Speak – Laurie Halse Anderson

This book was really intense, and probably got the most severe emotional reaction out of anything I’d read recently. The story and narration is simply amazing. Melinda’s voice is, ironically, one of the most interesting I’ve heard in a book, and the story of what she’s been put through is tragic and stressful. I couldn’t help but read this in two sittings, and I noticed that when I got up halfway through, I felt tired and emotionally drained. Melinda’s experience was so well-conveyed by the narration that the emotions she felt spread to me as a reader.

The content matter of this book is definitely troubling. When I was trying to figure out what grades I thought this book could be appropriate or inappropriate for, I took into account that Melinda was going from eighth grade into ninth grade when the dramatic events of the book took place. Despite Anderson’s public comments that reading this kind of story, although troubling, could be helpful to a person of any age, I don’t think I would assign this to a freshman class. Sophomores, maybe. That is not to say, however, that I wouldn’t recommend it to individual students. It is extremely well-written, and discusses a lot more than just the aftermath of Melinda’s rape. The side story dealing with Melinda’s social studies classroom is something that I found very interesting, and a recurring moment of relief from the traumatic events of the narration.

This novel is definitely teachable. Often, I tend to shy away from “issues” books, but that’s because I either don’t like the writing or find the book overly preachy. Speak falls into neither of those categories. As for the most teachable elements of the book, voice, symbolism, mystery, and character development could all be items in a unit. My own personal teaching philosophy has a focus on empathizing with both real people and literary characters, and I feel that Speak does a great job of opening itself up for empathy. Of course, if I were to teach this book, I would have to make sure it was approved by whatever process my school uses. In Speak censorship cases, a parent or community leader wrongfully accuses the teacher of assigning pornography. Informing those involved that the book contains graphic depictions of sexual violence (not pornography) would definitely be important. The resounding remarks from parents that I’ve read, however, are able to move past concern with the violent scenes. People understand that the themes of this book are valuable. Of comments that I’ve read, only one expressed a fear that girls who have experienced sexual abuse will be traumatized by this book. The vast majority said it would be helpful and healthy for these girls to read it, seeing a role model who rises out of the silence and begins to live her life again. Of course, I’m not going to fully know the backgrounds of my students, and my first priority is to prevent them from being hurt. I’ll have to think hard about my school’s situation before I assign this book, but I really think it could be a valuable resource.