Mini Reviews (Because I'm drowning in books!) Part II

Part two of my mini reviews feature more YA fiction.  I know, some might wonder if I'm already crossing over to mainly YA books but it's just that there were a lot of YA books lying around in my TBR pile so I went ahead and read them to make way for some adult fiction (like True Grit by Charles Portis, which I'm very excited to read).

Girl, Stolen by April Henry
Henry Holt and Co., 213 pages
From The Boyfriend, bought from Fully Booked 

Sixteen year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of a car while her mom fills her prescription at the pharmacy. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, their car is being stolen—with her inside! Griffin hadn’t meant to kidnap Cheyenne, all he needed to do was steal a car for the others. But once Griffin's dad finds out that Cheyenne’s father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes — now there’s a reason to keep her. What Griffin doesn’t know is that Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia, she is blind. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare, and if she does, at what price?

Review:  After reading Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott, it's no wonder that I would want to read something similar but entirely different, and in my opinion, Girl, Stolen by April Henry made that grade.  It was refreshing to read about a handicapped protagonist who, although burdened with a disability, was very resourceful and courageous.  It was great to read about someone that I know I and a lot of other people would want to look up to, someone who could be a role model.  Cheyenne deserves to be emulated by teens everywhere, as she tackles her situation and conquers her fear with her quick thinking, resourcefulness, and intelligence.  The second best character in this book in my opinion was not Griffin, but his father, Roy, who was so pathetic and scary and was nothing short of a monster.  I know that his presence - and the plot itself - might classify this book as from a darker YA genre, but there really are people like Roy who exist in real life, and his character was very spot-on.  Ms. Henry was able to write about a unique story with as much poignance, clarity, and emotion as possible.

Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten
Point, 288 pages
Received via Random Acts of Kindness from Ashley @ BookAHolics Anonymous  

Nina was beautiful, wild, and adored by her younger sister, Ellie. But one day, Nina disappeared. 2 years later, everyone has given up hope that Nina will return, but Ellie knows her sister is out there. If only Ellie had a clue where to look.Then she gets one, in the form of a mysterious drawing. Determined to find Nina, Ellie takes off on a crazy, sexy cross-country road trip with the only person who believes she's got a chance - her hot, adventurous new crush. Along the way, Ellie finds a few things she wasn't planning on. Like love. Lies. And the most shocking thing of all: the truth.

Review:  Obviously, this is one book I would place on my wishlist.  Why?  For its title.  I'm such a sucker for books that has characters with the same name as me.  So I really thank Ashley @ BookAHolics Anonymous for including this to the books she sent me for RAK.  

Moving on, I really thought Lynn Weingarten's Wherever Nina Lies was such a joyride I had to read it thrice after the first reading.  It was that good.  Sure there were some elements there that do not add up in reality, but those were exactly what made it more fun to read, because it was written with such convincing clarity you would willingly step into its fictional world and accept it as truth.  I also loved the characters and their unique personalities.  Really great read, and cover too!

Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz
Bantam, 368 pages
Bought from Celina's Books and Magazines 

The news that he had incurable cardiomyopathy struck Ryan Perry as hard as any heart attack. The 34-year-old Internet tycoon felt that his days were numbered; but thanks to a transplant, he was able not only to survive but to move forward, enjoying every day with the gratitude of a true survivor. Then one day a gift arrives; a heart pendant accompanied by a Valentine's Day box of candy hearts. With it comes a chilling message ("Your heart belongs to me") and an even more frightening video. Suddenly, Ryan's healthy, throbbing heart has become the target of a madwoman.

Review:  I was really looking forward to my first-ever Dean Koontz book.  I was so interested in the story of Your Heart Belongs to Me that I did not hesitate to buy myself a copy.  The plot was awesome, the characters awesomer, the beginning was great, the middle was great plus one, but the end?  Not so much.  It began to get muddled and it was almost as if another story was spliced to the ending.  I thought that Mr. Koontz was trying to wax philosophical with this novel but it ended up being something entirely different.  Otherwise, I would still keep this book if only for the beginning and middle parts.

