Speak
By: Laurie Halse Anderson
Melinda Sordino is an Outcast.
Join the thousands of people whose lives have been changed by this powerful novel.
"The tears dissolve the last block of ice in my throat. I feel the frozen stillness melt down through the inside of me, dripping shards of ice that vanish in a puddle of sunlight on the stained floor. Words float up.
Me: "Let me tell you about it."" (Anderson 198).
Melinda Sordino crashed the party by calling the cops after an incident. Only Melinda knows why she called the cops that night. Now, school has started back and it's horrible. Cliques have formed and she has no where to sit, no one to talk to. She is an Outcast. After trying to talk to her ex-bestfriend Rachel, she realized she had no one. Melinda is safe by talking to herself in her head. But even now that isn't safe anymore. Something about that party is wrecking the rails of her train of thought. Maybe the only solution is for Melinda to speak up.
The Making of Melinda Sordino
The character Melinda Sordino was created from the author's nightmare. Laurie Anderson woke up one night to a sound of a girl sobbing. She checked on her daughters to see if it was one of them, but they were both sound asleep. Laurie later realized that the sound of the sobbing girl was coming from her head. She sat down at her computer & wrote what she was hearing. Anderson listed to that voice again & that was when the character of Melinda Sordino unfolded.
Rave Reviews
"An uncannily funny book even as it plumbs the darkness, Speak will hold readers from first word to last." -The Horn Book, starred review
"A stunning first novel. . . . Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy. . . . Melinda's hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired." -Publishers Weekly, starred review
Awards & Accolades
- A Michael L. Printz Honor Book
- A National Book Award Finalist
- An Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist
- A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
- Winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award
- A New York Times Best Seller
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