Chapter 21 : Speak

 

Speak was a 1999 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature.

In Laurie Halse Anderson's powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.

This book tell a story of Melinda, she is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication.  

I love the concept of this book, how the title really resembles Melinda's action and how the author perceive the outcast's life and how Melinda really feels.

It is really enjoyable book and a great book to read especially for teenager to become aware and show how important the consent is.

I rated this book for 4/5 ✩. The story escalated really great and I enjoy it. It is one of a great book about mental health.

A quote that I want to share from this book :

" Nothing hurts except the small smiles and blushes that flash across the room like tiny sparrows. "

(page 109)

Additional details of this book :

• Comes with paperback and kindle edition.
• Genre : Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary, Mental Health
  
• Author : Laurie Halse Andersion
  
• Pages : 224 pages
• Goodreads rating : 4.02/5.00 ✩ 
• Published in January 15th, 2019