Review: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Square Fish

Source: Purchased

Pages: 224

Series: Standalone

Release Date: May 10, 2011

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I am Outcast.

The kids behind me laugh so loud I know they're laughing about me. I can't help myself. I turn around. It's Rachel, surrounded by a bunch of kids wearing clothes from the Eastside Mall. Rachel Bruin, my ex-best friend. She stares at something above my left ear. Words climb up my throat. This was the girl who suffered through Brownies with me, who taught me how to swim, who understood about my parents, who didn't make fun of my bedroom. If there is anyone in the entire galaxy I am dying to tell what really happened, it's Rachel. My throat burns.

Her eyes meet mine for a second. "I hate you," she mouths silently.

Melinda Sordino's freshman year is off to a horrible start. She busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, and now her friends--and even strangers--all hate her. Months pass and things aren't getting better. She's a pariah. The lowest of the low. Avoided by everyone. But eventually, she'll reveal what happened at the party. And when she finally speaks the truth, everything will change.

Okay, so I'm not going to lie. This book talked about a very touchy subject that hits close to home for me. I was a little hesitant to read it once I found out what it was about, but I gave it a shot anyways. I told myself that if it got too bad to read, it would be okay to put it down.

Before I go into how I felt about the book, I want to say something. If anyone has been a victim of abuse, either sexual or physical, don't be afraid to tell someone. You are not alone and there will be people there for you that will help you get through things. Getting through something like that alone is not possible. It makes things worse. Talking to someone about what happened will allow you to get help and also make you feel better. Again, you are not alone. Talk to someone!

Now on to my feelings about the book. There were some parts that I liked and there were some parts that I wasn't a big fan of. The way the author writes is so powerful. She makes you feel all kinds of emotions. Throughout the whole book, I felt a connection with the main character, Melinda. I could feel pretty much every emotion that she was feeling. Sometimes it got to where I felt like I really was her. It was kind of scary to be honest.

I thought that the main character, Melinda, was such a strong character. She had to deal with so much throughout the whole book and never once did she give up. Sure it may have taken her a year to speak to someone about what really happened to her at the party, but she did eventually speak. The truth was finally told. I thought that it was so heartbreaking that her own friends wouldn't listen to her and let her explain to them what had happened to her.

I think that this story is definitely worth reading. I think that it teaches a good lesson to teens as well as others as well. I have heard that this book is a required reading at some schools and I can see why it is. If it isn't, I think that it should be. I think that kids need to read about something like this. There are so many people who have to deal with things like this and knowing that they really can go to someone and tell them what happened can be a good thing to let them know.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book. I think that it teaches a great lesson that many people should read about.

Review: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Viking

Source: Purchased
Pages: 278
Series: Standalone
Release Date: March 19th, 2009

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“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.

“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.

I am that girl.

I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.

I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.

I have never read a book about eating disorders before. I think that it is a very serious subject to read about. I also think that it is a really hard topic to write about. Because so many have to fight with this disease every day, you have to make sure that you get things correct so you don’t make these people feel even worse about themselves. (I hope that makes sense!) I had heard a lot of good things about this book, so I decided to give it a try.

This book was very powerful. During some parts of it, I literally felt like I was Lia. Sometimes it got so bad, I had to stop reading, gather my thoughts, and remember that I am NOT her. I am NOT dying. I think that if you are going to read this book, you need to be able to be mature about this subject and be able to not let it affect you in such bad ways. I think you should be strong enough to pull yourself out of the deep hole that this book puts you in.

Although I am a huge fan of romance, I am kind of glad that this book didn’t have any. When the character Elijah is introduced in the book, I got really worried. I thought she was going to be falling for the “bad guy.” She was already dealing with a lot and I didn’t want her to have to deal with him too. I had a funny feeling that he was going to be the one to save her in the end, but I am so glad that the only one who saved her was herself. By her saving herself, it made the story even better.

I thought that the style of writing was really neat. It is one of those things where you either love it or hate it. In my case, I loved it. I thought it was really cool how she was having these separate thoughts and they were crossed out in the book and then told things she actually said out loud.

Even though this book started off a little slow, I thought it was overall a really great book. Like I said earlier, I think you need to be mature about the topic involved in this book, but it is definitely a good read.