Speak/Shout 3
What story elements (character, plot, mood, conflict, theme, etc.) are present in this book to make it "young adult"? What intrigued you the most about this book? What will you remember most about this book?
Heroine 2
Do you believe in 100 years, this novel will be considered a "classic"? Will it stand the test of time and be something that students will be reading in an English class of the future? Why or why not?
I think that the conflict of Speak is what really makes it "young adult" because younger kids wouldn't understand what happened to her or just not know what rape is. what intrigued me most about this book is how she felt guilty about what happened even though it wasn't her fault. The thing i will remember most about this book is when Andy Evans confronted her at the end of the book.
ReplyDeleteThe main character in speak is a young high school girl, and most of the story takes place in her school. The plot of the book is about overcoming trauma and being able to take a stand for yourself. What intrigued me about this book is how much she progressed throughout the novel. What I will remember is how she was finally able to let go of her past and her life mostly returned to normal.
ReplyDeleteI agree the whole time in the book she was trying to overcome what happened at the barn because it was effecting her everyday life. And yeah I will also remember how she was able to finally let go of what had happened to her and go on with life.
DeleteThe mature themes in the book make it fitting for young adults. Children wouldn't understand the topics in the book. But teenagers would comprehend the conflicts because they are in high school and growing, as the author describes in Shout. What intrigued me most was how some passages were perfectly poetic and powerful. I took a note of them and they made the book memorable. For example, she writes " The opposite of innocence is not sin . Dearly beloved, the opposite of innocence is strength (Halse Anderson, 2019, pg.194)."
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a few elements in Speak that make it young adult. Melinda struggles with friend issues which is very common in high schools all over the world. She also deals with her parents' broken marriage, balancing her schoolwork and grades, and trying to get involved. These topics are all very relevant to high school teens.
ReplyDeleteWhat intrigued me most about this book is the style in which it was written. The words aren't in a stanza form, yet are still very poetic. Each page is full of metaphors and symbolism. The author gave the reader the ability to interpret this book the way they want to.
I will definitely remember how the author introduced the rape/sexual assault that Melinda experienced. Even though she struggled with it every day, the reader didn't know what actually happened until the end of the book. The author gave hints about what happened but waited to reveal that she was raped.
I agree with Josie. We had no idea she was raped. For the most part all we knew that the story was about a sad girl that went threw high school with all her friends hating her. When the Author revealed that she was raped that changed everything and it covered topics that make it a amazing example of young adult. And what also made this book was the chacter Andy was raped her and then he tried to do it again. But this time she spoke up and let everyone know her story.
DeleteI think what makes this book young adult is because what happens to Melinda in the story, she is raped which is not okay but she stays silent about it and not tell anyone and that is how she ends up being known as the girl that ruined the party by calling the cops. As much as i can't relate to this sort of topic it does make you understand a girl's life in high school and what goes on in there lives.
ReplyDeleteI think this book is also young adult is the way her friends treat her after she calls the cops. Friends that befriend you is what happens a lot in high school. She had a bunch of friends and then she had none, and was left all by herself and that is what i think makes this book a good example of young adult.
The main character is Melinda a high school girl that is a Freshman, the conflict she’s facing is that she’s afraid that the Beast will come and rape her again. The theme is basically telling you that it’s okay to speak up even when you’re afraid to. What intrigued me the most about this book was finding out what happened at the barn that night of the party and why everyone was so mad at her. What I will remember most is when The Beast tried to attack her again but people came and helped her.
ReplyDeleteWhat intrigued me about this book is how the author basically hid Melinda's real issue until the end of the book. Throughout the entire book, all you really understood was that her friends hated her because she called the cops at a party during the summer, and not why she did that.
ReplyDeleteI also thought it was very interesting how the tree symbolized Melinda's journey through coping with her issues, and I thought it was great that she finally finished the tree when she was finally comfortable with opening up to someone.
What makes this 'young adult', I think, is the message the book sends that 'not everything is as it seems' or 'don't judge a book by it's cover'. That seems to be a very common theme in young adult books, and this book especially sends that message very strongly.
I agree that it was very interesting that the author hid what happened to her. I think this was a very good thing to incorperate into the book so it kept the reader's attention. I also agree with the fact that the theme was very "young adult" I can't see a 60 year old person sitting doen and reading this book (not saying there aren't people that do that or that people can't do that my point is that when I think about this book I don't picture a 60 year old person reading it). When I think about this book I think about how it is very relatable for younger audiences and how it would be more interesting for younger readers.
