1. Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson

2. You need paper and pen/pencil out for notes.

3. About the author

4. 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

5. 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:

6. Terminology and Literary Devices

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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

10. Novel Background

11. 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.