Wide Awake by David Levithan
Knopf Books for Young Readers, 240 pages
Bought from Celina's Books and Magazines 

In the not-too-impossible-to-imagine future, a gay Jewish man has been elected president of the United States. Until the governor of one state decides that some election results in his state are invalid, awarding crucial votes to the other candidate, and his fellow party member. Thus is the inspiration for couple Jimmy and Duncan to lend their support to their candidate by deciding to take part in the rallies and protests. Along the way comes an exploration of their relationship, their politics, and their country, and sometimes, as they learn, it's more about the journey than it is about reaching the destination.

Review:  Background Music:  Imogen Heap's 'Have You Got It In You'

Wide Awake by David Levithan could have been a prequel to Boy Meets Boy, where equality in all sexes was already prevalent; except some scenes from the latter were obviously more dated and occurred earlier than Wide Awake.  Emotionally-charged despite less heavy and traumatic scenes, the story happened in less than a week and tackled some dire issues heavily debated among communities such as homosexuality, religion, and politics (which I almost never talk about).  This book would really help the younger generation to become more self-aware and keep their eyes open for social issues confronting their times, at the same time maintaining that patented David Levithan intelligent humor and appeal that will certainly captivate its readers and advance their vocabulary.


*****
Four more books down!  


Check out my Mini Reviews Part One

Mini Reviews (Because I'm drowning in books!) Part I

Last time I checked, there were seven books that I needed to review, and as much as I would just like to not write anything, I thought it would be unfair to all those books (especially as I loved most of them).  However, Blogger gave me such a hard time that I gave up, and when I got back to this post, I already have nine books to talk about.  Nine.  I read way too fast these past few weeks but I was totally in a slump about what to write about books.  It's sad.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 266 pages
Bought from Powerbooks 

This extraordinary work chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, successful - but slowly going under, and maybe for the last time. Step by careful step, Sylvia Plath takes us with Esther through a painful month in New York as a contest-winning junior editor on a magazine, her increasingly strained relationships with her mother and the boy she dated in college, and eventually, devastatingly, into the madness itself.

Review:  I really loved The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.  It's like old school chick lit, but with more sensitive, more serious themes.  Esther was such a lively presence, even during the times when she was at her lowest.  The story just got to me and there were times when I had to pause because it got too emotional.  The voice just messes with your brain that you are led to believe everything, even the parts where it's obviously wrong but you get convinced otherwise.  Way to go Sylvia for your awesome story.  Too bad she's gone now. I would have loved to write her a letter.

 

Forget You by Jennifer Echols
MTV Books, 292 pages
Received via Random Acts of Kindness from Ashley @ BookAHolics Anonymous 

There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon. But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

Review:  There were some parts of the synopsis for Forget You by Jennifer Echols that was a bit misleading, but I still loved the overall story.  Some parts were a bit muddled, and sometimes I did not like Zoey all that much but the fact that I felt strongly about/against her just means that the writing style was very effective and made the novel really alive and realistic.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Penguin Classics, 453 pages
From The Boyfriend, bought from National Bookstore 

Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity. She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman's passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.

Review:  Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre was awesome!  It was funny, it was emotional, and most of all, it was powerful!  (OK enough of the exclamation points) I loved the dialogue, which was filled with humor and Jane's sarcastic wit.  She was snarky, smart, and had a lot of guts that had she been born in the present times she would have Girl Power written all over her.  The other characters were remarkable as well for contributing to a genuine feel to the novel.  The writing was a bit confusing at first, especially when Jane was describing what another person was telling her, but once you were able to wade through that, you're good.  I loved this book!

The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman
Scholastic Press, 288 pages
Bought from Powerbooks 

June and Wes do not "meet cute." They do not fall in love at first sight. They do not swoon with scorching desire. They do not believe that they are instant soul mates destined to be together forever.

This is not that kind of love story.

