...Speak Personal Response Speak shows that the author, Laurie Halse Anderson, understands and remembers the crude emotions and unrest that makes up a teen’s world. This happens to be the most realistic fiction story on the battles of adolescence and harassment. Melinda does not turn into a racist activist Wonder Woman (even though she might when she is older) portrayed in some movies and her recovery is not sugar coated, it describes the true struggles. Even though this novel is based on sexual harassment it also focuses on the thoughts and feelings of a victim of the cruelties in high school. Rape and harassment are not issues I have dealt with but the shunning by friends, weird teachers, and oblivious teachers are problems that I and many others can relate to. For instance, the description of the Sordino family’s communication system on page 14 depicts how some teens get cut of from communication with their parents. The author of Speak portrays high school to be truly what it really is. “I am clanless.”(4) Melinda thinks just what practically all teens think. I am part of no clan; I don’t think FFCA has clans but you still fell “uncool” or not popular. Melinda also talks a lot about how no one cares what you have to say and in reality, that is the comprehension countless teens have about adults. Laurie Halse Anderson did a dead-on illustration of a ninth graders’ day to day life in the dog eat weaker dog world we call high school. Creativity and symbolism in writing are...
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...coming of age novel, Speak has a strong focus on adolescence and the problems and desires associated with it. Despite Melinda's unusually traumatic experiences, almost every reader can connect to the world she lives in. Melinda lists the cliques that the ninth grade class has broken into: "Jocks, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, Cheerleaders, Human Waste, Eurotrash, Future Fascists of America, Big Hair Chix, the Marthas, Suffering Artists, Thespians, Goths, Shredders" , familiar high school groups. Many readers will also understand Melinda's feeling of adolescent social isolation. Her negative reactions to certain aspects of the school day, such as gym class("Gym class should be illegal. It is humiliating" ) and lunch ("Nothing good ever happens at lunch. The cafeteria is a giant sound stage where they film daily segments of Teenage Humiliation Rituals. And it smells gross" ), are not unique to someone suffering from post-traumatic stress. Furthermore, Melinda exhibits a typical adolescentreaction to authority figures and rejects them by giving them ridiculous nicknames....
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...Novels such as Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak and Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why encourage readers to think critically about the world and its complexities. Both of these novels are on National Public Radio's list of top 100 best-ever teen novels; they have both held spots on the New York Times Bestseller list; both have been put on required reading lists for secondary classrooms; and, because both novels deal with social problems relevant to young readers, they may be an effective way to teach social justice. While these two novels are neither magical nor fantastical as advocated by the opponents of social realism, they do highlight realistic and gritty portrayals of life and its complexities. Speak shows a young survivor making choices...
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...the intention of becoming an Episcopal Priest. He never attended divinity school, however, because his experience working in the hospital with children suffering from life-threatening illnesses inspired him to become a writer. He lived in Chicago for several years, writing book reviews, writing for radio, and working in publishing. During this time he wrote his first novel, Looking for Alaska (2005) to immediate, and increasing, success. He followed that first novel with An Abundance of Katherines (2006), Paper Towns (2008), and The Fault in Our Stars (2012), which reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for children. Green currently lives in Indianapolis with his wife and two kids, where he continues to write, produce videos, and speak publicly about an array of topics. chronicle his artistic journey in making the film adaption of his novel. The film's trailer gained over 3 million views in less than 24 hours after it was released. PLOT SUMMARY PLO Hazel Grace Lancaster is a seventeen-year-old living with cancer. At the request of her mother, who believes she is depressed, Hazel attends a cancer support group in the basement of a church. Hazel does not like the support group, but goes to make her mother happy. One day upon...
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