Speak- Movie vs. Book

                               My decision to read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson came from my recent compelling to watch the movie that was made based on the book. Yes, I watched the movie before reading the book. The movie “Speak” came out in 2004, with the leading role Kristen Stewart as Melinda Sordino. Currently I am only about 60 pages into the book but I defiantly feel that watching the movie first is helping me understand the book more. Overall I really enjoyed the movie.
            This movie is basically about a high school freshman that is struggling to forget memories from the past summer. At a summer party she called 9-1-1 after a senior raped her. Other teens there were busted for underage drinking and all the others blamed it on Melinda even though no one else knew what had happened to her. I believe that this movie and story is very powerful. It can be relatable in some ways to other teens and creates a very powerful message about how it is very important to speak up.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

            I have recently picked up the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Originally I wasn’t planning on going down the Realistic Fiction route again but something about this book just caught my eye. The back of the book talks about the first day of school and different social classes, this gave me a sense that the book could be very relatable. Just by that little piece of the book I wanted to find out what happened next so I decided to start reading.“It is my first morning of high school. I have seven new notebooks, a skirt I hate, and a stomachache.”This starting paragraph was quite interesting as well and defiantly captivates the reader’s attention and curiosity. 

            So far in the book Melinda (the main character) went off to her first day of high school in the morning and nothing has been going smoothly.Jocks, Eurotrash, Future Facists of America, Big Hair Chix. the Marthas, Suffering Artists, Thespians, Goths and Shredders. But can’t seem to fit herself into ANY available social groups. Last year her group of friends all split up and one moved to Nevada so Melinda basically walked in to school without any friends. She meets a girl named Heather, she has recently moved from Ohio. Melinda and Heather eat lunch together and sit next to each other for the 9^th grade welcoming assembly.

For more information about Speak click here

Author Review: Laurie Halse Anderson

 
            I have recently began the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. So far I am really enjoying the book but I would like to get to know a little more about her before I move on.            Laurie Halse Anderson was born on October 23, 1961 in the Northern area of New York. As a student she showed early interest in writing. Despite her struggle in math, she hoped to one day be a doctor. During Anderson’s senior year, she at the age of sixteen, she moved out of her parent’s house and lived as an exchange student for thirteen months on a pig farm in Denmark. She then moved back home and began working at a clothing store making minimum wage; this pushed her into going to college. Laurie attended Onondaga Community College. 
           Laurie Halse Anderson married Greg Anderson, and in 1985, they had their first child, Stephanie Holcomb. Two years later, they had their second child, Meredith Lauren. The couple later divorced.Years later, Anderson moved back to Mexico, New York and eventually became married to her childhood sweetheart; Scot Larrabee.
            In the early years of her career, Laurie Halse Anderson was a freelance journalist for The Philadelphia Inquirer. She also started writing children’s and young adult novels around this time. In 1996 Anderson released her first children’s novel Ndito Runs. In 1999 Laurie published what is known as her most popular novel to date; Speak. This is the book that I am currently reading. In 2004, Speak was later made into a film starring Kristen Stewart as the main character Melinda Sordino. Anderson has also published other young adult novels including; Fever in 2002, Catalyst in 2002, Prom in 2005, Twisted in 2007 and her most recent publication is Wintergirls in 2009. Laurie Halse Anderson has won many awards and honors, most awards went to her novel Speak.

                                    Book Suggestions?

                I have recently decided to stop reading An Abundance of Katherines. After being a couple chapters into the book I have realized that I am not finding much interest in it. I love the author John Green and his other book The Fault in Out Stars that I had previously read but I am not finding much of a connection in this particular one. I am by no means saying that this is a bad book, I know many people that have read it and loved it. I just want to move on to a book that sparks more interest- one that I can connect to more.

            I am interested in reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I have heard many good things about it from friends and it just has good reviews online in general. This book is about a murder that takes place in a museum in Paris, France. The body is left with symbols and artwork that are said to be from ideas of the illuminati. I want to switch my focus of books from more typical love stories to adventurous, mysterious novels. If you have any other suggestions or have read The Da Vinci Code, please leave a comment below!

                                     Click Here to see more about The Da Vinci Code.

