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.