Speak Book Review *Spoilers*

Speak

Written by: Laurie Halse Anderson
# of pages: 198

Average Rating:
My Rating: 4/5

Published: April 1, 2001
Read in August 2014

Summary according to goodreads

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. 

My Thoughts

This was the first book I've read by this author, and although I have owned it for about a year, I never felt motivated to pick it up. I had no idea what it was about, but recently a friend of mine talked about it and I was intrigued. Everything about this novel is relatable - Melinda as a character dealing with a trauma, and the situation as a whole. Unfortunately, rape is very common in our society and does not always get reported.

For some, this might be a hard topic to read about, but I found reading this to feel like I was reading a memoir of sorts because it was just that real. The story focuses more on the after-effects of what happened at the party, but there is a flashback to the incident. If you are wary of picking up the book because you don't want to read about a young woman getting raped, there is not much detail surrounding that - more of the emotional effect it took on her.

I have not dealt with a trauma such as the one Melinda did, but coming from different mental issues I can see that the author was very accurate in how she described what Melinda suffered. She had not told anybody what had happened that night, and became very closed off from people, didn't want to go to school, and other detrimental things. I can also only imagine how this new attitude would lead to people distancing themselves from her, leading her to feel even more isolated. Everything about this book came back full circle, and one thing led clearly into another.

The only issue that I had with this book was I felt at the end there was not a lot of closure. The reader never knows if Melinda gets the psychological help she clearly needs, or if justice is served to the young man who abuses her. Other than that I thought it was a very powerful story that could prove valuable to people to read. I feel that growing up I was sheltered from the harsh realities of the real world, and only recently have become aware of the dangers constantly surrounding us. This novel proved that it does not matter how old you are, what you look like, etc, you need to be aware of keeping yourself in safe situations.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and am glad I finally got around to picking it up. I would recommend this to any reader looking for something quick, that also contains a heavier plot (emotionally).  

Weekly Wrap Up: April 6th - 12th

What a week this has been. I had a death in my family and being away at school has been very hard. That being said, I haven't read much since Wednesday as my mind has been off, as well as the fact that my final exams start this week! Can't wait to be done and go home on Saturday!

READ

I did finish one book early on in the week, and that was Damaged by Cathy Glass. My roommate and I were wandering around Chapters when she came across this author and started telling me how much she loved her novels. Cathy Glass is a foster mother who cares for many children and her novels are written about the child she takes care of. This one specifically was about Jodie, a seven-year-old girl who had severe behavioural issues, and had been with five carers in four months. 

This was such a heart wrenching story that made me sick to my stomach and brought me to tears. It blows my mind that people can treat their children the way that Jodie was treated. Overall I gave this book a full five stars and plan on reading all of Cathy's books. 

DNF'D

I had to give up on the Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, the language was just too juvenile for my taste. It took me almost a whole day to get fifty pages in, and that was with sheer determination. If I had continued reading I knew I wouldn't enjoy it as much as I had when I was younger, and I prefer the movie overall. 

CURRENTLY READING

I am currently reading The Wind Through the Willows by Kenneth Grahame on my kindle, and am almost finished at 70%. I picked this up, with a bunch of other classics, in an effort to complete the "50 Books to Read Before You Die" list (hopefully this year). As of right now I have only read 8 of those books, and am very disappointed in that number. This is a very odd novel for a children's story, but also has a lot of symbolism, so I am interested to see how it concludes. When I have finished I am going to purchase myself a physical copy in the pretty Puffin Classics edition! Hopefully you'll see that in my book haul at the end of the month. 

BOUGHT

As I mentioned, I went to Chapters with my roommate, and while I was there picked up three books. I don't feel guilty about my purchases as they were books I was really wanting, and I have already read one of them - and plan on picking up one next. I picked up Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by the hilarious Mindy Kaling, as recently I became obsessed with The Mindy Project, and had to pick up her book. I also picked up Damaged by Cathy Glass, which I talked about, and School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins which is a spinoff to the Hex Hall series. I loved that trilogy and can't wait to dive into this book!

GOALS

I don't have any particular goals for this week, especially since my focus is on my studying and packing up my dorm room. Hopefully I don't buy a book, but if I do cave it will be for The Wind in the Willows. My goal for the year - maybe longer - is to only purchase books I have read and enjoyed, and will most likely read again. 

I hope you guys had a great week and I will talk to you soon! Hopefully next week I will start posting videos again since I'll be home to my desktop!

P.S., I am also still 3 books ahead on my goodreads goal which makes me very happy!

Weekly Wrap Up: March 29th - April 5th

Hey guys and happy holidays! Hope you guys are having a better day/week than I have - family stuff going on and I'm two provinces away. Yes I had to stay at school for Easter, but the four day weekend allotted me lots of time to read!

