Speak by Laure Halse Anderson

Anderson, L. 1999. Speak. Farrar Straus Giroux. New York, NY.

 Speak is a dark modern realistic fiction focusing on the issue of rape and how it has complicated the life of  high school freshman Melinda Sordino. The summer before high school started, Melinda went to a party, got drunk and was raped.  She called the police and now the entire school views her as the "nark" but nobody knows the real reason she did it, not even her parents.  She struggles to start the school year with no friends and has almost gone entirely mute.  This book takes us on her emotional, mental journey through out the school year and how she learns to grow, be strong, and eventually speak up with the help of some new friends and her art teacher.

 Speak is a wonderful novel that focuses on the issue that unfortunately so many young women have gone through. It centers on the emotional issues that one goes through after the physical act of rape.  Through the metaphor of a tree, seeds, and seasons, the potential for healing is acknowledged and Melinda eventually realizes that what she has done is not her fault and she needs to speak in order to save her friend and others. This book would be especially valuable to any young girl who has gone through the same experience.  It is one that any counselor should keep in their collection as well.  It can also serve to be an "eye-opener to teen girls and will make them more cautious in their relationships with the opposite sex".  (Chance, p.70).

Chance, R.  2014. Young adult literature in action: a librarian's guide/ second edition.  Libraries Unlimited. Santa Barbara, California. 

Feed by M.T. Anderson

Anderson, M.T. (2002). Feed.  Candlewick Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In this unique dystopian novel, Titus life is forever changed when he meets Violet on a Spring Break trip to the moon.  Titus, like his friends and most of America was born of a test tube, and implanted with a "feed" or transmitter like chip that connects his brain and entire body to the corporate communication and marketing of the world. People have loss the ability to read, write and think for themselves and that's what makes Violet different.  She has vocabulary, the ability to write, and knows what issues are profoundly effecting the world.  She even chooses to fight the feed. He finds himself growing and changing because of her, but when it is discovered that she is dying because of the feed, he doesn't even know how to handle his emotions.  This book is a  look into a possible destructive future of humanity that is disturbing because of the current need and addiction to media.

This book is a great read for students today as they are surrounded by technology and social media.  It could be a great comparison book for Literature teachers  to A Brave New World as it questions how we see the world and the future differently because of the technology that has actually been created.   I believe young adults would connect to this book because it speaks of their future, their current use of technology and language. Lessons can be gained about important decisions in how we want the world to be in the future and how technology can be used for both good and bad.