Independent+Novel+Study

=Speak=

**#1: December 3, 2010**

 * Page 1 to 30**

I select the novel "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson for my independent novel study project because this book is about high school and it interest me since this is my freshmen year of high school, just like the main character Melinda Sordino. Also I choose this novel because the "Editorial Review" on Shelfari made me want to know what happened that day at the party and what is Melinda hiding from the rest of us. The story begins with Melinda's first day of High school, unlike the other kids who are filled with excitement on their first day of high school, Melinda just want to get it over with. She said herself that she entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude and she don't have anyone to sit with. She is outcast. Her friend from the year before are now sitting behind her and laughing at her and mouthing the words, "I hate you" to Melinda. I think the author did a great job on hold my interest and get me to read on, even thought that I only reed 30 pages of the novel. There is no doubt that something happened in August before Melinda's freshman year that left her friendless and outcast, but the author did a great job of hiding it, she only give clues in the book which made me want to read more and found out what really happened last summer.

9/10

**Page 30 to 70**
Two week has passed since high school start and Melinda is still coping with her alienated high school life. But I think Melinda is passed her first problem, being a outcast, she made new friend and she is getting use to her high school life. Heather, the new girl from Ohio, who sits with Melinda at lunch and calls Melinda for long talks, even thought that Heather is doing most of the talking. She is Melinda's only friend. One problem goes always and another one comes, the interim reports. The interim reports have come in and Melinda's grade are way done, except art, even thought that she have always done much better than this. Her dad said to her get those grade up or your name is mud. Melinda's parents have ordered her to stay after school everyday for extra help from her teacher in hoping to get her grade up. Melinda made a deal with her parents, that she will stay after school only if she can have her own safe space, the closet. At home, there is just not to much talking going on in the family, so her parents doesn't seem to notice that Melinda is even talking less than usual. I never expected that Melinda's own safe space, made even harder for her to talk now. Her lips are raw and her throat is always sore and she wakes up every morning with her jaws clenched. She wishes that she could hand over her guilt, anger and fear to someone else. Only in the closet does she feel truly safe. Up until now, the author still haven't told us what is Melinda hiding from the rest of us and what happened last summer at the party that got a girl's brother arrested.

9/10

**Page 70 to 117**
Winter break begins and Melinda's mother leaves a not for her to put up the tree for Christmas. Melinda really misses her childhood when there was a feeling of magic at Christmas time. She thinks that her parents would be divorced by now if it weren't for her. On Christmas day, Melinda and her family exchanged presents. Included in gifts from her parents are characoal pencils and a sketch pad, they have noticed her drawing. Which made Melinda's eyes fill with tears and she almost told them her terrible secret. The parents wait, sensing that she has something to say, but Melinda feels there's a snowball in her throat. She can't speak.


 * To what age group is the novel aimed? Support your answer with evidence. **

I think they novel is aimed to teenager who is change from middle school to the new world of high school. Cause I in the story we see the way that Melinda contributes to her continued alienation. I think speak is a great book for discussions between teens and their parents, their teacher and their friend.


 * What is the setting of the novel? Is the setting important or could the novel be happening anywhere? Why? **

The novel “Speak” take place in the author, Laurie Halse Anderson’s hometown, Syracuse, New York. There is not a specific date given, but I think the novel’s events occur in the late 1990s since her popular culture references and jargon suggest. School is the primary setting but I think the novel could be happening anywhere, because almost any teenager, or anyone who’s lived through his or her teenager years, will recognize the self-consciousness in the cafeteria and in the halls, the difficulty being understood by parents and teachers. So I think the story could take places anywhere around world and in every teens life.


 * Who is telling the story? How does this person’s perspective effect the way the story is told? **

Speak is written in first person from the point of view of Melinda Sordino, who is the main character of the novel. Even thought that Melinda could barely talk, but we are drawn right into her head and get the teats of her feer, her anger and the sense of humor she have.

10/10

**Page 117 to 158**
Melinda overslept, so she missed the bus and have to walk to school. It is not a long walk so she decides to stop at the town bakery, but she sees Andy Evans coming out of the bakery. He sees her too as he grins and walk toward Melinda, which made Melinda feel like a scared rabbit and she just runs away from him. Melinda is having more trouble functioning. Even in art class, she can’t do anything. Mr. Freeman says that her imagination is paralyzed, and presents her with a huge book on Picasso.


 * Why would you (or why wouldn't you) recommend this novel to a friend? **

I absolutely love this novel, and I would defiantly recommend this book to all my girl friends. Because I think this is a book that would interest mainly adolescent girl, and it is a book about the life of a teenage girl. Plus, there is a movie based on this novel, so you can always watch that! I would recommend this book to my guy friends too. I know that guys are not big fan on “teen books” but this one is different, and I thought that every teenager can feel for Melinda and it can change your perspective on how you and other treat people in high school and after. And there is some clever humor in it too. So I think anyone would read and love this novel.


