Title: Speak
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Published by: Penguin Group
Released: 1999
Summary: Freshman year sucks. Especially if all your former friends hate you because you called the police from a teenage summer party. Because of this decision, Melinda Sordino is living the life of a social outcast. All her friends have deserted her and all the kids at school just remember her for ruining a good party and getting kids arrested. Nobody's asked Melinda why she called the cops. What has caused her to withdraw from everyone. Why she hardly talks anymore. Will Melinda ever get up the courage to SPEAK?
My Thoughts: This book was AWESOME! I enjoyed Melinda's voice from the first page to the last. Her social commentary regarding all things high school was spot on and very funny.
Melinda's story was also very sad. I completely recommend going into this story blind, not having anyone spoil it for you, because it helps to make the story that much more powerful. It also helps in getting to know Melinda first and not just labeling her by what happened to her. Having Melinda tell her story in her own way just really illustrated the difficulty faced in that type of situation. Melinda's character also really illustrates the effects of depression on a person. It would have been interesting to have seen a before Melinda so the reader could have really been shocked by the after.
This story is also important because I think it stresses how people need to pay more attention to others. If someone had just approached Melinda and asked her what was wrong, would she have spoken sooner? Maybe or maybe not, but it's sad that Melinda had to suffer through the whole school year and nobody really tried to help her.
Speak is a very powerful book with an important message, it's also a very enjoyable read. I highly recommend Melinda's story. She's an interesting character to get to know and witnessing her struggle is heartbreaking. You'll cheer for Melinda when she finally Speaks! A voice is a powerful thing.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
Fantastic and Powerful.
THE ELECTED! BY STEVE FINNELL
ReplyDeleteCan those elected by God resist that calling?
ELECT-ELECTED-ELECTION: Defined (Adjective, signifies picked out, chosen.) (Noun, denotes a picking out, selection, then, that which is chosen).
Elected means chosen. There is a view held by many that when God elects or chooses people that they cannot resist God's calling. Israel was God's elect or chosen people. God did not just select certain Jews to be saved and other Jews to be lost. Salvation was offered to the whole nation of Israel.
Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the people who are on the face of the earth.
The Jews were God's elect. Did any of them ever reject that election? Yes they did; because they had free-will.
1 Samuel 8:7 The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.
They rejected God as king.
Numbers 14:11 The Lord said to Moses, "How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?
These people were the elect of God, but they would not believe in Him. Even though they were God's elect He did not force them to believe and obey Him. THEY HAD FREE-WILL.
Acts 7:51 "You men who are stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.
Israel was God's chosen people; they were His elect, however, they always resisted the Holy Spirit. Most of them rejected Jesus as the Christ. THEY HAD FREE-WILL.
Does God arbitrarily condemn some men to hell and elect a chosen few for salvation? NO, HE DOES NOT!
WHO ARE THE ELECT OF GOD TODAY?
Acts 10:34-43 Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. 36......Jesus Christ....43 Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness from sins.
WHO ARE THE ELECT OF GOD TODAY? All who believe in Jesus Christ. Yes, everyone has the chance to become the elect, the chosen of God.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
WHO ARE GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE? WHO ARE GOD'S ELECT? EVERY JEW AND EVERY GENTILE WHO MEETS GOD'S TERMS FOR PARDON UNDER THE NEW COVENANT ARE THE ELECT OF GOD. THEY ARE ALL GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE.
GOD HAS OFFERED SALVATION TO ALL WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS THE CHRIST.
YOU ARE INVITED TO FOLLOW MY BLOG. http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com