BookQuest: Take Two
Book # 2: Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. 198 pages.
It's a Young Adult novel (which always makes me feel like I'm cheating a little, since they're usually fairly quick reads, but I'm working to overcome that. It did read pretty quickly, but it was one of those books that just flows so well that you can't really find a good stopping point.
It's about a young girl has to deal with something that happened at a party, and her method of dealing has resulted in the school ostracizing her. It follows her throughout that school year, from first day to last, as she deals with the repercussions and her accompanying depression.
I was browsing at Barnes and Noble last week, looking for something new, and I found this. I'm glad I did. I'll definitely read more by this author.
But not for a little while. While it was very good and very powerful, it also hit a little too closely to home for me, and I won't be reading anything sad for a while. At least not intentionally. (This is not to imply that I shared the main character's experience. I did not. But high school and depression and secrets are something that I do share with her, just like we all do, and I need to take a break from that for a while.)
What I didn't know until after I read the book today is that the book has been worked into the literature curriculum in many middle schools and high schools. And way to go, Ms. Anderson! So many kids are turned off of literature because they're being forced to read stuff that is practically written in a different language, set in a time they can't relate to, with characters and events that they can't relate to. So working contemporary YA fiction into a literature program is essential. I'm not saying that I think we should totally abandon all of those old greats; we just need a healthy mix.
I had to laugh when the main character's English class was discussing Nathanial Hawthorne's symbolism. Totally the same arguments we all made in eleventh grade Lit. :)
I also didn't know that the book had been made into a movie. With Steve Zahn as the oddball art teacher. I can so totally see him in that role, all quirky and funny and caring. Now I have to watch the movie. I'll definitely be Netflixing it. (Here's the one problem with the film, though. It has Kristen Stewart. And while I don't deny that she's probably got some acting skills...she's from Twilight. And I really really really really really can't stand Twilight. I really really can't. And all of the actors just BUG me. But I know it's ridiculous to hold that against her, so I'll watch it, and I'm actually certain that she'll do a great job.)
So.
Two down, 98 to go.
:)
p.s. Can you tell that I really really really disliked Twilight? :) Please don't take it personally, Twilight fans. I have nothing against anyone who does love the books or the movies. They're just REALLY not my style.)