Reputation struggles: Speak
Speak,Laurie Halse Anderson. 2006, Penguin group.
Summary:
Melinda is starting her freshmen year at Merry Weather High with a bad start. Over the summer Melinda attended a party with her best friend Rachel Bruin and the rest of the high school students. Melinda happened to be the one who called the cops on the party causing people to get arrested and kicked out. At that moment she had built herself to have a reputation of being an outcast and lost her best friend. She automatically looses all of her friends, and no one likes her. Mr. Neck, her social studies teacher, targets her on day one as well. She started high school with the wrong hair, clothes and attitude until she met Heather. Heather and her started becoming really good friends that Melinda, and even not being alone anymore, Melinda started craving revenge in school. She’s bullied around so much that she becomes a angry teenager that just wants to do messed up things.
Melinda’s parents start getting concerned with her behavior but she didn’t even care. Heather, Melinda’s new best friend, has joined the “popular” girls “The Martha’s” which dislike Melinda as well and she has to hide to not get bullied. Melinda starts hiding out in a little empty janitor closet from everyone, even her parents. She needs space to “get away”. Melinda starts doing poorly in her classes and has little respect for her teachers. Guidance counselor is contacted and scheduled a meeting getting Melinda back on track and try to continue to have her progress.
Quote: “I think it’s the same kind of disorder when you have more than one personality in your head. That’s what it feels like when I walk home. The two Melinda’s fight every step of the way” (Anderson, 132)
Quotation Context:As a teenager, reputation was important to Melinda. She had held a bad one since the first day of her freshmen year, which took a hard role in her life. As she started falling on who she was and started misbehaving and started to get all F’s and Ds, her guidance counselor came to help. Her guidance counselor developed plans to make Melinda progress as a student and get her back on track. This is a strong part of the book because I, as well, am a teenager and the same age as the character. I enjoyed it because I related a lot and could compare to things she did. Having a relationship with the reader made me comfortable with the book and made me really enjoy it!
