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Book Report On Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

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The book I choose was Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book was published in 1999 on October 22nd. The book was also a finalist of the National Book Award. An interesting fact about this book, it was based off the author’s personal experience as a teenager.
Throughout the overview if the book, Melinda (the victim) busted a party during the summer, by calling the police. In doing so, the problem escalated that her former friends isolated themselves from her, as well as people she didn’t know disliked her as well. To Melinda, her safest place was her being alone, inside her own head, but she knows that’s not safe. Thee something she tries not to think about that night at the party. She would eventually have to tell the truth, but overall, …show more content…

He is a senior year in high school, he is well known for getting his way with anything and his appearance or by physical matters. Andy tries to alienate Melinda at all time he sees her. Within him doing that, it exposes her altercation with him, leading her to feel more emotionally about the situation that occurred that summer night. Melinda becomes more distant than ever that she eventually starts skipping school, which opens up concerns about her academic performance. She tries not to discuss to her parents nor guidance counselors of what has happened to her, which this puts them and herself in a difficult …show more content…

The title of the book which is Speak, speaks for itself, because it gives you them thoughts of what is going to happen next or is the problem going to be resolved. Some strengths in the book could be when the story reaches the climax, because after you read the overview your mind is like wow, the book has to be interesting. A weakness of the book would be the characters who all knew that Andy was sexually abusing other females and including the main character Melinda. Someone close to him as well knew his behaviors and wasn’t man enough to step up and addresses the issue. The target audience for this book would grab readers from young adults to possible adults as well. To follow up on recommendation, I would recommend the book to anyone even if it’s male or female who has been put in situations like this (rape). This book could change someone too really open is about their experience and not feel trapped or

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Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson should be mandatory reading for 8th graders due to its take on how trauma can affect the lives of its survivors. Through completed writing, the National Book Award finalist and Golden Kite Award winner, Laurie Anderson captures the thoughts of Melinda Sordino. After she gets raped and has to deal with a misunderstanding that leaves her silent and outcast. This short book of 224 pages is mostly written in short statements. From casual thoughts such as, “I zone out,” to ones with impact like, “Why go to school.”

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Laurie Halse Anderson’s realistic fiction book Speak depicts the life of Melinda Sordino, a 9th grader who called the police at a party after being raped and is now a social outcast. The pain from the memories of being raped keep her silent as she struggles through a powerful depression and the problems that go with being in high school. Anderson uses mirrors as a motif throughout the story to portray the stages of depression Melinda goes through. At the start of the story Melinda leads a very depressed hidden life; Anderson uses the mirror to represent this.

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While Melinda is in her closet where she hides at school, Andy comes in mad at what Melinda said to Rachel/Rachelle, he tries to strangle her then he hits her. She breaks a mirror and grabs a glass shard holding it to his neck, he begins to bleed. She wanted to push it in further

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Also, the closet her “safe place” she always used to hide what happened at the party from everyone else becomes a dangerous place. “It”, also known as Andy Evans the boy who rapes her at the party breaks into the closet and tries to sexually assault her again. Melinda realizes she can't let this happen again and therefore fights back with everything she has. She realizes that her closet is not safe anymore and that she can't hide from her trauma. And that she can't hide from this problem, and she needs to stand up and speak to the problem.

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All three of these quotes connect to the night Melinda was raped. On page 72 when she says "that night" she 's referring to the night of the party her and her old friends went to. A party she was not really supposed to be at. The night that she was raped in the woods. The night she called the cops and got slapped for it.

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In Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character is Melinda. Melinda is starting high school and is trying to survive highschool at Merryweather because she has no friends. The author wants Melinda to speak about her problems to her teacher, her parents, or Heather. Throughout the book Melinda has problems with her family.

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Consequently, Melinda was running away from Mr. Neck and stumbled across and old janitor’s closet, this helped in her transformation of who she is at the end of the novel. When Melinda ran into the closet, she felt safe. Moreover, the closet helped Melinda in many ways, such as a way to exit from drama. Her closet was her safe haven, she made many decisions that bettered her and people she cares about. For example, in the closet she conflicted about what to tell Rachel or to say nothing at all.

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She decides to cut her left wrist with a paperclip and starts to think about suicide. Her mom notices the cuts and does not bother to care and blows it off as if she does not care to notice what is going on. This adds to the feelings Melinda is having. Her family will not listen and notice what is going on. She feels alone in school and now at home with no one to talk to.

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Melinda is raped by an older boy at a party the summer before her freshman year of high school. The impacts of this event are socially and psychologically devastating for Melinda. Her declining mental health renders her physically unable to speak about being raped over the summer. She is unable to cope with her trauma, and forced to suffer alone. However, she eventually becomes empowered to speak up for herself and about her experience.

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At the end of the story she finally found her voice and was able to stand up for herself. In the beginning, Melinda didn't talk to anyone, barely even to her parents. She says, “I have tried so hard to forget every second of that stupid party and here I am in the middle of a hostile crowd that hates me for what I had to do. I can't tell them what really happened” (Anderson, 28).

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This moment is a huge turning point in Melinda 's life. This marks the moment when she finally speaks up about what happened. This event shows so much about who Melinda was and is becoming. Prior to telling Rachel, Melinda decides to send Rachel a note warning her about Andy. “I groan and rip out a piece of notebook paper.

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It 's a jaw-dropping book that will leave you wanting more as the author Laurie writes in a crisp and clear way describing the young girl Melinda’s horrific story and how it unfolds. The author 's tone gives off the vibe of a young frighted girl which I find really enhances this sad, but exhilarating story. This story taught me to always speak up for myself and to never let anyone take advantage of me. I would recommend this novel because it is extremely detailed, painting vivid pictures in your mind that really help to magnify and

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In the drama-pact film, Moonrise Kingdom, director Wes Anderson emphasizes the coming-of-age through his quirky characters and comedic dialect. The film is formed into a dreamlike fable, creating a sense of order and symmetry, as symmetry is marveled throughout the film, not only with the use of mise-en-scene but with character depiction. Anderson defines the identities of the two stroppy, rebellious characters, Suzy Bishop and Sam, by fabricating adult-like humor and scenes dramatized by 12 year olds. Suzy and Sam’s insurgence is out of the norm for children; two pen pals walking away from their caretakers and falsifying a life of their own. Unlikely scenarios are captured through each frame, but within each catastrophic event in the midst is a moral;

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The content that it has makes you feel sad at some points of the story, but you can also laugh at little details that the author adds to the story making it light to read. There are some parts of the story were love is experienced by naive kids, which makes the readers like the characters more and more. Suspense and drama can also be found throughout the novel when death is telling you how it took some people away before knowing who the person actually is. All of the different characteristics that the author writes make the story seem genuine. It makes readers believe what is happening because good days and bad days are shown like in real life.

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And also the book's value will be higher if the writer could use more high vocabulary. The whole story was depending on the feelings, action and behavior of men and women relationship. It has many things about how confliction rises in the two different people. Those who read this book will understand their partner’s needs and wants more. So for them it will be very easy to handle their relationship if they understand each other.

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