Speak

I love this book so much. It is such a powerful piece of literature that I think it should be required reading. Melinda's voice is clear even if no one else can hear her. She is strong even in her pain, even when she thinks she is being weak. Mr. Freeman is a wonderful character, the eccentric, confusing art teacher who bucks the system and goes on 48 minute rants instead of teaching, yet he is the only one who seems to know that Melinda is struggling, not rebelling. Rich and compelling prose. I highly recommend this book!

Powerful.

I'm not sure why I read this, or to be precise, why other adults are reading this. It seems like a good thing for kids to read, but for anyone over twenty it'll feel like a Very Special Episode: awkward, predictable. It started off promising but I felt disappointed by the shallowness of the characters. They just weren't believable, they were puppets for benefit of the story. That's fine for a fable, but in hindsight I was hoping for something more.

OK, first of all, the last three consecutive books I've read have ended with me crying. Today I went to the library & checked out the first Gossip Girl book. If that makes me cry too, I will be pretty sure the problem is with me, not with books. But whatever. This book was so good, you guys. I was afraid it wouldn't live up to all the hype. And I was afraid because I saw half the movie with Kristen Stewart as Melinda. But Kristen Stewart is terrible. Don't even think about her with this book. Don't do it. I loved Melinda's narrative voice. I loved the depiction of high school–not hyperbolically cruel like in some YA books, but definitely no picnic.

YA books are often such
downers that I avoid them.
speak is a downer. But I
couldn't stop reading it.
Melinda could be a friend
of my sons; she felt that
genuine to me.

This is a book every high
school teacher and every
parent of a teenager should
read.