Instead, they just hang around in each other's orbits...until eventually they collide. And even after that happens, they're still not sure where it will go. Especially when June starts to pity-date one of Wes's friends, and Wes makes some choices that he immediately regrets.

Review:  I've been looking for a copy of The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman for so long that I was so overjoyed when I found one and bought it right away - regardless how much it cost (it was pretty expensive).  Fortunately, I was spared from regretting the purchase.  The story contained within this book was worth every penny I paid for it; even though this is mainly a very light read, it had a lot of great moments and I loved that the romantic angle was uniquely executed.  The characters were the type you would want to be friends with had they been real, and the writing itself was simple enough that you can really focus on the story itself and not worry about other details. 

It should be noted that after I read this one, my Mom went ahead and devoured this book, and she was all mesmerized by the cover.

*****

Thought I'm done?  I'm just getting started.  Four books down, five AND MORE to go.  Watch out for the next mini review :D

Check out my Mini Reviews Part Two

Book Review: Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Photo taken from Goodreads

Book Info

Title:  Bleeding Violet

Author:  Dia Reeves
Publisher:  Simon Pulse

Language: English

Format: Paperback

Pages:  480 pages

ISBN - 13:  978-1416986195

Source:  Purchased, National Book Store

Buy this book on Amazon 

Summary

From Goodreads: 

"Love can be a dangerous thing...

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.'

Review

Chief Complaint:

1.  Mental illness
2.  Cold and distant mother
3.  Mysterious and monstrous events and creatures

History of Present Illness:

The patient, Hannah Jarvinen, is a transy - a newcomer - in Portero, her mother's hometown.  For years, her mother had seemed like a myth to her, and now, she's with her, but does not seem to care.  Her mental instability does not help either, as her hallucinations worsen.  But stranger things are happening in Portero, and Hannah is eager to prove she can fit in, mental illness or not, mysterious and deadly creatures notwithstanding.

Assessment:

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves is quite a story!  The line between sanity and insanity is blurred and masked together - quite brutally, I might add - to create such a disturbing, yet brightly riveting book.  Although I'm not a fan of the fantasy/paranormal genre, this novel completely blew me away.

The plot was very exciting, how many times have you read a book about a person who hallucinates, but whose real world is teeming with even stranger occurrences than what she sees in her head?  It was very engaging, as Hannah bordered between sarcasm and utter sweetness.  Her voice, however, was somewhat flat if a bit brutal, but that is to be expected from a person suffering from a mental illness, which actually lent a more authentic feel to the story.  The melodramatic way with which all the characters act also serve to emphasize the peculiarity of the setting and the situations that they encounter.

Therefore, I am diagnosing this book as:

1.  Crazy awesome, stage V
2.  Emotionally unemotional.
3.  Lingering in your thoughts, status post reading the book, for at least a week.

Recommendation:  Read this book at your own risk, and prepared to be amazed.

Rating

If you have any questions on this particular rating, please refer to my ratings system here.

Notice

All opinions expressed in this book review are my own and not influenced by any party in any way.

Please contact me for questions, comments, and suggestions.  

Book Review: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Photo taken from Goodreads

Book Info

Title:  The Sky is Everywhere 

Author:  Jandy Nelson
Publisher:  Walker Books Ltd.

Language: English

Format: Hardcover

Pages:  368 pages

ISBN - 10:  1406326305

ISBN - 13:  978-1406326307

Source:  Purchased, Life is Like a Bookpage Book Shop

Buy this book on Amazon 

Summary

From Goodreads: 

"Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding."

