my daughter and tell her constantly that she can tell me anything and everything. I hope if she ever encounters something she can’t handle alone that she knows I’ll be there for her.
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I can’t wait to read this one, just won it actually. I am more excited to share it with my nieces and others to start some hard but needed discussions.
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That’s great! I wish more people would share and discuss books like this.
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This book absolutely belongs on every teen’s shelf. I have this book, but haven’t read it yet. However, I just finished another YA book called “Exposed”, about the same subject, and it blew me away. Look for the review, it is coming up a week from today.
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I definitely will check out your review!
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I’m not generally a fan of the understated, but LHA does it masterfully in this book. There’s a kind of male counterpart (not as well-written, but what could be?) that I used to assign in a class about relationships in literature, entitled Inexcusable, by Chris Lynch.
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I’ll have to check out Inexcusable. Haven’t heard of that one, and I’m curious about the male POV.
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I STILL haven’t read this. I saw a bit of the movie a few years ago though I don’t really remember it very well. I really need to get around to reading this and Wintergirls.
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I really want to read Wintergirls, too. I saw a bit of the movie Speak, but I don’t like Kristen Stewart much, though I’m thinking that the role of Melinda was probably a good one for her. She plays the awkward teenager really well…but I wonder how much of that is acting.
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Probably not much. She does seem kind of awkward.
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I have heard nothing but good things about this book but I am terrified to read it, like maybe it will be too upsetting!
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It’s upsetting and sad, but I don’t think it’s a book that will haunt you for days on end. I hope you give it a try.
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This book has been on my to-read list for a while. Thanks for the review.
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You should read this one for sure! But maybe you should read Wintergirls first…so I can borrow your copy already! 🙂
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great review!! i’ve been meaning to pick up this book for the longest time, i just never got around to it. it’s definitely moving up on my wishlist though.
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Thanks! I really hope you get a chance to read it.
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I remember hearing about this controversy but it seems ridiculous. It is silly to bury our heads in the sand and pretend this kind of thing can’t happen. It seems like a sensitively done and important book. I’m sure I’ll read it some day.
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“Sensitively done” is a perfect way to describe it!
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The school where I work pulled this one, but I put it back when I started there 4 years ago. It’s a must read for all of my 8th grade girls….I would lose my job first before I let them pull this off the shelves!!
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Staci, you rock! 🙂
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Selective Mutism?? I’m so curious about this book. I have teen girls (and boys) and fully intend to share it with them. Sometimes I think if a book is banned that’s a sure sign that whatever is inside it is important to share with our children.
Putting your head in the sand won’t make the ocean disappear, book banner people!! 😉
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I totally agree! The selective mutism thing was interesting, but I guess when something is on the tip of our tongues and we don’t say it, as time goes on, we are less likely to say it. So I think I understood it.
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Excellent review! I have had this on my list for a long time and will make it a priority now. Thank you.
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Thanks! I hope you have a chance to read it soon.
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I understand you. We are all hypocritical in our attitudes. No book should be banned because it portrays something that happens. I hardly get to understand the reasons behind banning a book: whether it be rape or the use of the N word. We are running away from reality, from the very things we are involved in. We don’t live on Pluto! Here on earth things happen and rape happens too. How far can you protect your child from the world by not showing him/her what the real world is and how to deal with it. I am always shock by this manner of upbringing. When this happens they learn a lot from their peers, and what would peers teach themselves?
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I’m experiencing this first-hand. My parents didn’t tell me a lot of things I should have known early on, and I want to make sure my daughter has a different experience. I learned things from my friends that should have come from my parents. I think we can protect our children by making sure they know what they need to know to survive and thrive.
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I didn’t realize it was banned… it was always on the school lists when I worked at bookstores. I do wish the book banners would go away. Here in GA there was a woman trying to get HP banned from public schools, and that really infuriated me. Who is she to tell MY daughter what she can and cannot read. If she doesn’t want her kids reading HP then keep them home and shelter them. The funny thing about these people is they have no problem letting their kids watch Disney movies full of magic (Cinderella, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast…) but HP is considered evil.
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I’ve heard that many schools pulled this book from their shelves (see Staci’s comment above, for instance, and the link in my review about the book being banned). I don’t know about that first-hand, though.
Don’t get me started about banning HP! I was thrilled when my daughter read the first book and watched the movie at summer camp…a Catholic summer camp!
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I didn’t remember about her teacher “Mr. Freeman” – ah I like that. This is such a great book and it makes me sad that this book gets banned. Such a serious topic that I can only imagine it would help to read it and open up a discussion.
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I thought he was very appropriately named. I liked his character, and I wish I’d had teachers like that in high school.
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Great review. I can definitely see the value in the book, although it’s not one I’m going to read. Just too powerful. Maybe one to buy and keep on the shelves so that someday my daughter might pull it off to read.
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I think it’s great that you want to make it available to your daughter even if you don’t think you could read it.
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My daughter wanted to read this at 11, at the beginning of 7th grade, because she saw it at the school book fair. I’d already read it and frankly I was surprised to see it at the middle school I didn’t think it was appropriate *for her*. She read it recently (at 13) and couldn’t understand why I’d made such a big deal about her reading it in 7th grade, but as her parent I felt she wasn’t ready to read it. I stand by that!
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I wouldn’t let my daughter read this one just yet. I think it’s important for parents to have the ability to choose for their child what they can or cannot read based on age-appropriateness. I do that myself. I just don’t think parents should be allowed to make those decisions for other people’s children.
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This is such an amazing book! And it is definitely one of those books that needs to be discussed with young people. I thought you wrote an amazing review of it! I am planning on rereading it myself sometime in the near future because it was just that good.
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Thanks, Samantha! I wouldn’t mind re-reading it with my daughter in the future.
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I so want to read this. I keep forgetting about it though so thanks for reminding me.
I can’t believe that such a book would be banned. It seemed to me that girls these days, don’t really understand what rape is. This disturbs me because if it happens to them, would they even know to report it? For that reason alone, I would hate to see a book like this pulled from the shelves.
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I wondered while reading what Melinda had been taught by her parents. Since the book starts on the first day of school after the incident, you don’t see how she and her parents interacted before.
Hope you do get a chance to read it!
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This is a terrific book — one of my favorite YA novels of all time. I love your last paragraph! It’s so eloquent, and spot on. 🙂
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Thanks! 🙂
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My teenage daughter is not a reader; it’s hard to find a book I can get her to finish. This one she would not put down. And it did make for a great conversation.
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I’m glad you were able to discuss it with her. This book seems like one that would speak to teens on so many levels, regardless of whether or not they’ve dealt with such a traumatic experience. I remember how difficult it was to fit in, and that’s something else you see in this book.
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