DeleteI think the author of this novel did an excellent job of disguising Melinda's problem until later in the story, which helped the reader to understand her conflict. The mood of the novel remains bleak and dry throughout the course of the book and is expressed in a way that only a teenager could relate to. What intrigued me most about this book was how when faced with Andy Evans at the end of the novel, Melinda remained strong and she really used her mind to think of ways to handle the situation. In her case, it was breaking the mirror and using the glass to threaten Andy and show him who was in control. What I will remember most about this novel is how Melinda learned to cope with the rape incident and find her voice at the end of the novel, especially when faced with Andy Evans in the janitor's closet.
ReplyDeletethe things that make this book young adult is the things that happen to the main character. the main character struggles with depression and in my opinion mental health issues. Melinda was raped by Andy Evans the kid that everyone wanted to hang around with because he was popular. In reality he is a horrible person who has hurt many girls in the school and tried to hurt Melinda again after she had told someone what had happened. The thing that intrigued me the most about this book is what happens when the main character speaks about what happened to her and how the people around her act. When Rachel finds out what her boyfriend at the time did to one of her old friends she refuses to believe it and ends up hurting her friend who is just trying to look out for her. Melinda's parents get mad at her for not talking to them at all because she made a vow that she wouldn't talk at all unless it would help someone. The thing I will remember the most about this book is that you don't know what anyone is going through.
ReplyDeleteI read Shout, I think this book is considered young adult because of the fact that it follows Laurie's life mostly throughout her teenage years into her early 20's and it discusses heavy topics that many young adults face. As for what I will remember about it, I think I will remember how it portrayed who she was and how she coped with the fact that she was raped. There were also some really funny quotes that I don't think I will forget. I think her style of writing intrugued me as well as the fact that Speak was very good and so I was excited to read Shout because they had similar tpics and were obviously written by the same person. As for Speak, I still remember how sad it was. I don't really remember anything else about it other than that it was very sad and I cried while reading it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the fact that the book focuses on a teenage girl and the main topic of sexual assault that it deals with, makes this book young adult. I also think the fact that it also talks about wanting to fit into social statuses or cliques, such as Heather wanting to be a "Martha" also makes this book young adult. Often as young people we face conflicts unlike those of children or adult, we are an in between group and I think this book portrays that very well. The thing that intrigued me most about this book was the main conflict of sexual assault. I believe that it is important to learn about and try to understand things you yourself may not have gone though but many other may have gone through. I will definitely remember the ending most about this book. During the book we see Rachel/Rachelle trying desperately to be popular and cool, and she end up dating Melinda's abuser, Andy. When Melinda gets the courage to tell Rachel what really happened at the party, Rachel is in disbelief and wants to help Melinda in any way, bu then when Melinda says it was Andy, Rachel doesn't believe her until further along in the story. Rachel's cared about her own self interest, in my opinion than the well-being of Melinda. It is definitely what I will remember most because of how Rachel could switch sides so quickly.
ReplyDeleteThe conflict in Speak is what made it "Young Adult". What intrigued me the most about the book is the ending. The ending of the book where Andy confronts her for speaking out is beautifully written, I loved the fact that she was able to finally speak up and say no, I also very much enjoyed her conversation at the end with her art teacher and he sympathizes with her.
ReplyDeleteThe topics of depression and sexual assault along with the setting taking place in high school within the novel "Speak" shows that the story is young adult. I was very surprised by the hatred the protagonist caused by calling the cops; I feel it was taken a bit too far. Students would openly avoid her as if she ruined their lives (it was just a party for heaven's sake). I wish I knew the motives for Andy. He just acted like a monster for no reason from what I can tell. But I will definitely remember the ending, and the author's note about making a sequel. I'm curious with how "Shout" was made.
ReplyDeleteThings that make "Speak" young adult are the characters, conflict, and plot. Most all the prominent characters are young adult and even during flashbacks they are young adults. The plot is young adult because lots of teenagers face that difficulty of dealing with something traumatic that happened to them and specifically sexual assault. They have to find ways to cope on their own because no matter how much you trust someone you never know how someone will react to something like that and sometimes they feel like if they speak out they will be ridiculed. Conflicts that are young adult include, the way she can't really find her place with the other students and the way she is almost drifting aimlessly with no real purpose. Everything feels unnecessary and why go to school I'm never going to use it anyways. What intrigued me most about this book was the way Melinda's parents could obviously see something was wrong with her, but they didn't really do anything to help her. What i will remember most about this book is the way David spoke out against Mr. Neck and didn't let him get away with being prejudice and telling the kids to shut up when the debate he started took a turn against him.
ReplyDeleteWhat really made this book young adult was the character, and the plot. The story talked about a young high-school girl and her experience with sexual assault. The story also talked about her high-school experience such as friend groups, grades, etc. at the end of the story she finally decided to tell someone what happened which was truly amazing watching her come over something like that.
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