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Speak (Bite) | 
 enlarge | Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Category: Book
List Price: $12.40
Buy New: $7.28
You Save: $5.12 (41%)
New (1) Used (9) from $4.44
Avg. Customer Rating:  1176 reviews
Sales Rank: 2411530
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0340817623
EAN: 9780340817629
ASIN: 0340817623
Publication Date: July 19, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Brand New! Immediate Shipment!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "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." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute... Laurie Halse Anderson's first novel is a stunning and sympathetic tribute to the teenage outcast. The triumphant ending, in which Melinda finds her voice, is cause for cheering (while many readers might also shed a tear or two). After reading Speak, it will be hard for any teen to look at the class scapegoat again without a measure of compassion and understanding for that person--who may be screaming beneath the silence. (Ages 13 and older) --Jennifer Hubert
Book Description
Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.
Awards for Speak
A 2000 Printz Honor Book
A 1999 National Book Award Finalist
An Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist
A 1999 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
An ALA Quick Pick
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Top Ten First Novel of 1999
A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Horn Book Fanfare Title
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1171 more reviews...
 Excellent read September 4, 2008
I first became interested in the book after seeing the film adaptation of it on TV one day as I was flipping through the channels. The character of Melinda Sordino was captivating. Soon afterwards, I bought Speak and read it in one sitting.
Although this is labeled as a YA novel, I'm an adult woman and thoroughly enjoyed the novel. Anderson has written a completely realistic, heart-breaking, inspiring and at times funny portrayal of high school. Melinda is a character I could become friends with, she is that real. The rape and Melinda's reaction to it are so vividly and sensitively portrayed by Anderson. You really begin to feel the pain, despair and loneliness of Melinda as you read the first person narration of her first year of high school. If you're thinking of reading this or giving it to your teen to read, definitely do it. You won't have any regrets. I can also vouch for the movie adaptation, it was excellent and Kristen Stewart IS Melinda Sordino, no question.
 Speak August 12, 2008
Speak is a good book that deals with a young girl who has been raped, but she doesnt tell anyone what has happened to her. she is an outcast at her highschool, and is depressed.
Speak is written well but its depressing...although, the end is very good, i liked that.
 ok purchase August 4, 2008
the price was great and the story itself was ok. it's another look at pressures placed on girls during high school
 Juvenile and poorly written July 25, 2008
1 out of 8 found this review helpful
Hmm.... what to say, what to say....
Okay- Speak.
The plot sucked and the character was obnoxiously TYPICAL - or rather, what an adult who doesn't know thinks a teenager is.
I thought that this book would be a real great story about being alone, being solitary, and depression. I was wrong. It was "oh I'm not popular, woe is me" type things, and the whole story about the rape is unreal and just blah.
The main character lacked any real depth no matter how hard the author tried- and so did all the rest of the characters. There was no character development or development of ANY kind - yes, it has a happy ending and all is well - but there wasn't any real journey and there was no plotline to follow along with.
I would only recommend this book to people searching for books featuring two-dimensional stereotypical teenagers at a high school that survives on labels.
The only reason I gave it two stars instead of one is because - at least I read the whole thing.
This has meaning. Pain. July 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My mom found this book on a plane. Someone left it there perhaps accidently as they were gathering up their suitcases, or as I prefer to believe, because they finished reading it and wanted others to read about it. That's why I love books so much they are meant to be read, shared, enjoyed. My mom read it and then gave it to me to read. I may leave the book on a park bench or on the beach.
This book reads easy but that does not at all imply that this is a simple book. On the contrary, Anderson discusses the angst of being a young teenager, high school clicks, the inability to conform, losing friends, and loss of communication within families. In all honesty, I read the book in 4 or 5 hours because I couldn't put it down.
Anderson writes with fluid grace. Her style is quick, fluid, sarcastic, witty, and at times haunting. The protagonist, Melinda, hardly says anything. Her parents think she has become mute. They think she is rebelling, as all teenagers do. Their own relationship is a model of dysfunction and waste. Her only outlet is in her art class. Her assignment is simple: she has the whole year to do a project and recreate a tree that emotionally moves everyone. That would be well and fine, except, Melinda checked out emotionally last year. After a certain party. After she "called the cops" for reasons unknown to her friends. She doesn't tell anyone what happened that night, and since then her walls have come up and she feels like ice blocks her throat.
Every teenage girl should read this novel in my opinion. I think everyone can relate to at least one aspect of the book which is why I enjoyed this. I like novels that speak to me in some way and I can relate to it. Melinda has some powerful memories of certain instances that she remembered as a child - like when she was out in the snow - and recalling how life appeared much easier back then. She could talk to people. Clearly, something tragic shook Melinda to her very core at the party and she was suffering from PTSD.
I highly recommend this book to all young people and adults.
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