Speak (Anderson novel)
| File:Speakbook.jpg Book cover of Platinum edition | |
| Author | Laurie Halse Anderson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Farrar Straus Giroux |
Publication date | October 1999 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Hardback and paperback |
| Pages | 197 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0374371520 (first edition, hardback) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| OCLC | 40298254 |
| [Fic] 21 | |
| LC Class | PZ7.A54385 Sp 1999 |
Speak is a 1999 novel by Laurie Halse Anderson about a girl named Melinda Sordino who is an outcast as a high school freshman. It was made into a film of the same name in 2004. The novel was a New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller.[citation needed] Speak was also named a Printz Honor book in 2000.[1]
Characters
- Melinda Sordino – The main protagonist and narrator of Speak. She is a teenager who considers herself an outcast, and is depressed and lonely. After being raped by Andy Evans at a party, she becomes secluded from her friends and for the most part ceases speaking.
- Andy Evans – The main antagonist of the book, Andy is a popular senior who attends Merryweather High School. He rapes freshman Melinda at a party. Andy is also known as "Andy Beast" and "IT" in Melinda's thoughts.
- Heather Billings – A new girl from Ohio at the beginning of the school year. She is very social and at first befriends Melinda, but later ditches her for a clique called "The Marthas".
- Ivy – Melinda's friend. They grow apart after the party, but are reunited through their art class.
- Rachel Bruin (Rachelle) – Melinda's former best friend, she attends Merryweather High School. She is popular, uptight, selfish, and a poor friend. Rachel stopped being her friend after Melinda called 9-1-1 at a party, not knowing that she had been raped. She later begins dating Andy Evans. Near the end, you could assume Melinda and her became friends again.
- David Petrakis – Melinda's highly academic lab partner. He develops feelings for Melinda, but never expresses them. He also argues his rights.
- Mr. Freeman – Melinda's overly enthusiastic art teacher. He is the only adult who understands Melinda's pain, and encourages her to express it in her art. He is very open with things and in the end of the story he helps Melinda find her way to speaking again.
Censorship
Due to its controversial subject matter, Speak has often been challenged. In the Platinum Edition of Speak, released 2006, Anderson spoke out against censorship. In material printed at the end of the novel, following an interview regarding the content of the book, Anderson wrote:
But censoring books that deal with difficult, adolescent issues does not protect anybody. Quite the opposite. It leaves kids in the darkness and makes them vulnerable. Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance. Our children cannot afford to have the truth of the world withheld from them.[2]
Film adaptation
The story was adapted into a 2004 film, which was directed by Jessica Sharzer and starred Kristen Stewart as Melinda Sordino.
Translations
The book has been translated into Mandarin and is sold in Taiwan under the title of I No Longer Keep Quiet (我不再沉默),[3][4][5] and into Dutch by Hans Heesen with the name Silent as a Grave ("Zwijg als het graf"). It was also translated into Spanish with the name ¡Habla! which could be translated as "Talk!" (referring to either a male or female) and into German with the name Sprich! which is the command "Speak!". The book is also translated in Finnish with the name Lukossa. The word itself is hard to translate in English, but it means quite like "Locked in" or "locked." The book was translated into Hungarian with the title Hadd mondjam el, which means "Let Me Tell You".
Interpretation
According to Jennifer Hubert, Melinda is mute out of fear, since she calls the police about the party at the end of the summer. Her muteness also stands in for her overall difficulty communicating with her parents.[6] In the novel, Melinda says, "My throat is always sore, my lips raw...Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis."[7]
Reception
Publisher Weekly calls it "stunning".[8]
References
- ^ "2000 Michael L Printz Award". American Library Association. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
- ^ Anderson, Laurie Halse (1999). Speak. United States: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 0-14-240732-1.
- ^ "Educational listing Taiwan ?". Retrieved 2007-02-14.
- ^ "Findbook Taiwan". Findbook.tw. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
- ^ "Books.com Taiwan". Books.com.tw. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
- ^ Hubert, Jennifer http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/laurie-halse-anderson/speak.htm
- ^ Anderson, p. 50-51
- ^ http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-374-37152-4
- Anderson, Laurie Halse (October 1999). Speak (1st ed.). Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 0374371520.