Krista Ramsey

Krista Ramsey Column 

      In the post "See the hit, save the brain gameplan at cautious UC" Krista talks about the concussion rates taken throughout the past couple of years. It also talks about the 'gameplan' in UC that dramatically dropped concussion rates by training players to see their 'blindside'.
   
                                                            (Best Written Line) 
  " As they smack flashing buttons, the Bearcats are improving eye-hand coordination, timing, anticipation, depth perception and peripheral vision. It's fun. It's also potentially brain-saving."
       I think that this is the best written line because of the diction and syntax that is used. The diction that is used includes a variety of informal and elevated words. When she explains how the Bearcats are improving by saying "...improving eye-hand coordination, timing, anticipation, depth perception and peripheral vision."  you get a much more sophisticated, knowledgeable vibe compared to "It's fun. It's also potentially brain-saving." This line shows the readers that the article is quite casual by getting a clear point across using informal diction.
     Syntax used in this sentence also varies. Krista first uses a long and involved sentence separated by many commas. The next sentence is very short, only two words; "It's fun." This defiantly changes the tone/ mood of the paragraph.  
      I believe that Ramsey's writing style is informative but comical/ laid-back at the same time.                                                
                                                                     Examples:
- "But before parents claw back the iPhones, experts say the problem may not lie in the technology itself, but the amount of time spent on it, the environment in which it's used and the activities it's replacing." (For better vision, kids need time outdoors)
- "Manning is a Southern-bred gentleman whose classic suits match up nicely with his classy manners." (Super Bowl QBs score points for great style)
- " As they smack flashing buttons, the Bearcats are improving eye-hand coordination, timing, anticipation, depth perception and peripheral vision. It's fun. It's also potentially brain-saving." (See the hit, save the brain gameplan at cautious UC)

Questions:

1.) Have you always loved writing and suspected it to be a future job or hobby throughout middle/high school?

2.) What did you major in college and what was your first job coming out of college?

3.) Where does your 'voice/style' of writing come from? Was it influenced by any family members growing up?

            Prompt I am responding to: Describe a conversation that you would like to have with a character from your book. What would this conversation sound like?

                If I could have a conversation with someone from An Abundance of Katherine’s, I would want to talk to the main character Colin. I would want to have a conversation with him because there are many things about him that confuse me. One of these things being why he feels like he needs to have a girlfriend at all times to feel complete. Clearly the relationships that he has been continuing to have, haven’t been working out. I would also like to question his parents on how they feel about their son and his many different relationships.

                Another question I would ask to Colin is why he only dates girls named Katherine. I know that everyone has preferences while dating, whether its height, hair color or interests but only dating someone because of their name is ridiculous. At the moment in the book, Colin has dated and been dumped by 19 different girls named Katherine. Therefore, I would really like to know what it is about girls named Katherine that draws him into liking them.


                 Click Here for Questions Answered by John Green about An Abundance of Katherines

               

An Abundance of Katherines- Setting

                                

                                            An Abundance of Katherines- Setting

                 Current Summary:   

                

                An Abundance of Katherines is about a boy named Colin with some serious relationship problems. Many people have preferences while dating and Colin's is dating girls named Katherine. He has dated, and been dumped by 19 different girls named Katherine. He recently was dumped by the 19th Katherine. His best friend Hassan decides that now would be a good time for a road trip to get Colin's mind off of his recent break-up. They drive from where they live; Chicago, to an area in Tennessee that they end up in to stop for dinner. Apparently this area has the resting place of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which is ironic because Colin was recently thinking about Franz Ferdinand and his significance.  

                Setting:

           

               The original setting takes place in Chicago where Colin and Hassan live. Although they decide to take a road-trip to Gutshot, Tennessee; an old town that thrives off the money made at their factory. The most crucial part of the setting, however, is not the factory but a tourist attraction called The Last Resting Place of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This grave attracted Colin and Hassan into the town in the first place. 

" ...that finally brought him to Gunshot, Tennessee- POPULATION 864, as the roadside sign read." Page 29

" On each side of the Hearse, fields of squat, luminously green plants stretched out into a gray forever, broken up only by the occasional horse pasture, barn, or strand of trees." Page 29

" On the side of the building, a hand- painted sign read THE KINGDOM OF GUNSHOT--- ETERNAL RESTING PLACE OF THE ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND / ICE-COLD BEER / SODA / BAIT."

For More Information on Franz Ferdinand Click Here