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Summary Of Speak By Laurie Halse Anderson

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After reading Laurie Halse Anderson Laurie Halse Anderson book named Speck we hear the story about Melinda’s journey through her first year of high school. Through the first year, she has confronted the fact that she was raped by Andy by having to summon the strength to fight back and speak up exposing him to the school. In the story, we watch Melinda's interactions with other characters and how the book seems to paint the character's as one-sided, but in the movie, it paints them in a realistic light. So I feel like the book failed in being realistic with how her peers, parental figures are portrayed and how Melinda is hard to sympathize with .

The first issue I found with the book is the way the author made all of Melinda’s peers seem …show more content…

Melinda turns down and ignores opportunities where she could fix her school reputation from one of the people not knowing her and thinking she is weird to one where she can show the real her. For example, she could have been a part of the basketball team and us the gift for shooting and this would allow her to get exposure socially with other kids and it could correct her reputation instead she turns it down and waste it.Another example is when Heather wholeheartedly comes to Melinda for support in making decorations for prom when everyone else is sick. Instead of doing the kind and considerate hing for her Melinda decides to leave her for dead and tells her she can't help her. The way it's told in the book would make you think Heather is a bad person but it's the opposite. If we think of it from Heather's perspective, she is going to her first real friend at a new school where she knows no one and all she wants to do is fit so why wouldn't she want to make new friends. Also, Melinda’s just judgment about the fact she tries to make friends with poplars and with her model, but its just in Heather’s nature she is very innocent and naive person that can make mistakes. Melinda seems to be jealous of Heather so when she finally tries to correct her mistake of leaving her as a friend Melinda deny her the forgiveness and redemption she should be allowed to receive. And it isn't even that Melinda doesn't give to anyone because she does she forgave Ivy when she did more wrong that Heather. This shows how the author has written Melinda as more of a flawed somewhat bad person from the way she treats the people she has around her and the opportunities she

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