Review

The sky is everywhere 

but to her, it was gone. 
Her sister left her and went up the skies,
and with her went the world.
The Sky was poignant,
engaging,
thoughtful,
depressing at times,
inspiring,
horrifying,
and most of all,
heart-wrenching.
The Sky was about a dead sister,
the dead sister's boyfriend,
a bright, bright young man,
a missing mother,
crazy uncle,
crazier grandmother - 
but mostly The Sky was about a girl
who lost the sky
and found it again,
finding love after her sister's death.
The Sky made me laugh,
made me sad,
made me mad,
made me feel other things
- it almost made me cry.
I tried to reach for the sky,
but it was too high up out there for me.
But I found The Sky
reached it with both hands,
and kept it ever since.
I will cherish The Sky
and read it over and over
even though that girl becomes younger 
than my own daughter,
and I go crazier 
than the crazy grandmother.
The Sky reminded me of my father
who now lives in the skies.
I look up and see him looking down at me
smiling as I fumble over stuff
his ever-clumsy little girl.
The Sky made me jealous
because the girl cried and mourned,
felt empty at the loss of her sister.
While I could not even produce a single tear
over my dead father.
People do have different ways
to mourn for a person
who has left them and gone to the sky.
The sky is everywhere -
and I am proud to claim
that The Sky is mine.


(That's the best effort I could attempt at writing a poem.  Sorry if it sounds really bad, but I really did love The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson and I really think you guys should read it too.)

Rating

If you have any questions on this particular rating, please refer to my ratings system here.

Notice

All opinions expressed in this book review are my own and not influenced by any party in any way.

Please contact me for questions, comments, and suggestions.  

10 Good Things on a Monday: Ten Reasons to Read The Washingtonienne by Jessica Cutler

10 Good Things on a Monday is a weekly feature  I am doing dedicated to every person's compulsive list-writing.  Every Monday we are going to make a list of 10 things that will cheer us up and help tide us over the whole week.

<a href="http://buoyreading.blogspot.com/search/label/good%20things" target="_top"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ZLJhw831LIwGjiA8RrpkyCa2Kw0vJ-MCDZ92vwi4is-CRlAzDfrov1rTTH16ntcfHxERkDFchxdM-bLazZ6g9M8tSP4JfsgI1z6BjiHzILQVknmvbcSdG9PpCXAdG9SZ1LU5PvsKPpM/s1600/10.JPG" border="0" /></a>

Here's how it works:

1. Think of a particular group of good things you want to make a list on, does not necessarily have to be about books, e.g. your current book wish list, or your favorite book foods (you know, foods you love to eat while reading, if you're like me), or your favorite girly names, whatever you can think of, as long as it makes you feel good.
2. If you have no ideas for a list, you can always visit my blog post to check out my theme for that week and you can take a cue from my list.
3. Post your list on your blog, grab that cute ARGH button above and put it on your post too, so we'd know you're doing this meme.
4. Leave the link for your post on my own 10 Good Things post for the week, if you see others doing it, comment too and let's share our good things with everybody.
5. Everybody goes through the whole week happy!

----------

My 10 Good Things for this week:  Ten Reasons to Read The Washingtonienne by Jessica Cutler

I don't care if you tell me this is cheating.  I know that I have never written a book review for this book, but it's not because it's so bad I do not want to waste time writing about it.  Actually, I thought it was pretty awesome, and even my Mom thought so.  So in lieu of a book review, I'm going to share 10 good things about this book that would definitely make you want to read it yourself!

First things first, here's a summary so you won't be left in the dark:

When Jacqueline Turner's fiancée gives her two days to move out of his apartment, she has no choice but to leave New York City and crash with her best friend in Washington, DC. (She can't be expected to keep herself in cute clothes while paying New York City rent, after all.) She needs a new, exciting life-not to mention real employment. Where better to get a fresh start than the nation's capital?

Alas, DC turns out to be a lot more buttoned-up and toned down than she'd hoped. It's a town where a girl has to make her own excitement-and Jacqueline Turner is just the woman for the job.

From the married presidential appointee who gives her cash after each tryst, to the lascivious Georgetown lawyer who parades her around like something out of Pretty Woman, Jackie's roster of paramours grows so complicated her friends ask her to start a blog so they can keep up. But in a small town like Washington, the line between private and public blurs very easily. Just as one of her beaux takes a lead in the race for her heart, Jackie realizes this blog idea may be more than she bargained for...

