Hm. Alisa. You need this.
Alaina Antonelli
Per. Float
Independent Reading Letter
Dear Laurie Halse Anderson,
Your novel Speak was one of the best books I have ever read. It is now a personal favorite of mine. The way you capture being an outsider and being outcasted was just amazing and you are an extremely talented writer. Your book had me in deep thought a lot of the time and there were so many great parts of it I just loved and couldn't get enough of. The way you write kept me wanting to read more and continue on. There are only few authors who have that effect on me, and you're definitely one of them
One thing I really loved about the book was the way you characterize people. Once you give someone a specific character and a specific way to act, they stay true to that character. The only character that really changed some was David, and that's basically because he was coming out of his shell more into becoming the character he ended up as. As much as Melinda could bother me sometimes with the way she never spoke when I wanted her to and the way she would keep up that disgusting habit of biting her scabs off her lips, these details about her made her who she was, and she never changed this character and these traits until the end, when it was either speak up or have the unthinkable happen twice. You really let it be known what the characters' traits and qualities were and they didn't just become someone totally different throughout the book. Some authors completely change a character and make them do things they would never actually do, but you stayed focused and kept them the way they were, and I admire that.
Another thing I loved about the novel was the way you kept the big secret of what happened the night of the party a secret. Sure, you let little hints slip out here and there about what happened, but you waited until the final portion of the book to actually say what happened that night and you described Melinda's emotion. Some books spoil the surprise early, which is sort of a let down for me, because in certain situations, I really want to be kept in suspense until the final moment when the truth is revealed. You kept it a great secret and I loved the feeling of wanting to keep reading the book to find out what happened, which is something I haven't felt in a long while in recent readings.
You also made Melinda a relatable character to many girls. Sure, not many teenage girls I know would be caught in a situation that she was caught in (calling the cops at an end of the summer party isn't something big that me friends and I go through), but her basic emotions and fears of being who she truly was are traits and qualities that many teenage girls, such as myself, have. I know that for me, at one time or another, I was completely afraid to speak up. This entire book was about Melinda finally being able to deal with the past and finally speak up when she knew her friend needed the help. Melinda was a true character and someone many people could relate with and you did an amazing job with her character and her traits.
There is not much I can complain about with this book. But one thing that was bothering me was her friends. How good of friends must her friends have been if they just stopped being friends with her after one night of calling the cops on a party? I know that my friends wouldn't stop being my friends if I broke up a party that they were at. And none of her so called "friends" even bothered to ask why she called the cops. I have to keep relating this back to my life, because I kept comparing Melinda to myself. And I know that my friends would have been there to question my motives and wonder why I did what I did. It really makes me question the loyalty of Melinda's "friends" and made me wonder why she would really want to be friends with them again in the first place. I mean, I know that she didn't have anyone once school started up, but why would she want to go back to these mean people that completely abonded her and never questioned what was going on? This question was just bothering me while going through the book, and I needed to get it out there.
Your novel Speak was an incredible book. I absolutely loved it and I would recommend it to anyone who feels like an outsider and is afraid to speak up for fear of what may happen. When I was coming to the end of the book, I found myself getting upset. I wanted to know what happened during that summer, once her friends started talking to her again. I wanted to know what happened that next school year, if she maintained that level of popularity she had gained by the end. There were just so many unanswered questions that are just going through my head, and I would love to know what happens next in the life of Melinda. I adore your book and will definitely remember it as time goes on.
Sincerely,
Alaina Antonelli
Book Recommendation:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
"Chbosky captures the essence of being different and an outcast and adds a spin to the novel by writing it as a series of letters to an anonymous person. Beautifully written, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is original, real and shows that growing up and getting on with life is harder to do than one may think."
-Alaina Antonelli