AUTHOR Laurie Halse Anderson
PUBLICATION April 1st 2001 by Puffin
READ June 05 to 06, 2013
SOURCE Purchased
Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.
I’m wondering if I have become desensitized to issue books. I have read so many books that deal with rape and they deal with it much better than this one. Don’t get me wrong I think Anderson captured Melinda’s inner turmoil after the tragic event very well but I just couldn’t connect with her. Could it be the short, clipped sentence structure? Maybe. The fact that the event is simply alluded to for much of the novel? Maybe. The rather innocent approach to the subject matter? Probably. I think it all comes together and I was left wanting...more. Most of the novel is simply Melinda going about her days and completely cutting herself off from everyone. For much of the novel I don’t think I would have even realized what had happened to her if I didn’t know beforehand. There are in depth looks at social history in her classes and spiels about how plants seed and all of those rants just left me scratching my head.
There isn’t really anyone to like in this novel. I probably liked Mr. Freeman (Melinda’s art teacher) the most. He was anti-establishment and I really liked how he let the students go in any direction that they wanted. But Melinda’s parents were absolutely horrible. Upon seeing that her daughter had cut up her arm with a paperclip all her mother says is “I don’t have time for this, Melinda.” That heartless comment absolutely floored me. I mean at that point I knew her parents were pretty shitty because they ignore everything that is going on with their daughter but still. Her grades are going down the toilet fast, she rarely speaks and now she has taken to cutting and you don’t have time for her? I would love to meet that mother in a dark alley at night. The one friend that she makes at school is a witch and all her old friends have just moved on from her so we never really get to know them (aside from their snide comments that proves them witch’s too.)
I didn’t even come to really feel for Melinda. I mean I know what she went through and how incredibly terrible it was but I always felt like an outsider. I didn’t feel like I was sucked into her world and feeling her plight. Her emotions weren’t palpable to me, I longed for much more of a connection through the entire novel. I think this is possibly because of all the weird rants and side things that happened in the story.
Between not liking anyone in the novel and not feeling the emotions that should have been conveyed I was definitely left underwhelmed by this one. For its time it may have been a groundbreaking novel but there have been way better books put out in this field that I would definitely recommend over this one. It makes me sad because I know that at one time I really loved this book but I just didn’t feel it this time around. Hopefully my next re-read goes a lot better than this one.
I read this a while ago and I don't really remember much about it either. I do remember that I liked it though. I have to agree about getting desensitized to emotional issue books a little bit. What keeps me invested is the ability to really connect with the character and feel for them. Great review hon. It's too bad that you didn't enjoy it much this time.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that this book didn't work for you, Jenni, but I can understand why. It's important for me to really feel the emotions and connect with the characters when I read an issue book.
ReplyDeleteThe parents in this book sound absolutely terrible!
Great honest review, Jenni!
You know what? I read this in grad school for my course on young adult services, and I wasn't a huge fan of it. The problems you're listing may be why. At the time, I thought I hated issues books, and so it wasn't surprising, but when I got into them a couple of years later I figured I was just biased or something. Perhaps, though, this one might still not work for me. The sentence structure thing alone would definitely keep Speak from being a 5 for me, and I do remember feeling VERY distant from Melinda. Her response is believable but not really relatable for me. And she did spend a lot of time in that closet. Are there schools where that's really possible?
ReplyDeleteI can't say for certain how I'll feel when I eventually reread this, but I might agree. Also, the book Catalyst is a companion novel, and I did actually like that one. The heroine was much more compelling.
It actually made me smile that you feel desensitized to issue books because I'm your exact opposite. I've been avoiding them for so long, especially books about abuse and rape. I was never even tempted to read this, even though I'm a true award whore and usually any kind of award medal on the cover is enough to make me want to buy a book.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Jenni!
I did not expect you not liking this book at all! But you're right we have read so many books like these now that it takes more to impress us I guess. Clipped sentence structure writing is not often for me. I didn't like Wintergirls for that reason (though that one had other annoyance writing formats like strike throughs etc).
ReplyDeletePlant seeds? Sounds thrilling.
Also, and I know parents like this DO exist obv, I haaaate asshole parents like you describe in books. It really makes me dislike the book no matter how "realistic" the author makes them. Dunno it bothers me.
