Module 7- Speak

Speak- Module 7 A. High school should be the best time of Melinda's life. Instead, freshman year is a nightmare as Melinda finds herself rejected by her friends, cut off from her parents, and unable to reveal a terrible secret. In fact, she isn't speaking at all. Melinda's slow healing process is a realistic and compelling one, and readers will cheer for her when she finally does use her voice. B. Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. New York: Square Fish. C. Speak is one of my favorite books to date! The first time I read it, I completely changed some of the views I had on teaching children. Though I am young, Speak reminds me what it’s like to be a high school girl, something I thought I would be anxious to forget and never remember or think about. Speak reminded me that there are so many things teachers overlook when they shouldn’t because we are so busy and often overworked, but that our students depend upon us noticing. A young child going through severe trauma, like Melinda did in Speak, leaves clear signals that no one should have missed in the novel. Those closest to Melinda completely missed/chose to remain ignorant of the changes going on inside and outside of her, much to Melinda’s detriment. I am reminded of how important it is to listen and to pay attention every time I read this book and I love it even more each time. D. In a stunning first novel, Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager. Divided into the four marking periods of an academic year, the novel, narrated by Melinda Sordino, begins on her first day as a high school freshman. No one will sit with Melinda on the bus. At school, students call her names and harass her; her best friends from junior high scatter to different cliques and abandon her. Yet Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy. A girl at a school pep rally offers an explanation of the heroine's pariah status when she confronts Melinda about calling the police at a summer party, resulting in several arrests. But readers do not learn why Melinda made the call until much later: a popular senior raped her that night and, because of her trauma, she barely speaks at all. Only through her work in art class, and with the support of a compassionate teacher there, does she begin to reach out to others and eventually find her voice. Through the first-person narration, the author makes Melinda's pain palpable: "I stand in the center aisle of the auditorium, a wounded zebra in a National Geographic special." Though the symbolism is sometimes heavy-handed, it is effective. The ending, in which her attacker comes after her once more, is the only part of the plot that feels forced. But the book's overall gritty realism and Melinda's hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired. E. Speak would be a fantastic book to do a book club with, especially for middle school or high school girls. There are tons of important topics within it that young girls need to talk about and be exposed to, as well as lots of complicated metaphors and imagery. I bet when reading it, no one would suspect that it could be educational and entertaining, but this book definitely is. I love tricking kids into learning while they enjoy themselves and this book is just the one to accomplish that.