Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is an angsty piece of "young adult" (y.a.) fiction that I appreciate because Anderson refuses to sanitize the outcast-narrator. Anderson lets Malinda--a high school freshmen who exists on the margins of her school's social worlds--be miserable and awkward. [Consider this "nerd" representation in contrast to, say, Seth on the O.C., a show that feels compelled to portray its nerd as a hip, funny, ironic, guy who's tight with the best-looking kids at school.] Malinda's a great character who keeps readers wincing in scenes that (mostly) transcend y.a. cliches. It's hard to create a fresh image of a dejected teen, but Anderson does just that. Interesting character; interesting piece of work.
Thanks to Ohio Writing Project teachers for recommending Anderson's novel. They report that this is the book their junior high and high school students currently love. And I must confess a long-standing affinity for this genre of fiction that dates back to loving Robert Cormier, the master of "serious y.a. fiction," starting in sixth grade. Cormier's I Am the Cheese creeped me out more than anything I'd read or watched so far. I got to meet Cormier twice, in 1988 and 1998, the first time as a junior high student participating in English Festival (kind of like a science fair for kids who love reading) and the second time as a graduate student volunteering at English Festival, before his death a few years back. A generous writer, Cormier frequented the Festival and would sign autographs and listen to kids for hours on end.
Speak doesn't put Anderson in Cormier's league, but if you count the O.C. as a guilty pleasure, give it a look.
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