Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher- Puffin
Publication Date- January 1, 1999
Pages- 208
Awards- National Book Award Nominee for Young People's Literature (1999),Golden Kite Award for Fiction (1999), BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (1999),Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult (2000), Printz Honor (2000)

South Carolina Book Award for Young Adult Book Award (2002),Horn Book Fanfare (2000), ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults (2000), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2005)

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.

I really, really liked this book. It reminded my of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Looking for Alaska in the teen-angst kind of way. This book took me about a day to read. It's been awhile since I've read a book that keeps me up until I finish.

I really enjoyed the way this book was structured. There was hardly any dialogue. When there was ome it was in the format of:

Dad:

Me:

Mom:

Sort of like a play. It's written in the first person point of view of Melinda. She is very smart and intellectual, and she uses tons of great metaphors.

The plot was very good and realistic. I could see what was coming, but I still really wanted to keep reading. 

The characters are what I loved the most. They were extremely relateable. They evolved and grew and the reflected real high-school students. I loved some and hated some, as I do in real life.

My Rating: 

I highly recommend this book to anybody! I think Laurie Halse Anderson is one of those rare authors that have an amazing ability to say things like they are. Everyone needs to read this book.