Speak Laurie Halse Anderson

You need paper and pen/pencil out for notes.

About the author

Laurie Halse Anderson Born in 1961 in Northern New York Currently lives with her husband (once her childhood sweetheart) and a dog Has raised four children Loved writing since second grade Best known for her young adult books, Speak being one of them

Inspiration for Speak What was your inspiration for writing Speak? “At the time I wrote it, my oldest daughter was in sixth grade. I have four kids. She was going through the wonderful joys of middle school. And so, as a mom, it was beginning to make me think about how vulnerable girls can be and all the pressures that adolescent girls face. And that’s what I thought was my inspiration, at the time. Of course, looking back, I had to acknowledge my own experience, which was, a month before ninth grade started, I was sexually assaulted. And because of the dynamics of my family and what was going on at the time in our family life, I didn’t tell anybody, I didn’t speak up for almost twenty-five years, when I wrote the book. So I came to it as both a young woman in my heart and as a mom, and the story took off from there.” Interview: http://hellogiggles.com/speak4rainn-an-interview-with-author-laurie-halse-anderson/

Terminology and Literary Devices

Young Adult Literature (YAL) Targeted toward young adults (hey, that’s you!), though many adults still read and enjoy YAL. The main characters are young adults who often struggle with some type of problem and seek a resolution. Also referred to as “coming of age” story where the character grows from the problems and experiences he or she encounters.

Examples of YAL The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer The Giver by Lois Lowry The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Holes by Louise Sacher Harry Potter by J K Rowling The Fault in Our Stars by John Green The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Twilight by Stephanie Meyers

Literary Devices Internal Conflict: struggle that takes place within the character’s own mind. External Conflict: struggle between the main character and another outside source, such as another character. Allusion: an indirect or passing reference to something Symbolism: something that stands for or represents something else Hyperbole: use of exaggeration Theme: central idea, issue, or problem that is universal

Novel Background

Novel is about a girl, Melinda, who has a secret. She is an outcast in high school. A lot of the text revolves her internal conflict with whether or not she should speak out about what happened to her.