Speak

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Teaching a book about a thirteen-year-old girl getting raped was about as much fun as it sounds. I think Anderson's book is engaging and witty, but I'm not sure I want to teach it again. I loved Speak the first time I read it, and I love it still. I think the sarcasm and candor is perfect for young people. The kids could not get enough of the teacher descriptions. I love the discussions I was able to have about Picasso and Maya Angelous because of Speak. I just don't know that I did justice to the concept of bullying, date rape, etc. I didn't know quite how to approach that with a room of kids with such varied levels of maturity.

Not much of a review for Speak, but sometimes I can't get out of teacher mode. Oh, and I love David Petrakis.