Speak by Laurie Anderson

Speak by Laurie Anderson

            Melinda Sordino is a freshmen at Merryweather High and an outcast with no friends. Everybody in school including her middle school friends hate her because of an incident at a party where Melinda was raped by Andy Evans. Melinda called the police at the party but didn’t report the rape incident so everyone thought she was just a snitch. Nobody knew Melinda was raped and Melinda didn’t tell anybody. Since that day, she always kept to herself, didn’t try to make new friends, always avoided people, and barely spoke. In school, Melinda’s grades are dropping and she’s having a hard time doing her project of a tree for art class but continues to make changes to it as the book progresses. She meets a new girl named Heather but they didn’t actually have much in common and she was always with Heather just because she didn’t want to appear so lonely. Unfortunately later on, Heather “defriends’ Melinda and Melinda is once again alone. Occasionally, her old friend Ivy (whose in her art class) would talk to her and sometimes her science lab partner, David Petrakis would as well. Although Melinda doesn’t have any friends, she still pays attention to her ex-best friend, Rachel Bruin and she notices that Rachel started going out with Andy Evans (the one she was raped by). She tries to warn Rachel and tells her that she was raped by him but Rachel doesn’t listen. Towards the end, Andy Evans finds out that Melinda told Rachel so he tries to rape Melinda at an abandoned janitor closet. Luckily, Melinda escapes with only a few scratches and she finishes her art project of a tree and gets an A+. The tree symbolizes Melinda’s growth throughout the book and that you don’t have to be perfect.

            “Let me tell you about it.” (Anderson 198)

            At the end when Melinda shows Mr. Freeman her final tree project, he gives her an A+ and can sense her struggle through her artwork. He asks her “You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?” and Melinda replies “Let me tell you about it.” Melinda is finally speaking up and telling someone her struggle which contradicts the beginning where Melinda closed herself from everyone else. I think it ended the book very powerfully because it shows how much Melinda has changed. This book is great because of its verisimilitude and it addresses serious issues such as rape and depression. I can see why this book has been so popular and why many people liked it.

Priceless Memories by Bob Barker

Priceless Memories by Bob Barker

            Bob Barker is a famous television host from the 1960s and he reminisces his past in his book, Priceless Memories. Priceless Memories was published in 2009 by Center Street. To sum it up, Barker talks about his memories with his wife, his host activities, his experience as a Naval Aviation Cadet, his pets, his passion for animal rights, and many more. Barker is most known as host of a game show called Truth or Consequences for about eighteen years, another game show called The Price is Right for thirty five years, and Beauty Pageants for twenty years. He shares his fun experiences on the shows like audience interactions, pranks, funny moments, touching moments, and etc. When Barker was young, he trained as a Naval Aviation Cadet and talks about his years of training to fly planes like the SNJ, BT-13, FM-2, and many more. Eventually, he gained his gold wings but was never actually summoned to duty. Barker also shares his memories with his wife, Dorothy Jo, who was his high school sweetheart and has been happily married with him until she died on October 19, 1981 from lung cancer. They’ve been married for thirty six years and Dorothy Jo was the one who influenced Barker to become a vegetarian and learn about animal rights. Barker is passionate for animals and especially takes a stand on neutering and spaying. He created his own foundation known as the DJ&T Foundation which grants money to organizations that benefit animals. As an animal lover, Barker talks about all pets/animals that he and Dorothy Jo have rescued which includes dogs, cats, rabbits, and even ducks.

            “Have you pets spayed or neutered.” (Barker 221)

            In this section, Barker stressed the importance of spaying and neutering pets to decrease populations of homeless animals. He talks about the tragedy of euthanizing millions of animals every year and hopes to reach out to readers to spread awareness. This quote is what got me to read this book because I’m interested in his stance of animal rights and I want to know who he was. I love animals and I’ve heard about him because he is passionate for animals and donates many money to organizations to benefit animals. An example would be his donation of $5,000,000 to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society which is an organization that protects whales against Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean. Reading this book helps me understand why Bob Barker was so famous and what his achievements were. I respect Barker and hope to advocate for animal rights as well.