1. It's losely based on a real event in the author's life.
2. It's got really juicy - if trashy - scandals that would get you hooked and keep you reading.
3. The clothes mentioned here are fantastic!
4. Jacqueline Turner is such a shallow, self-centered narrator and it's hard not to read more just to get more laughs out of her antics.
5. The men in Jackie's life have such colorful personalities and quirks.
6. It might sound stupid but I guess I'm one of those people who get a kick out of reading about somebody else's stupid decisions and actions.
7.  It's your typical chick-lit but with more room for dirty scandals.
8. In spite of all the scandal, it's still a pretty light read that would be perfect for those days when you've got nothing better to do than sit back and read, or in preparation for a more serious read, or to cool down after reading a pretty heavy story.
9. It sounds like a Washington version of Sex and the City, but in my opinion, Jackie looks way hotter than Carrie Bradshaw.
10. Even though it gets a bit too nasty in some parts, it remains witty and entertaining, with some introspective reflections that at other times would come off as a silly and worn-out cliche but turns out to be hilarious, considering that the person rattling off such sensitive realizations is a shallow but predatory narrator.

Got you interested?  I hope so, but I won't mind if you don't want to read this book, I was a bit wary of this myself at first, but when I began reading, I couldn't put it down!

So tell me, what are your Ten Good Things for this week?

Book Review: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Photo taken from ISBN LIB

 Book Info

Title:  Speak 

Author:  Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher:  Speak 
Language: English

Format:  Paperback 

Pages:  240 pages

ISBN-10:  0142414735

ISBN-13:  978-0142414736

Source:  Purchased, Celina's Books and Mags

Buy this book on Amazon

Summary

From Goodreads: 

"After Melinda goes through a traumatic and violent incident at a summer party, she calls the cops and becomes a social outcast. Her freshman year is a disaster. As time passes, she stops talking--except through her paintings in art class. Her healing process has just begun when her perpetrator attacks again. Only this time, she doesn't keep silent."

Review

Choose the letter of the best answer.  The correct answer would be revealed after each item with an explanation.

1.  What is Speak all about?

     a.  Typical teenage issues

     b.  Teen angst

     c.  Trauma

     d.  All of the above and more

     Answer:  D.  Speak is all about freshman high school student Melinda Sordino's first year in high school after a very traumatic incident over the summer that turned the whole school from her.  Most of the story occurrs inside her head, her struggle with her new status as an outsider, and the typical teenage issues that she must contend with such as:  Parental neglect/indifference, lack of communication and support person, and inability to concentrate on school work due to painful memories.

2.  True or False:  Laurie Halse Anderson's writing, like The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is full of symbolisms.

     a.  True

     b.  False

     Answer:  A.  This book is fraught with symbols, the title itself is a symbol even though it is pretty obvious what it stood for, although it does not only pertain to encouraging a person to speak.  It mainly presents the reader with a dilemma - to speak or not to speak.  To be or not to be.  That is the question, and it will be answered within this book, but not by this book, but by the reader.  There are more figurative elements within the story that the reader should pay attention to, lest they go unnoticed.  Some very simple statements, events and objects had something to stand for - one of the easiest is the poster of Maya Angelou that the librarian gives Melinda.  Angelou is hailed as "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton.  In the story, her poster was prominently displayed in the library, but after the school banned one of her books, the library was forced to take down her poster.  In real life, her book, Caged Bird appeared third on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000.  It was fifth on the ALA's list of the ten most challenged books of the 21st century (2000–2005), and was one of the ten books most frequently banned from high school and junior high school libraries and classrooms (Wikipedia).  There are many other very interesting symbols within this book and I encourage other readers of Speak to pick them out and interpret their meaning.  

