Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson
★ Top 10 book of 1999 · #8 on Best Books of 1999
Melinda starts freshman year as an outcast after calling the police on an end-of-summer party, and gradually nearly stops speaking. Through her art class she faces the truth that she was raped at that party, and she finally fights back instead of staying silent.
Best for: Teen readers who want a powerful story about finding your voice and speaking up
Speak is #8 on BookWard's Best Books of 1999, out of 52 1999 books that cleared our data bar.
What Speak is about
Melinda Sordino starts her freshman year at Merryweather High as an outcast. Over the summer she called the police to break up a party, and her friends have abandoned her for it. What they don't know is why she made that call, and Melinda, shaken by what happened to her that night, can barely bring herself to say it aloud. Her words dry up, and she retreats into silence.
Told in diary format, with a nonlinear plot and jumpy narrative that mimics the trauma she experienced, the story follows Melinda as she is ostracized by her peers, abandoned by her friends, and gradually regains her voice. Her parents are distant and no help. A lab partner nudges her to speak up, and an art class gives her a way to say things she cannot say in words. The tone is wry and raw, and it moves toward hope. Readers who want an honest look at silence, isolation and finding a voice will find it here.
Speak on the Best Books of 1999
Speak came out in 1999. Of the 52 books first published in 1999 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #8 on our Best Books of 1999 list.
Why it made the list: 1,337 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (98 ratings); 61 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Being read right now.
Nearby on the 1999 list
- The Coldest Winter Ever Sister Souljah, #6
- The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari Robin S. Sharma, #7
- Nonviolent Communication Marshall B. Rosenberg, #9
- The Pragmatic Programmer Andy Hunt, #10
See all Best Books of 1999 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1998 Best Books of 2000.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 1,142 want to read it, 61 are reading it now and 134 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.9 out of 5 from 98 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 92 | 55% |
| Reader love | 58 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 92 | 20% |
Questions about Speak
When was Speak published?
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was first published in 1999.
Was Speak one of the best books of 1999?
Speak is #8 on BookWard's Best Books of 1999, out of 52 1999 books that cleared our data bar. 1,337 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (98 ratings); 61 are reading it right now.
Why is Speak on the Best Books of 1999 list?
1,337 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (98 ratings); 61 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 1999
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban J. K. Rowling, #1
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky, #2
- Wings of Fire A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, #3
- On Writing Stephen King, #4
- The Bad Beginning Lemony Snicket, #5
- The Coldest Winter Ever Sister Souljah, #6
See the full Best Books of 1999, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
Find your own best books
Add what you have read, rate it, and BookWard will recommend what to read next.
Free while in beta. No credit card needed.