Published: April 1, 2001 by: Puffin
Pages: 208
Rating: 5/5 stars
Live has been a living hell for Melinda, ever since she called the cops on a high-school party during the summer. Now, her best friend has left her, the students hate her, and she is left in a deep cloud all alone. But as Melinda progresses, she will start to realize how important it is to reveal the truth, and uncover what happened on that frightening night, even if it might change her life forever.
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!! I got chills reading this book!!! It was dark, emotional and heartbreaking to read, but it grasped my attention straight away and I felt so deeply for the characters. I feel like Melinda's story could help a lot of people, and it was so relevant to real-life situations going on today.
To start off, Melinda's character was flawed, beautiful, and extremely relatable I think to some teens. The author did an amazing job at capturing the life of a real-life teen within a fictional story, and I could fully feel connected to Melinda. In a sad real-life world where sadness is all around us, Melinda's story of courage, hope and believing made it impossible to not cry. I felt so much for her.
The writing in this book was beautiful. I know I've been using this word a lot, and the book is quite sad, but the author had a way of making it realistic and yet triumphant at the end, which made me happy that everything turned out well. I was engrossed in the story, and I do think that anyone could learn or benefit from this.
The topic of this book is essentially about bullying. A topic that is known in many YA books, as well as known too much in real-life. But I found this book to stand out from all the rest. There was something about it that made you feel like you were in the story. We could feel what Melinda was feeling, and we could cry with her. It made me realize that people can be jerks sometimes, and that we are so quick to judge people without knowing their actual story.
Overall, a flawless interpretation of the issues of a real-life teen and how it effects that people around her. Anderson's writing is so captivating, and I will definitely be checking out her other books. This book will change you, no matte what your walk of life is,
Have you read Speak? What did you think?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
This is one of my all-time favorite books :)
ReplyDeleteIt has easily become one of mine :)
DeleteReally glad you enjoyed this! It's such a powerful voice, speaking out (if you'll pardon the pun) about rape and abuse which is such an important thing to be aware of. It's been a while since I read this so I think I definitely need to revisit it to remember how beautiful it was. I've read Wintergirls by her as well, which wasn't as good in my opinion (but then, I'm very vocal about mental health, living with it myself).
ReplyDeleteIt was absolutely stunning! I might give Wintergirls a try, just to see how it goes :)
DeleteOH MY GOSH EMILY I MUST READ THIS ONE NOW!!!! The cover is so familiar and i think I've seen this one already, but ack I wish I had actually taken the time to check this one out because I think I saw this one in the bookstore once.
ReplyDeleteI love the concept of bullying. I actually really love reading books about bullying because it widens my eyes so much on this issue. I'm so so happy to hear that the writing is beautiful and that the characters establish connections.... totally adding this one to my TBR. Thanks for the lovely review! :D
Thanks Jillian! It gave me chills through and trough! Hope you enjoy it :)
DeleteI love this book too! I think Laurie Halse Anderson does a really good job with this. The subject matter must be pretty difficult to write about (especially in a book for teenagers), but she does it in a way that's realistic yet sensitive and captivating. I've read and reread this book because it's pretty short and super interesting. Anyway, good review, I'm glad you liked it! :)
ReplyDeleteI thought that she handled the subject perfectly :) Thanks Kira!
Delete