 * What is the climax of the novel? **

The climax of the novel is when Melinda is in the janitors closet for the last time cleaning up her stuff when Andy comes in and rapes her again. The first time she couldn’t find a way to speak or call for help, but this time she does and the evil he has perpetrated on her and other girls in the school finally comes to an end. Following that, the truth of what happened at the party last summer finally comes out. Realizing the truth, the students no longer treat Melinda as an outcast but as a sort of hero instead.


 * Is the language in the novel difficult or easy? Give examples and explain. **

I think the language in the novel is easy reading, there is no tough language to decipher and I think the novel are pretty straightforward. But sometimes the language do get difficult, because the author use an abundant amount of similes, metaphors, and personification.

**Page 158 to 197 **
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the school year comes to a close, Melinda returns to the janitor's closet to gather some things she left inside it. Andy confronts her, telling her that she lied about the assault, saying that he did not hurt her and that she asked for it. He suggests that jealousy of his relationship with Rachel was her motivation for "lying" about the rape, and he attempts to assault her again, despite her physical attempt to stop him. She breaks a mirror and holds a shard of glass up to his neck. "I SAID NO!" she yells. This is a major turning point for Melinda because she has been reluctant to speak following the rape—and because while telling Andy "no" before the first assault she was too intoxicated for it to come out forcefully. The Lacrosse team, including Melinda's former friend Nicole, hears her scream in the closet and comes to her aid. On the last day of school, Melinda stays after to finish her art project and she finishes with an A+. As the student body hears the story and realizes the truth about what happened at the party, Melinda goes from social pariah to something of a hero. And as for Mr. Freeman, who lives up to his name by prompting her to tell her story and freeing her from its grasp. <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**Describe any new characters that are introduced? What is their purpose?** <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The new characters that I think it is most important to the story is Andy Evans or Andy “Beast” who is also the main antagonist of the book, even thought that he didn't appear in the beginning of the story. He is the senior who raped Melinda at the summer party, when she was too drunk to defend herself. He is the guy who Melinda refers to as “IT” in the beginning of the novel, because she is unable to accept what “IT” did to her. <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**How are the major and minor conflicts solved?** <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the novel “Speak”, the conflicts that Melinda overcomes throughout the story are friendship problems, family problems, and lastly, her own personality. The reason her old friends won’t talk to her and people who doesn’t even know her hate her from a distances because that she busted an end of summer party by calling the cops, which got them into trouble. And now the major and minor conflicts are all solved as the student body hears the story and realizes the truth about what happened at the party. <span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**What has happened before the novel began?** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few weeks before Melinda’s freshman year of high school, she and her groups of friends, “The Plain Janes”, are invited t a high school end of summer party. There, Melinda gets drunk and meets this senior, Andy Evans, who took her to a secluded part of the woods and raped her. After that, she called 911 and the police break up the party for underage drinking, and arrested some of the kids at the party. In the following weeks she tells no one what happened and so as a result, nobody realizes that she was raped and everybody hates her now for ruining a perfect party.

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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">**#3-- YOUR REACTION** **Write a one page reaction to the novel. In your explanation answer several, but not necessarily all, of the following questions: What do you think the theme of the novel was? Do you think that the author was successful in getting the message across? Why? For whom was the book written? What are the Good and bad points about your novel and why? Did the novel help you in any way? Did you learn anything from the novel? What did you find most interesting? What did you find most bizarre? What was most believable or unbelievable? Would you recommend this book to any one? Why or why not? Will you will read any more by this author?** =====

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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson is an amazing novel and I love it because this novel is <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">about the trials and tribulations of high school life, which is what stage I’m in right now. The reason that Laurie wrote “Speak” is because that she had a dream and it was one of those dreams that would keep coming back if she doesn’t write it down. So her dream became the first page of the book. In this book the main character is Melinda Sordin, who is also the narrator of the book. After her being raped at an end-of-the-summer party before the start of her freshman year in high school, she refused to speak or interact with others. Ever since she was raped, she completely changed. I think the theme of the novel is about secrets and what they do to you. Don't keep the wrong secrets because they can destroy you from the inside out, you have to speak up. Melinda kept that one secret throughout the whole novel and it basically ruined her life and made her an outcast. To overcome your past, don’t let thing like getting raped keep you from going on in life. The tone of the book is very tense because in the whole story Melinda is hiding what happen at the party and the rape part. I would defiantly recommend this novel to all the teenage girls, because I think this is a book that would interest mainly adolescent girl, and it is a book about the life of a teenage girl, Melinda. I think this novel is aimed to teenager who is change from middle school to the new world of high school. Since in the novel we see the way that Melinda contributes to her continued alienation. I would recommend this book to the teenage boys too. I know that guys are not big fan on “teen books”; they think it is cheesy and stupid, but this novel is different. I thought that every teen included myself can feel for Melinda and can change perspective on how you and other treat people in high school and after. Besides there is some clever humor in it too. So I would recommend this novel to just almost everybody, and I think it is a great book for class novel study, because it is a great book for discussions between teens and their parents, their teacher and their friends. =====