Speak: A Book That Says Multitudes

I just finished a book called Speakand I must blog about it. It's an incredible book, and a book that can make a difference in my opinion.

Here's a summary, so you have a little background info to build upon (CAUTION! SPOILERS!): Speak is about a girl--Melinda--who is raped at a high school party. I won't give away the whole story but the basic concept is she feels she cannot tell anyone about the event. This silence causes friendships to crumble, her relationship with her parents to become stressed, and her fear to grow everytime she sees the one who hurt her.

The book was a required book for one of my classes this semester. I started the book--and could hardly put it down. The author, Halse Anderson, has an insight into the high school culture and the mind of a teen that few authors can rival. I feel that I'm Melinda making those snarky comments about oddball teachers and snobbish students.

Speak also has a literary quality that also makes it shine. It is somewhat reminiscent of books I had read in AP English my junior and senior years of high school because it incorporates details you must think about. This is no sappy girl drama that accomplishes nothing for you intellectually. Melinda describes herself as a frightened rabbit when she sees "The Beast". She is the rabbit (prey) to the Beast (predator). Just that one metaphor (is that correct?) describes so much of how Melinda feels and defines who The Beast is...a predator.

I have the platinum edition, which includes bonus material at the end of the book (do you think book editors are copying off of DVD special features here?). . There is an interview with the author (read this, it's quite interesting) and Halse Anderson makes a sort of public service announcement at the end of the book. She could have easily pummeled the idea that rape=bad, but she opted to comment on the issue of censorship (read this too. Heck, read the book cover to cover!). I had never really thought about it much (except for when reading an occassional blog entry on the subject) but censorship truly is detrimental to society--especially to the younger generations. She pointed out that the overuse of sexual behavior in the media has desentized kids. She actually received letters from boys who were confused: "Why does Melinda get so upset over being raped?" This question shocked me. Teenagers have become so used to the concept of sex that it now seems more like a trivial act (I am not quoting the interview or book here).

Halse Anderson says that books (like hers, I'm sure) should not be censored if they deal with difficult and adult issues. I agree. I think we can all grow a little more intellectually and emotionally if we are exposed to hard truths such as rape. Then, we won't end up in Melinda's position.

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