How Many Stories Do You Know?

Rylie Warren

Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson

Do you ever think of one’s background or past experiences before judging them for one little thing based on their appearance, hobbies, or socialness?

In the novel, Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda, the main character and narrator of the novel, is just entering high school. She feels out of place when seeing all of her old friends reconnect, while she stands alone as an outcast during the time where she needs some friends the most. In the beginning of the book, she labels herself: “I am an outcast” (4). Students ignore Melinda and laugh at her, and she is a target for many of the boys and girls around her. She is considered a “mute” because she refuses to speak to anyone including her parents. One day while she is on the bus going home from school, she thinks, “The kids behind me laugh so loud I know they’re laughing at me” (4). Melinda seems to always keep to herself let these things go, even though deep down inside her she wonders why she is getting attacked. During the second quarter of School, Melinda is feeling more isolated and nothing at school has changed for her and her grades were dropping tremendously. She would get scolded by her parents about her low grades and that is the only time they would communicate with her. She explains how it is getting harder for her to talk because of all of the stress that is being put on her, “It is getting harder to talk. My throat is always sore, my lips raw” (50). The only thing that seemed to interest her and make her forget about life was art. The only class she looked forward to was Mr. Freeman’s art class, she enjoyed listening to his boring lectures learning all of his techniques, and she felt a connection towards him. As the school year ends, Melinda finds herself again because she opens up about her experiences in the past and admits to herself about what happened, and believes she will overcome it and whatever the future throws at her.

Reading this book taught me to not be afraid of who I am and to be confident. Although the book has a great lesson, it is very hard to get through. The beginning of the book is extremely slow, seems to drag on forever, and you really don’t hit the turning point until reading about a hundred pages of Melinda’s day. My full attention was never focused on the book because of the non-moving plot point. With that being said, I don’t recommend this book because it is very slow and hard to read especially if you like books with a lot of rising action.