READ

I finally finished Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff, and it was not at all what I was hoping it would be. This novel started out so strong, but then eventually hit a lull and then just lost my interest completely. At the beginning I was so interested in Sam and Hayden's relationship, and what happened between them before Hayden committed suicide (not a spoiler). About 100 pages in the many focus of the plot shifted towards Sam's relationship and I just did not care. The only redeeming quality of this story was the songs listed at the beginning of each song. I listened to each one before starting the chapter, and it really helped to set the tone for the pages to follow. Overall three stars!

And then today I was going a little bit crazy adding books to my iPad (kindle app) because of all the free public domain books I was finding. I then came across The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, for 10cents and had to buy it. The Disney movie is one of my favourites, so I had to start reading it immediately. To say it was a little different is a complete understatement. There are similar aspects but Disney lightened it up for children considerably. A good example? The "little mermaid" (her name is not Ariel in the story) cuts off her tongue in order to meet the prince. Oh no, this is not the happily-ever-after story I thought I knew but I still really enjoyed it! I gave it four stars and can't wait to read more of these classic stories. 


CURRENTLY READING

Right now I feel like picking up The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot since I need something light to calm my brain while I prepare for exams and everything else I am dealing with. I have read this series years ago, even though I probably should have been older, but I remember really enjoying it. My roommate and I recently watched the movie together and it put me in the mood to read it again. 



BOUGHT

Nothing this past week, but my roommate and I are planning to go to Chapters tomorrow to treat ourselves so we will see what ensues! 

GOALS

I really hope to find the time amongst all my homework and studying to finish a book, but I don't want to stress myself out too much. I am just going with the flow, so if I see a book tomorrow that I want I will probably buy it. 

Weekly Wrap Up: March 15th - 22nd

Hello all! Sorry for the absence, but I recently had my March Break/Spring Break and this has been my first full week back at school. So much work to do and catch up on, but on the bright side; i'll be finished with the semester and home in four weeks! I haven't done much reading lately, but I have finished a book, and DNF'd another so let's discuss those!

READ

I finally got around to reading another Colleen Hoover book, and I picked Never, Never since it was short and on my kindle! I read this alongside my mom, and am glad I did because it was fun to discuss different things as they were happening with her. I adored this novel so much, and Colleen is now one of my favourite authors. The characters felt so real, and it was so well written that I hated having to put it down. I am guilty of reading parts during lulls in my psychology class. This book was so engrossing and that ending?! May 12th needs to be today so I can read the sequel! Five stars without a doubt, from both me and my mom. 

DNF'd

As of 10 minutes ago I decided to give up on a book I was sent for review. Me Being Me is Exactly as Insane as You Being You had such potential to be great, but just didn't measure up. It was written entirely in lists, and although it seems like a great twist, it was not executed well. Some of the pages/lists were so dragged out that you lost the point and had to go back to see what the list was even about. I wasn't feeling too much of a connection with the main character Darren, and felt like he handled some things very immaturely. Throughout the whole beginning of the novel he is talking about going to visit his brother the next day, and 170 pages into the book - he still wasn't with his brother. This book was way too long (over 600 pages) and I just couldn't push myself through it unfortunately. I recommend checking out the goodreads page and seeing if it is something you are interested in, as it is released this Tuesday!

CURRENTLY READING

I am currently 20% into These Broken Stars, and am really enjoying it so far. It is different than I expected, and I have no idea what is going to happen next in the story. This book has come highly recommended to me, so I have high expectations. So far so good! I hope to finish this within the week or during the weekend!

I also just decided to pick up Playlist for the Dead, because it is one that I have been wanting to read for a while, and am in the mood for a contemporary. I haven't heard a lot of reviews, or really anyone just talking about this book, but I have high hopes!

I will briefly mention that I am reading Spying Blind by Amy Zegart for one of my university classes. It is about the CIA, the FBI, and 9/11. Interesting so far, but I very dense (educational) read. 

BOUGHT

Nothing this week, and hopefully nothing for a few weeks! I am still focusing on shrinking my TBR!

Forbidden Book Review

Forbidden

Written by: Tabitha Suzuma
# of pages: 454

Average Rating: 4.07/5 stars
My Rating: 5/5 stars

Published on: June 28, 2011
Read in February 2015

Summary according to Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives--and the way they understand each other so completely--has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

My Thoughts

This was a novel that I had been anticipating reading for a long time, and it came very highly recommended to me. I did go into this novel with very high expectations, and luckily for me I was not disappointed! The plot was very heavy, but the writing style was so smooth and descriptive that I could not stop reading. This author used many similes in her writing, which helped get into the mood of the story. 

Please keep in mind that this is the first book regarding incest that I have rearm and it not a topic I have ever given much opinion to. I do not condone it, but from a psychological standpoint, it is something that can be blamed on the parents and/or upbringing of the kids. These two characters have a hard time relating to, and connecting with others but have found the perfect bond within each other. They have someone that knows exactly what they are going through, and are basically being parents together to their three younger siblings. 

"How can something so wrong feel so right?" I really appreciated that these characters understood the entirety of what they were doing. They weren't naive about it, they were scared. They knew it was wrong but it was overpowered by a feeling they couldn't control. It was very real. 

