Tuesday, June 2, 2009

My Take On Speak

I was right, I inhaled this book like a bowl of mint oreo ice cream on a hot summer day. Gobble-snarf-gobble, ah, refreshing! Ratings first. This book is worthy of more, but I only have so many zombies to dispense, so I give it five.
I think every girl everybody should read this, seriously. It should be a requirement in every school. Girls and guys can learn a lot from Melinda's experiences.
I only ever disliked Melinda once, when she scraped up her arm with a paperclip. I have no patience for self destructive behavior. Call me callus, whatever, but when I hear about that kind of stuff, I just wanna shake that person till their teeth chatter and slap some sense into them. Messin' yourself up isn't gonna solve anything.
I can't even think of anything else to say about this book except that it was excellent and worthy of every minute you can devote to it. Read it. Learn from it. Love Melinda, and all the Melindas you will meet in your life, male or female,  hurt or outcast, stop judging before you know all the details, and listen to what people are saying even if they choose to comunicate without words.
This story made me incredibly sad, so I'm sorry about the lack of peppyness in this post, but the thought that there are actually people going through this kind of thing makes me angry and frustrated and... well, just sad.
Melinda is an incredible character because she doesn't feel like a character, but like a real girl whose thoughts somehow end up on paper. I love the way she thinks and all the labels she gives the people in her school, Mr. Neck, Hairwoman, Principal Principal. It was a sad story, but it was delivered in a humorous way. Not like, "Ha-ha, Melinda is so messed up!" but, "She has a great sense of humor despite it all," you know? Maybe that's not the right way to describe it, I dunno. Read the book if you haven't already and see for yourself. It's like, deep down, she's still alive and vibrant, she just needs to learn to be that person again. And she does get justice in the end when she learns to Speak. Corny ending on my part, I know, but it's totally true.
Next up for me is Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce.
Tootle-loo, much reading to do,
21

5 comments:

Eli said...

This was a required reading at my school, and I agree that everyone SHOULD read this book at some point in their lives. Great Review.

Sandy said...

That's weird...I commented on this post and now that I'm back again, it has failed to appear?! Grr.

"Gobble-snarf-gobble, ah refreshing!" LOL. I love that. Yes, there is a little spark left in Melinda...it's just been clouded by what Andy did to her. The beast that he is. Did you watch the Lifetime movie version of Speak? Kristen Stewart (who's Bella from Twilight)is Melinda. I thought she did a great job in that movie. I'm not so sure how I feel about her being Bella though...

Zombie Girrrl said...

I half-watched the movie a few years ago. I had no idea while watching it that it was the book I'd read, so I was like, "Hmm, this seems very familiar...O_o" It had been a couple years since I'd read it when I watched the movie. I really liked KS in Speak and she was like one of my favorite actresses, but TW is really irritating. I would have preffered to see her as Max in Maximum Ride. It's funny, but her and Robert Patti-whatever were my two faves. I loved him as Cedric from Harry Potter 4. My favorite scene of the whole series was when Harry brought Ced's body back from the maze. It was a great piece of writing, though I think tragedy is one of the easiest things to write.

Zombie Girrrl said...

PS> I hate it when it loses my comments! >:^(

prophecygirl said...

I have this book, but haven't read it yet. I've heard nothing but amazing things about it!

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