An incredible and relatable story which needs to be heard. A must-read for all book-lovers.
"THE FIRST TEN LIES THEY TELL YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL
1. We are here to help you.
2. You will have enough time to get to your class before the bell rings.
3. The dress code will be enforced.
4. No smoking is allowed on school grounds.
5. Our football team will win the championship this year.
6. We expect more of you here.
7. Guidance counselors are always available to listen.
8. Your schedule was created with your needs in mind.
9. Your locker combination is private.
10. These will be the years you will look back on fondly."
From her first moment at Merryweather High, Melinda Sordino knows she's an outcast. She busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops - a major infraction in high-school society - so her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't know glare at her. No one knows why she called the police, and she can't get out the words to explain. So she retreats into her head, where the lies and hypocrisies of high school stand in stark relief to her own silence. But it's not so comfortable in her head, either - there's something banging around in there that she doesn't want to think about. But, try as she might, it just won't go away...
Review
"Speak" is one of those special books that only come around every so often, the ones that take your breath away with their power and leaves you trapped in thought hours after you've finished.
I read this book in one straight sitting. Not because the story was gripping, or I just needed to know what was going to happen next (although both points are actually true of the book). No, the reason I read "Speak" in one go was because I just did not want to leave Melinda.
This is a book which is so completely about the protagonist. She broke my heart. She made me want to reach through the pages and envelop her into a huge hug and tell her that I was there for her, that I was listening even though no one else was.
Melinda is a character who I can relate to on so many levels, evoking emotions within me that I thought I'd buried away long ago.
We've all been through high school. I'm sure most would agree that ,for the majority, its a traumatic experience: uncomfortable, lonely and incredibly painful.
What Melinda has gone through is something most of us haven't, and Handerson does not shy away from facing the details. But the feelings she struggles with, the isolation she feels at school is something I feel is more familiar to the readers.
I know for one that I hated high school. There were often days where I woke up and simply could not face it. There were many more where I'd try and disappear into the walls, desperate to escape.
I had friends, I was not bullied. But I was sure as hell miserable.
That's why Melinda's story is so resonant. It strikes a chord deep within you. Her voice will captivate you, the beautiful stream of conciousness working so brilliantly for the story. Melinda is an broken character. The events that have led her to becoming the isolated freak of the school so damaging that she nears complete breakdown, but she is also incredibly, overwhelmingly brave.
What Anderson has done in "Speak" is tackle issues that are far too often shied away from, and forced us to confront them. It could so easily have gone wrong; so easily have undermined the trauma Melinda has gone through, but instead she has managed to create a piece of writing that not only makes your heart ache, but makes you want to stand up, to speak out.
A few years ago I read "Thirteen Reasons Why", something which deals with similar issues to "Speak". It is a fantastic, breathtaking novel, and I thoroughly reccommend it. But don't go thinking they are the same, because they each have different stories to tell and both deserve to be heard in their own right.
I am a firm believer in that books should be written for a reason. Far too often in YA, books are written for the sake of it, for the trends, rather than having a purpose, a message we need to hear. "Speak" is a vital message we need to hear. Its a book that everyone needs to read.
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