SPEAK

Book review:

“Speak” is a young adult novel, which is written by Laurie Halse Anderson. “Speak” won some prices and was published in 1999. It is about a girl named Melinda Sordino, the book was made into a film in 2004.

Melinda Sordino is raped by Andy Evans at a party, absolutely desperate she calls the police, but then she doesn’t say them what’s the matter and so all her friends thinks she call the cops without any reason, and so they don’t like her anymore.

Since there, she doesn’t talk very much and is very shy. When the school begins, Melinda comes to the high-school. She has no friends and all her ex-friends ignore her, only Heather a girl, who is new in the city talks with her. In school she doesn’t say a word and her marks are worse than the years before. It seems that nothing makes her fun, excepting art, where she has a sensitive and understandingly teacher, named Mr. Freeman.

Then Heather terminates Melinda her friendship, because she thinks Melinda is depressive and they are to different.

Although Rachel hates her and they talk nothing together since this party, Melinda tells her what’s happening at the party, because her boyfriend is the raper, Andy Evans.

But that wasn’t so good idea because Rachel doesn’t believe her.

In the end Andy wants to rape her again, but this time she can struggle herself.

In my Opinion the book isn’t mine, because I don’t like young adult novels.

Nevertheless I can find some good pints. First I have to say I’m impressed, how Melinda overcomes her fears and begins to talk and to struggle her. And the second point the book is written very exciting because I could red it.

The main charakters:

Not only the others in school see Melinda as an outcast, she sees herself as an outcast too.

Everybody is in a clan, even Heather found a clan, but Melinda hasn’t a clan. She is the only person, who has no clan. She talks with nobody, because she thinks it would be better for her.

She thinks that all the others hates her because the action at the party, but I think that some persons, except David Petrakis and Ivy like her, but they are afraid to speak to her because the think that then the others don’t speak with them too. Heather was her only friend at the beginning, but then Heather joins the Marthas, which is a group of young girls, who wear very fashionable clothes and do social projects, so Melinda also lose her only friend. She hates Andy and she is afraid that Andy could rape Rachel too. She dislikes her teachers and the teachers dislike her, especially Mr. Neck, who doesn’t understand her. Except Mr. Freeman, her art-teacher, he is the only one, who understands her, Melinda likes him.

He knows that there is something wrong with her and he try to find out that with her art.

I think Ivy likes Melinda too, because she is impressed by her trees (pictures).

Davis Petrakis, who is her lab partner, also likes her and sometimes he speaks with her.

The other pupils didn’t like her because she calls the police and the thinks without a reason, because they don’t know something about the rape. And some pupils really hate her, that’s why the cops arrested many persons at the party.

There’s Heather, she likes her and she is glad that Melinda makes her the start into the new school easier. But after a while Heather thinks that Melinda is depressive and anyway she means that she and Melinda are too different.

Her change from beginning to end in this book is very important for her live and her self-confidence. At the beginning she is very shy and doesn’t speak with anybody too much, because she doesn’t want to say something wrong and I think she feels stronger when she doesn’t talk.

I think the art education gives her energy and with painting these trees, she overcomes the horrible incidents. At the end she evidence that and defends her self against Andy Evans.