Anyways, I have this one on audiobook at the library I might give it a try to see but I won't expect epicness.
People have been clamoring for me to read this book for SUCH a long time now, so it's so interesting that you didn't really enjoy this one. The basis of issue books for me is connecting with the characters- that's the only way I can really feel the book and actually enjoy it. So the fact that you couldn't even connect to our MC has me pretty disappointed. Also, those parents sound AWFUL. Sure, parents are busy, but they're likely to care if their own kid is doing self-harm!!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Jenni, and thanks for sharing your honest thoughts. I think I'm going to have to put this one on the back burner, since it doesn't seem like I've missed out on anything special.
-Aneeqah @ My Not So Real Life
One of the ladies at my library mentioned this one to me quite a while back. i wasn't sure about it then. It's hard when you don't like or feel anything at all toward the main character, especially in books like this. I think I would almost rather have the non-existant parents then parents like what is in this book. That would just infuriate me. From the sounds of this, I think I will just keep away from it. Thanks for you honest thoughts on it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it is hard to make the connection to a book. I had quite a few books that should have made me cry (Looking for Alaska) but it did NOTHING for me. Better luck next time!
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that you didn't like this book, since I've seen many reviews of issue boks on here, but maybe as you say, that might be the problem.
ReplyDeleteI always wondered why people love reading issue books about abuse, rape, and other stuff like that. I can't read them because I'm scared to and I don't want to read a book just to feel sad, so I try to stay away from these kind of books, which means that I'm basically the opposite of you.
I know that these kind of parents do exist in real life, but I hate reading books that have terrible parents like that, it keeps me from enjoying a book, no matter how good the plot is.
Anyways, thanks for the honest review.
-Nazish @ Nazish Reads
I always wonder whether re-reading books I loved in high school will be a disappointing experience for me, and I feel like this one might. I remember being wowed by it at the time, but it might have been my own lack of reading experience and the fact that it was groundbreaking for its time. It's a shame it didn't live up to the memory. Now I'm curious to re-read it myself. Wonderful honest review!
ReplyDeleteI never read this, but I probably won't after your review. I did watch the movie a couple of years ago and I remember enjoying it a lot, but maybe this is a case where the movie is actually better than the book? Great review, Jenni.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice when you can pick what you want to read sometimes instead of being obligated to read a review book. :)
Wow, I don't think I've seen that many less-than-positive reviews for this book. I think what makes it so iconic is that it was published before the huge blow up in YA. So it was before all the issue books we have now. I haven't read this one yet, but I know so many people who like it. I'm sorry this one fell flat for you, Jenni, and that Melinda was a difficult character to feel for. If the characters are a problem for you, I probably won't like this book either!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thoughtful, candid review, Jenni! :)
I could see how you could feel this way about this book. It is hard to connect with Melinda, and I remember often wishing or an outburst or her to react to something that is happening to her. I agree that the only character I liked was her art teacher too. Her parents were just so ... absent. And cruel. Which just added to the sadness of this story to me.
ReplyDeleteI read it originally when I was younger, I think around Melinda's age (so early tweens), but I re-read it in April. The writing, symbolism, and ending all really satisfied me though so I enjoyed reading it. I know the way she reacted wasn't really ... emotional or forward action or anything like that, but I believe someone in Melinda's situation could really react this way. Shut herself off.
I think the part I liked the most of my re-read was the poem Anderson added to the new addition.
I read this in middle school! I loved it, the whole storyline of the book applied to me at the time...and it helped me talk to people about what happened to me. There's also a movie
ReplyDeleteI actually haven't read this book since high school either, so I wonder what my reaction would be to it now if I read it again. I think you probably hit the crux of the issue in your last paragraph: I do think that when this book was released there probably weren't many issue-driven YA contemporaries that tackled topics like this. And of course that's automatically going to elevate the praise and status of a book if it appears to be something different, something more experimental and gritty. But you're right, there are many great issue-driven contemporaries nowadays. On the one hand I'm curious to see how I'd fare re-reading this, but on the other hand I don't want to ruin the good status it has in my head. I guess I'll have to see. I also hope your next re-read is a better experience for you, Jenni!
ReplyDelete