Why i picked itBack in August when I wanted to participate in the NEWTs Readathon, Speak was going to be the graphic novel I read to fulfill one of my NEWTs requirements. But then I didn't get around to actually participating like I wanted to. So I still read the book anyway before returning it to the library (just outside of the Readathon time period). I took it with me on a short weekend trip to watch my brother-in-law run at his first college cross country meet, and I'm glad I did! SummaryMelinda is a teen with a list of the first ten lies that people tell you when you get into high school. One of them is "Speak up for yourself, because we want to know what you have to say." Throughout the book, Melinda battles with a traumatic event that happened to her over the summer, losing friends as a result, and trying to deal with all of her emotions on her own because she just knows no one wants to hear what she has to say. Facing her demons every day at school, it gets harder and harder to show up, so she starts fading away with few people taking notice. what i likedThe illustrations were amazing. The graphics and pictures were easy to follow, and they were complex to show Melinda's emotions without being confusing. The book brought up a huge problem in our current society with victim stigmas, mental illness, and how to deal with trauma. I liked that it brought these items forward without overdoing it, and I liked that I could relate to the character of Melinda and some of the people in her life. I also like that the book hid what actually happened since Melinda was hiding it from those around her. As she started dealing more and more with what happened, we got to learn about it as well. I thought that was interesting, because there were undertones of the event, but I couldn't be completely sure until a third or more into the story. what i didn't likeThough the illustrations weren't too confusing, sometimes the transition between chapters was. It was so sudden without a good cut to the new scene, and the transitions weren't all smooth. But really, that was about the only complaint I had about this book! Overall impression 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟I really enjoyed Speak. It pulled at my heartstrings and made me think about trauma and mental illness in a new way. I think it did a good job showcasing some of the warning signs of people in your life that may be suppressing traumatic memories, and I feel like I learned a little bit from this novel.
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AuthorJust sharing my passion of reading through my passion of writing. Archives
May 2020
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