The song "What About Love" performed by Heart illustrates this novel so well. I would already cry listening to this song, but now I just bawl because I think of Maya and Lochan. The ending of this book was heartbreaking to read. I was completely engrossed from the last 75 pages and could not stop reading. Even after I had finished reading it, I could not stop thinking about it. 

Overall I really enjoyed this novel and although I got spoiled on the ending, that did not ruin my experience. I had just gotten so focused on what was currently happening, I wasn't even thinking about the end result. I recommend you pick up this novel if you enjoy real-life novels!

Weekly Wrap Up: February 15th - 22nd

Hello again! Sorry there was no post last week, but if you follow me on twitter (if not it's @kristinalenny), you would see that I did not buy anything or read anything. I was finally able to sit down and finish a book after a mid-term and I am currently reading another one! 

READ

Yes! I finally finished Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma, which I started on the 6th! This was such an amazing read and I gave it five stars without a doubt. I have so much I can say about this that I will be posting a full review on Wednesday, but in a short sentence; this novel has made it onto my favourites list. The characters were so real, the plot was strong, and it was beautifully written. AND THAT ENDING. I was near tears and could not believe what was happening. 

CURRENTLY READING

So since Forbidden was such a heavy and emotional read, I really needed something light and fun to pick my mood back up. I had been so excited to read Grace's Guide by Grace Helbig, and so far I have not been disappointed and only about 70 pages in. She is so hilarious and so right about so many things - I really appreciated the section "25 ways to deal with anxiety" (or some title along those lines). I know this is going to be a novel I will enjoy and re-read many times in the future. If you like Grace, I totally recommend picking this book up. 

I also am getting into Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire and am very excited about it. I miss the characters and have been wanting to know what was going on with Travis for a while. I am hoping I enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed the first one!

BOUGHT

So I had been doing so well at not buying a book all week, but yesterday my roommate and I went to Costco and I just couldn't help myself. They had good books and at such good prices! I got I Was Here by Gayle Forman, and a beautiful edition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 

GOALS

I have quite a bit of schoolwork to get done before I go home on Friday night, so I am only setting two easy goals for myself. The first one is to not buy a book all week which should be easy because I currently have so many that I am dying to read, that I can't think of any I want to buy. My second goal is to finish a book this week, which should be easy because I am flying through Grace's Guide.

I hope you guys have a great week and I will talk to you on Wednesday with my Forbidden review!

Weekly Wrap Up: February 2nd - 8th

Hey everyone! I am now back in my dorm room after a nice weekend away to Halifax, Nova Scotia. My roommate, myself, and another friend of ours drove the five hours up because that's where my roommate is from, and we had a great time! Although it does feel good to be back in Freddy, while I was away I managed to finish a book, and get on track with my goodreads goal!

READ

I only managed to finish one novel this week, and that was Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins. I gave this four out of five stars, and thought that it was a great ending to a great series. I was anticipating how it would end from the very first page, and I can't say that it was what I expected. Although I loved it, it did break my heart a little bit. I can't wait to get my hands on the spin-off series and to read more by this hilarious author. 

Just before writing this post, I finished a graphic novel that I started this morning while waiting to check out of the hotel. I purchased Amulet Volume 2: The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi this weekend, and had to pick it up right away. I enjoyed the first one (which I read in December), but I did enjoy this one just a little bit more. So much happened right away, and there was no lag from where the story left off. Plus the artwork is just AMAZING. Can't wait to continue on in this series and see what happens!






CURRENTLY READING



I decided to pick up Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma to read next, and although I haven't started yet I am looking forward to it. This is a book that although isn't something I would usually read, is a novel that comes highly recommended to me. 









BOUGHT

Uh oh. I did buy some books this week. In fact, I bought nine. I couldn't help it! My first trip to Chapters I decided to treat myself to a book because I have been at university for over a month and have not yet experienced an anxiety attack - which is a big accomplishment for me. Once I got into the bookstore I couldn't just decide on one, and decided I wanted a light romance to read on my flight home later on this month. In this single trip I purchased; Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff, The Edge of Never by J.A Redmerski, Thoughtless by S.C Stephens, Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A Tucker, and Burying Water by K.A Tucker. 

Then I went into the bookstore at a mall my friend and I found in Nova Scotia, and obviously once I picked up one I just couldn't stop. What better way to remember a trip than with some books? On this trip I got; Amulet Volume Two: The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi, All Fall Down by Ally Carter, The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides, and All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. 

I am very excited for all of these books, so I have no regrets!

GOALS

With this upcoming week I do need to go back on my ban and not buy any books. My wallet can't handle it, and I am running out of room in my dorm. I would also like to keep up with staying on track for my goodreads challenge, but I have a very important psychology exam Friday morning, so most of my reading will only be getting done on the weekend. So we will just have to wait and see!

A couple more weeks and I will be home relaxing with my dog! Have a great night, and I will talk to you soon!