Speak by: Laurie Halse Anderson

Hello fellow readers,
Anderson starts the forward of this book with this sentence: Speak is the book I wasn't going to write. I know that hooked me right away. This book is written because of an event that happened over the summer. You never really know what happens until the end. Melinda has no friends. She is quiet, depressed and failing ninth grade. On the first day you don't really know what happened to cause this change in Melinda's social status. But, she does get called some pretty horrible names, and is left to sit alone in the auditorium with a girl named Heather from Ohio, who is also an outcast. The first 3/4 of the book are all the same. It becomes very monotonous after a while. A couple of times I asked myself "why am I reading this book?" I gets loads better. This book takes an interesting spin on a 14 year old girls life. It looks at misunderstandings, friendships, being drunk, and doing stuff you can get in trouble for. (Don't get the wrong idea.) I've never read such an interesting yet terrifying book. It really makes you think, and wonder. What would I do if this happened to me?
I give Speak:
3 7/8 stars

This book takes an interesting spin on what it means to be growing up. Think about Melinda. Don't judge her until the very end of the book. Would you be this girls friend? Check back soon and happy reading.

-Lily Klasing