 3.  Story-wise, the story of Speak is:

     a.  Disturbing and challenging

     b.  Light and gripping

     c.  Dragging and superficial

     d.  Intelligent and unemotional

     Answer:  A.  At once disturbing and challenging, this book would threaten the typical mindsets of individuals - be it parents, teenagers, teachers, or any member of the society.  I myself am a bit haunted by this story as some parts of this story could be said true about my own high school experience.  Although nothing as violent as what happened to Melinda, her struggles are very familiar and relatable.  Most people would read this and squirm and feel uncomfortable because the issues mentioned here are very close to home.  However, it is powerful enough to challenge the readers to face their own issues, learn to confront their demons, and speak up, have the courage to stand up for themselves and for their beliefs.  This book is very gripping, but light it is not.  It is actually a very heavy story, and the execution is what actually makes this very compelling reading.  Lastly, although this book is very intelligently-written and voiced, it actually explores with a myriad of emotions which makes it very powerful and empathetic.

4.  The character of Melinda could not speak. 

     a.  True

     b.  False

   

     Answer:  B.  Melinda could actually speak, and does so in several occasions throughout the book, although her spoken words were limited to very superficial matters like talking about shallow things with her friend Heather.  However, this is outweighed by the fact that she could not bring herself to talk about serious matters, or even towards persons of authority like her teachers and her parents.  She could speak but her fear of speaking up and causing more trouble - which is what actually landed her into the school's outcast list - are what stops her from voicing out any opinion whatsoever.  The sore throat, the mouth dryness are in my opinion, a pathological response of her body to her fear.

5.  Character-wise, Speak presented readers with:

     a.  Conveniently-realistic though stereotypical personalities

     b.  At once pathetic and sympathetic individuals

     c.  Both

     d.  Neither

     Answer:  C.  All the characters - Melinda included - were written typical societal behavior in the beginning, which I guess makes them stereotypes.  However, as the story progressed, a more interesting and unique personality began to surface within each character which in turn defined their individuality; and although the reader may or may not like the changes within these people, it would still lead to the successful execution of this story.  At some point I hated Melinda, but as her character transformation went on throughout the book, I became painfully aware of the reasons for why she acted the way she did in the first place.  The characters alone could rouse deep emotions from the readers and paired with the story, it made for an extremely dynamic reading.

6.  This book has:

     a.  Been often challenged due to its controversial subject matter.

     b.  Been made into a film in 2004.

     c.  Become a Printz Honor Book in 2000.

     d.  All of the above.

     Answer:  D.  Ironically, this book has been challenged a lot of times because of its premise.  In my opinion, the more that other people keep from letting teen readers read this book, the more that they are making them vulnerable and uncommunicative.  The biggest problem that people have today is lack of communication which actually makes this book a very timely portrayal of society even.  

This book was also adapted into film that starred Kristen Stewart.  I actually did not know about this before reading about Speak and now I guess I should go watch it, if only to see Kristen pre-Twilight.

In my opinion, this should have been awarded the Printz award in 2000, although I guess it's fine as this book had received more than ten awards from its first publishing up to the present time.

7.   Who should read this book?
     a.  Teenagers

     b.  Parents

     c.  Educators

     d.  Everyone aged 13 and above

     Answers:  D.  This book should not be read only by those potrayed in the story like Melinda herself, her school mates, her parents, or her teachers.  This should be read by every person because what happened to Melinda is not just limited to young people and the trauma that a person may experience may not just be limited to Melinda's experience.  A young executive might have been harassed by his/her boss or co-workers too many times but feels helpless to stand up for him/herself;  an old man might be maltreated by his adult children who are close-minded about the changes that her might be going through due to old age - the possibilities are endless since as I have mentioned before, the lack of communication is the cause of a majority of our present issues in society.  This book confronts people's hesitation or reluctance not just to speak but to assert themselves and stop hiding behind artificial facades.

8.  So did I like this book?

     a.  Yes

     b.  No

     c.  I did not like it - I LOVE it!

     d.  Undecided

     Answer:  C.  Need I say more?

Rating

If you have any questions on this particular rating, please refer to my ratings system here.

Notice 

All opinions expressed in this book review are my own and not influenced by any party in any way.
 
Please contact me for questions, comments, and suggestions.