Speak: Reaching Out to Teens Everywhere



Speak is the story of a young girl in Syracuse, NY who has just started high school. She has no friends and no motivation. The summer before, she called the cops on a party tht got out of hand. Her classmates are unforgiving, but they don’t know what really happened.

Laurie Halse Anderson clearly knows how rough teen life is. Speak is harshly realistic. Many of the events in the book actually happened to the author when she was a teenager in high school, but it was not based on her.

Melinda, the main character, is very relatable. She feels many emotions that I’m sure almost all teen girls (or boys) have felt before. At some points in the book, I felt like I was reading my own thoughts and feelings written on paper. The other characters seem real too. I could compare them to many people I know in my own life.

The way that the author writes is lovely to read. She uses a lot of figurative language and paints a picture with her words. She makes everything feel alive (or dead). “Cold and silence. Nothing quieter than snow. The sky screams to deliver it, a hundred banshees flying on the edge of the blizzard. But once the snow covers the ground, it hushes as still as my heart.”

I think this book will help many teens feel more confident. It is always helpful to know that you are not alone. There are many teens, including myself, that have a hard time dealing with all the situations in life. It’s hard to grow up. This book will show you that things happen, but you have to move on with life. I think that is a very good lesson.

Speak is not action packed, nor is it romantic or highly hilarious. It tells a story about someone who grows as a person. Every page spills emotion. I recommend that any teenager, or even adult, should read it.