Speak: the Graphic Novel

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson originally came out in the late 90s and quickly  became a book talk book and a mentor text in my classroom. It is about Melinda, a freshman in high school who was raped at a party in her 8th grade summer, calls the police and becomes a pariah in her high school from day one. It is about Melinda's inability to speak about her experience. It is about fear and depression, warning signs for parents and finding a voice.

The original text is used as a mentor text when I want to demonstrate the writing strategies "show don't tell," "thoughtshots" and "snapshots." Anderson is an author that uses craft to her advantage.

The difference in this graphic novel is that while the story is there, many of the very poignant writing cannot follow into this genre. What the reader is left with, though, is a pared down powerful story told in stark black and gray. The art by Emily Carroll is bleak in all the right places.

The one jarring thing in this collaboration is that although the original text was written before the internet and the prevalence of even elementary students having smart phones,  technology is included, even if in a limited way to make this version less dated. The problem with putting some technology in is that it opens doors for questions in the story. I think the savvy teens of social media today wield their power  in very anonymous ways that give even the voiceless power. That would make this a very different story.

Still, I think this graphic novel can stand on its own. It is not a graphic story I would use to introduce reluctant readers to the original text. I think it is just a story that needs to be told and it will appeal to the reluctant reader who would otherwise just not read.