A Q & A with Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak:

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The Penguin Employee Book Club will be meeting this month to discuss Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. This is the second "interactive" employee book club, where Penguin employees submit questions to the author and the author provides the answers. View last month's Q&A with Marlon James here. 

Penguin employees who are interested in joining the next interactive book club should look out for the HR announcement of the the next book club pick in early April!

1. In the additional material at the end of the Anniversary Edition you wrote that the idea of the book came to you in a nightmare.  Did you then do any research on teenage depression/trauma before writing the book? 

Honestly? Not much at all. 

The emotional landscape of SPEAK is very close to what ninth grade felt like for me. After the early draft was in shape I did some research to see if my depression had been unusual and found that, sadly, it hadn't been. When I wrote Speak my oldest child was in sixth grade. At the time, I thought that put me at a disadvantage because she wasn't quite an adolescent. Looking back, I am so grateful I didn't lean on her life's experience. I pulled from my own pain, observations of teens hanging out at the mall, and that magic that always sneaks into the writing process.

2. What made you structure the book the way you did - the absence of traditional chapters and instead shorter breaks with (sometimes very funny) headers?

I never thought the book would be published, for one thing. I wrote it the way I heard it in my head and intended to reformat it into a more traditional narrative style in revision. But I really liked it and decided in the end to try and find a publisher who was willing to take a risk on a slightly strange book.

One of the things I love the most about writing for teens is that they are open-minded readers who are willing to read books that takes artistic risks.

3. While Melinda is seriously strong, and can take care of herself, I really wish I could be there for her. I'm sure lots of other readers also want to be a friend to Melinda. What sort of friend would've helped Melinda have a more successful freshman year?

Someone who would have listened without judging her. Someone who could see that her behavior was caused by the world of pain she felt trapped in. Her parents could have made a huge difference if they tried to listen to her instead of talking at her. That's the saddest element in the story for me.

4. Since you wrote this book 10 years ago, what changes (if any) would you make if you wrote (or re-wrote) the book now? Any thoughts on where Melinda would be today?

I would add in the technology; cell phones, Internet, and video games, and change the names of the talk show hosts that she thinks about in one scene. I might layer on a little more academic pressure from her parents, too.

Today Melinda is probably a YA librarian, marching to the beat of her own drummer. I imagine that once she found that courage to speak up and tell her story she continued to grow and strengthen. She's the kind of librarian who creates sanctuary for the teens who need it the most.

5. With singers Rihanna and Chris Brown's violent relationship all over the news and tabloids, and perhaps first hand knowledge of other real-life stories of abusive relationships, have you given thought to a story touching on the cyclical nature of domestic abuse, which often leads to violence among adolescent couples?

Yep. Yes. Very much so. But I think it's dangerous to let headlines drive my writing process unless a character comes out of the darkness and starts telling me a story. I don't enjoy reading books that lean too heavily on borrowed plot lines. For me, they usually have underdeveloped characters. 

I have a couple ideas for my next YA, but none of them have developed to the point that I can comfortably talk about them yet. Stay tuned!

6. What treatments and associations are available to assist the girls (and boys) who remain silent?

The best resource I know is RAINN - The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, http://www.rainn.org/. 

Even better is when a trustworthy, caring adult pays attention and listens. We all run across teens in the course of our lives. If we can act from integrity and love, and be present for them, we can make a tremendous difference.

Penguin Employee Book Club, Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak, Puffin, Penguin Books