Winner: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

With the help of random.org I can confirm that the winner of my Laurie Halse Anderson giveaway winning a copy of Speak is:

Danielle Gorman

Congratulations Danielle!  If you can email me at sarahsreviews at ymail dot com with your full address I will order a copy for you from Book Depository.  If I don't hear from you within 48 hours then a different winner will be chosen. 

Sorry if you didn't win but I have plenty more giveaways coming soon so check back for your chance to win.  In fact if you'd like the chance to win Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne click here to enter my current giveaway (it's international and there will be 4 winners!)

Review: Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson

"I wasted the last weeks of August watching bad cartoons.  I didn't go to the mall, the lake, or the pool, or answer the phone ... I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude.  And I don't have anyone to sit with."

From her first moment at Merryweather High, Melinda Sordino knows she's an outcast.  Her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't know glare at her.  If only she could explain ... but she just can't find the words.

Visit Laurie Halse Anderson's website for more information

Review:
Melinda is just starting high school and her reputation is already in tatters.  At a summer party she called the police getting her classmates in trouble for underage drinking but no one knows why she made the call and Melinda just can't find the words to tell them.  With none of her old friends talking to her Melinda has nobody to turn to, feeling increasingly desperate and isolated she finds it harder and harder to talk to anyone about what she has been through.  Will she be able to find her voice & speak out about what happened to her?

Speak is one of those books that sucks you in until you're completely absorbed in the story and I didn't want to put it down.  Melinda is so easy to relate to and it really feels like you're inside her head experiencing life through her eyes.  Although the book deals with a difficult subject matter it does so without the need for graphic descriptions of the event that traumatised Melinda so badly.  It gives just enough information for you to experience her horror without having to read the full details.  Thankfully I've never experienced a sexual assault but as a long term sufferer of depression I could easily understand Melinda's feelings and she reminded me of myself at her age.

Melinda is isolated from her peers, most of whom won't even talk to her and she doesn't have much in the way of family support.  You would expect her parents to have picked up that something was wrong from the way her behaviour changed but they didn't really spend time together and perhaps were trying to bury their heads in the sand.  The only person who seems to be there for Melinda is her art teacher and it is him that gives her a way to express herself through her art.  It just goes to show how much of a difference a good teacher can make to a teenager's life. 

Although the book covers difficult topics it also includes humor and I loved Melinda's descriptions of the various school groups.  I think anyone would be able to find something in the story that reminds them of their own school experience - whether you were one of the popular crowd, one of the geeks or anything in between.  I think this really is a must read book for young adults and adults alike.  It is a perfect opportunity to open a discussion between parents and teens about some of the bad things that can happen in this world.  I don't think it helps to keep teens sheltered from the hardships of life and giving them the means to talk about these issues can only be a good thing.  For those who have unfortunately suffered abuse or sexual assault this may show them that they can come out of the other side and that they aren't alone.

Overall Speak is an incredibly moving read and one I'm very glad I came across.  I would recommend this story to both adults and teens and think it should be available in all schools and libraries.  I'm looking forward to discovering more of Laurie Halse Anderson's work.

Source: I purchased this book after reading about the controversy surrounding Dr Wesley Scroggins' article comparing this book to pornography.  I'm actually glad that he wrote this article as it gave me the opportunity to read a book I'd not heard of before the controversy - I find it quite ironic that in his attempt to get a book banned he encouraged even more people to read it!  I'm currently hosting an international giveaway to win a copy of Speak.  The giveaway closes on 30th September 2010 & you can click here to enter.

Other reviews of this book:
The Lost Entwife
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Giveaway: Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson - NOW CLOSED

*UPDATE - THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED - Winner announced here*

I'd still love to read your opinions on this issue though so feel free to comment!

I'm sure most of you have seen the buzz about the article written by Dr. Scroggins where he likens a rape scene in Speak to pornography.  He wants to see this book (alongside several others) banned from school libraries because he doesn't believe the content is appropriate for young adults.

While I don't claim to be an expert on this subject and have never read the book (I have ordered my copy though & will be reading it as soon as it arrives!) I am totally disgusted that someone can liken rape to pornography.  To make that kind of comparison is just sick!  We all might like to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that nothing bad ever happens but that isn't the case - bad things happen all the time.  Although rape is a difficult subject to talk about that is precisely why it needs to be brought to people's attention.

I respect that parents have a right to have a say in what their children read but it is important that people have access to information on topics like sex, rape and abuse.  Being ignorant of these issues isn't going to help anyone - we need to be aware of the things that happen both to try and prevent it but also to help us deal with the aftermath when something like this occurs.  I can't imagine being a rape victim - it must be a horrific experience - but victims have a right to be heard.  If a book like Speak helps just a tiny proportion of victims to deal with what happened to them then that has to be a good thing. 

There is nothing I can say really say that hasn't already been said on the blogosphere but I feel so strongly about this issue that I had to say something.  Dr. Scroggins has a right to voice his opinion but I don't want to live in a world where his voice is the loudest - a world where I don't speak out against what he has said.  Laurie has written a post about this on her blog here and you can also watch her read a poem that was written using reader responses to Speak below.  Both the video and this fantastic post by author C.J. Redwine moved me to tears.



Giveaway Details:
If you're like me and haven't yet read Speak I want to give you the opportunity to win a copy.  I'm keeping this giveaway really simple so it is easy for everyone to join in:

• I will be ordering the winner a copy of Speak from the Book Depository so the giveaway is international as long as Book Depository delivers to you (check here to make sure this applies to you)
• To enter all you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your opinion on this topic.
• For extra entries post about this topic anywhere (Twitter, Facebook, your Blog - anywhere you like) and leave your link in a separate comment.  You can get an extra comment for each place you post (Only 1 extra entry per place for example 1 twitter comment & 1 blog post)
• You don't have to be a blog follower to enter but of course all followers are appreciated!
• The giveaway will be open until 30th September.
• The winner will be chosen at random and announced on my blog - the winner will have 48 hours to contact me with their address and if I don't hear from you within that time a new winner will be chosen.

THIS GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!