Speak

Recently, I picked up Wintergirls, also by Laurie Halse Anderson, kind of on a whim. I loved it, loved it, loved it. The narrative moved me, the plot dealt with a difficult subject in what I thought was a delicate and understanding way, and it brought everything to a positive conclusion (important for a novel on that subject). So, I decided to pick up some more books by Anderson.

This book wasn't as good for me as Wintergirls, but it was still good. The plot centers around Melinda, who enters high school the social outcast, and spends her days critiquing the difficulties and hypocrisies of high school. For example, on like page one, she lists the top ten lies of high school, one of them being "we will listen to what you have to say". All too often, I feel like this is more the reality than the exception, and that the pictures Anderson paints of burnt-out teachers, students sleeping in the back, abuses of power, people not listening or paying attention, or, worse, paying too much attention. I liked Melinda because it was clear she knew things were wrong with her, but she didn't just slide into the god-awful pit of teenage angst. She would occasionally keep trying -- lift her head, give it a shot, try and please herself and others. I felt like that was more realistic than some of these books (and people I know) where the main characters whine ceaselessly but can't lift a finger for themselves or anyone else but also don't have enough gumption for anything else. There's no turning point in those books, and I understand that some people's lives are like that, but then I think they need to read about someone who can lift themselves out. Maybe it will give them some inspiration to change their lives.

The other nice thing is that horrible things happened to Melinda to make her the way she is, but she finds a voice, she finds herself, she steps up, and she deals with it. For other people who have had similar experiences happen to them, this could potentially be helpful for them to find their voice. There also is no judgment at the end of the book. Nothing really happens to the perpetrator, but nobody blames her, nobody accuses her of lying, of playing the victim card, or protecting the perpetrator. It feels like a bit of a fantasy this year (it's been a tough year for stuff like this) but good to hear nonetheless.

Ultimately, this is one of those books that could probably be incredibly helpful for a lot of people, and probably many more young people should read it.

I really liked this story. It was easy to read and I feel bad for her. I really do.
It felt like highschool. Highschool sucks.

Were all taught "Don't get raped"
Were not taught however, "Don't rape"

Gah! Everyone should read this. It teaches you something and makes you aware of something without constantly shoving it down your throat. That is a good book. That's how you send a message.

It makes you think.


When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time

“This idea that we should treat women preciously, treat them as if they’re made of lace as if their value comes from their assumed fragility and not from their obvious humanity. A world that doesn’t allow us to openly express emotion, a world that celebrates us never being visible folded up with fear, a world where brutality is seen as virtuous is a world that makes Beasts of boy and Monsters of men” -jason reynolds

My second book for beach reading and it was a little bit more than I had anticipated. I thought I just grabbed a no-brainer YA book. Wrong.

Speak is an amazingly good book about a high school freshman, Melinda, who is entering high school as a complete social outcast. She became an outcast over the summer when she called the cops on a party she was at and her friends would not forgive her. The book shows Melinda now but shows us that she has become a completely different person than everyone knew.

I figured out pretty early what happened to Melinda at the party and, despite that, the book keeps a fairly light voice to it even as Melinda falls apart.

It is painful to read about such an outcast (I was not remotely close to popular or covered in friends in high school either) and it irritated me so badly that her parents just lectured instead of TALKING to try and find out what happened.

I ran through this one pretty fast, as it was a good read. I'm leaving it at the hotel for another person to enjoy.

Not the most creatively written novel, but I can understand how it would open up some dialogue in the teenage realm.