Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

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When Melinda Sordino's friends discover she called the police to quiet a party, they ostracize her, turning her into an outcast -- even among kids she barely knows. But even worse than the harsh conformity of high-school cliques is a secret that you have to hide.

This book is so close to my heart I honestly find it difficult to talk/write about it.


This book started out like any other young adult novel set in high school.


There were the popular cliques and then there were the outcasts.


Melinda Sordino is an outcast.

"THE FIRST TEN LIES THEY TELL YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL 

1. We are here to help you. 

2. You will have time to get to your class before the bell rings. 

3. The dress code will be enforced. 

4. No smoking is allowed on school grounds. 

5. Our football team will win the championship this year. 

6. We expect more of you here. 

7. Guidance counselors are always available to listen. 

8. Your schedule was created with you in mind. 

9. Your locker combination is private. 

10. These will be the years you look back on fondly. 

TEN MORE LIES THEY TELL YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL 

1. You will use algebra in your adult lives. 

2. Driving to school is a privilege that can be taken away. 

3. Students must stay on campus during lunch. 

4. The new text books will arrive any day now. 

5. Colleges care more about you than your SAT scores. 

6. We are enforcing the dress code. 

7. We will figure out how to turn off the heat soon. 

8. Our bus drivers are highly trained professionals. 

9. There is nothing wrong with summer school. 

10. We want to hear what you have to say." 

Sounds pretty normal, right?


Well it isn't.


Melinda is crushed emotionally. She is depressed. And she is filled with incomprehensible pain.


I think teenagers whose lives are perfect and who are completely happy should skip this book.


Because A)This book shall make you depressed. It's very The Bell Jar or The Catcher In The Rye in that respect.I mean filled with Agnst.


B) This book annoyed many who thought Melinda was whiny.


Do I want to punch such people?


OfCourse! I hate happy people. >.<


Just kidding.


Okay I am not. Because said teenagers want to read this book because Kristen Stewart aka Their beloved Bella Swan played the protagonist in the movie.( No I am not hating on her. I think K-Stew did an excellent job in the movie.)


Moving on,


Melinda Sordino is cradling a dark secret.


A secret which has paralysed her(mentally) and left unable to speak.


I would tell you what the secret was but honestly that would be spoiler-ish so I won't.


But I will say it is HORRIBLE HORRIBLE.


I love Melinda Sordino because she reminds me so much of Esther Greenwood.


I wouldn’t have been shocked if she had committed suicide by the end of the book.


She did not however.


Melinda manages to get help.


Does she recover.?


We can only hope she did.


Melinda’s voice is normal and blunt. Melinda's first person narration empowers Speak's literary strength. The use of monologue invites readers to become emotionally involved in the story and feel empathy for Melinda.


She doesn’t care about friend’s or classes.

"I need a new friend. I need a friend, period. Not a true friend, nothing close or share clothes or sleepover giggle giggle yak yak. Just a pseudo-friend, disposable friend. Friend as accessory. Just so I don't feel or look so stupid." 

However, she does wish some guy liked her. Here I’ll warn y’all that there was absolutely no romance in the book.


Oh and I loved that her art class played such an important role in the movie.

"Art without emotion its like chocolate cake without sugar. It makes you gag." 

"Why not spend that time on art: painting, sculpting, charcoal, pastel, oils? Are words or numbers more important than images? Who decides this? Does algebra move you to tears? Can plural possessives express the feelings in your heart? If you don't learn art now, you will never learn to breathe!" 

And this quote for all of us who have ever wished we could just hide in a closet forever.

"I know my head isn't screwed on straight. I want to leave, transfer, warp myself to another galaxy. I want to confess everything, hand over the guilt and mistake and anger to someone else. There is a beast in my gut, I can hear it scraping away at the inside of my ribs. Even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me. My closest is a good thing, a quiet place that helps me hold these thoughts inside my head where no one can hear them."

Similar Books: Thirteen Reasons Why By Jay Asher

The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath
The Trailer : 

                                

You can follow Laurie Halse Anderson on Twitter at @halseanderson 

The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

           










I will be honest. I came across this book on many review blogs but I never gave it any thought. The cover did not attract me and I could barely understand the plot. However with time there was a huge buzz surrounding this trilogy.And so I decided to give the book a try.


And am I glad I did!?!


I loved The Hunger Games. This is one of those books that reach great heights of popularity and is extremely different from other books out there.


The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian future. It is written wonderfully well and has a killer plot.


How do you think the world will be in a century or so?


Suzanne Collins has potrayed a very accurate if brutal view of what she thinks America will be in the future. The rich have grown richer. Poor have grown poorer. And reality Tv Show has taken over the form of entertainment.


Suzanne Collins also seems to be inspired by Greek Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur and the Iraq War.


The post-apocalyptic world she has created with Panem is rich and exciting. It’s amazing how different life in the Capitol is from life in the various districts.


Now The Hunger Games are a little like Survivor except the contestants ( here Tributes) must kill each other off instead of being voted off. The Game is brutal and savage and yet extremely addicting. I loved each part of the game and how detailed it was.The protaganist even carried out a fake relationship to attract sponsors.


The protaganist sixteen-year old Katniss Everdeen is startlingly different from other female protaganists in young adult fiction. She is calculating and shrewd. She is strong and independent and far from the damsel in distress. She kills and barely feels the remorse. I was shocked by her at times and yet I could not have loved her more.


The supporting characters were interesting and well developed. I am especially in love with Peeta Mellark who also goes to The Hunger Games with Katniss.


There is some romance there.


For those worried about the violence I thought this book does not have that much of gore and there was nothing shocking in terms of the killings.( But then again I love Dexter so maybe I am just underestimating it ).


It’s one of the best books I have ever read and I recommend it highly to everyone.


Similar Books: Divergent By Veronica Roth


There is a movie in production.


Check out the Entertainment Weekly cover of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.


And Josh Hutcherson AKA the kid from Bridge To Terabithia who is all grown up now is playing Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth AKA Miley Cyrus's ex-bf though perez hilton says they back together as Gale i.e Kat's BFF.

What did YOU think about the casting of The hunger games?

Was it perfect?

Or completely wrong?

Comment below and let me know :)




NOTE: I DO NOT THINK I HAVE DONE THIS BOOK JUSTICE IN THAT TINY REVIEW.


THIS BOOK IS MIND-BLOWING AND EARTH-SHATTERINGLY GOOD.


THE ENTIRE TRILOGY WAS EFFING FABULOUS!