Fever Finale

I really enjoyed reading Fever 1793 just as much as I loved Speak. It was full of suspense, foreshadowing, metaphors, similes, and had yet another great structure. There are examples of these craft moves strewn throughout the book. Subtle foreshadowing can be seen on page 148, "A small package thumped to the floor, but I didn't bother to examine it." This package is left alone and not referred to again until page 202, "I kicked something hard and hurt my toe. What could be on the floor? I got on my hands and knees and felt along the dark floor until I found a lump wrapped in a napkin." By doing this she clues in the reader that this item is special and important. It also creates suspense in the readers mind by not attending to the package until later, making the reader question what it could be.

I had no prior knowledge of the yellow fever and found that reading this book was a great way for me to really learn about history by immersing myself in it through the eyes of a young girl. This way of learning history is also great for getting different points of view or ideas of the time that you wouldn't have normally known or thought about. One such example of this in the book is the fact that many people in Philadelphia at the time of the outbreak thought that African Americans were immune. That is until they were sent to take care of the sick and caught it themselves. Instead of out right telling you this, Anderson puts you into it by making their cook a voluntary nurse later on in the book and having her family get sick and explain the whole thing to Mathilda from the African American perspective.

After finishing Fever 1793 I went online to look for interviews about the book and found something quite different but helpful nonetheless. What I found were many short films that were either mock previews for a movie on the book or short films summarizing the book. I also found many digital stories about the yellow fever. The thing that struck me most is that most of the remakes and previews were made by and starred elementary students. To me it is pretty apparent that some teacher used this in a lesson for the book. I think this is a great idea and makes it so students could make movies or digital stories to illustrate understanding for the book and history behind it. Here is a short movie made by children of Fever 1793 that I found is a good example of how it can be done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wEtfb6_fMA&feature=related. 

And here is a shortened digital story telling about yellow fever that could easily be created just from the information gleaned out of the book by students: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFyu9Arjy-k.

Similarities between Speak and Twisted

1. Both are set in high school
2. There are clear cliques and a strong social hierarchy in place
3. Both of the stories feature violence against women. Although the act against Bethany in Twisted is not the main conflict it does move the final pieces of the climax into place.
4. One of Anderson's craft moves is to use an ongoing metaphor to show the characters growth and inner feelings. In Speak it was the art project with the trees for Melinda, and in Twisted it is the video game Tophet (Tophet is a Hebrew synonym for Hell, thank you wikipedia). The art project and the video game finish the novel to show the sense of new beginnings and choices for the characters.
5. Melinda and Tyler both try to separate themselves from what happened by giving things names like "IT" and "the foul deed." Anderson slowly reveals more information about both of these things as the book progresses to prolong the mystery.
6. Parents just don't get teens and are self-involved in Anderson's world.
7. Another craft move Anderson utilizes is short chapters and quick scene changes. She does this in Twisted the way she did in Speak to keep the story moving. In a way the short segments of story are perfectly tailored to a younger generation without a long attention span (I'll include myself in this group). I think she paces the stories in this way to create a more convincing teenage voice. I'd have to read one of her historical novels to see if she writes the same way there.

I loved Speak, but I have to admit I was not as enthusiastic about Twisted. Perhaps the male protagonist made it harder for me to relate to his story. I also felt Anderson relied too heavily on very stereotypical writing tricks in Twisted. For example the main character of course has a crush on the wealthy perfect queen bee girl in school, but she comes with the biggest bully brother. Not only was this brother a rich bully, but his name was CHIP! It felt too much like a 1980s John Hughes movie, but it was a pleasant surprise that Tyler didn't end up with Bethany and the final conflict was with his father.
Anderson does write beautifully about dealing with depression and issues as a teenager. I think her books are so popular because so many students do see themselves in her main characters.
I'm just being silly, but some of the high school antics in the book can be summed up by a Tribute to 80's bullies!

Melinda Vs. Daria

I finished reading the first half of Speak a few nights ago. It's very interesting seeing people through Melinda's lens. I'm starting to like a few characters that she describes. I like her classmate, David Petrakis, for standing up for his convictions and his love of learning.  I like  the art teacher, Mr. Freeman, for stirring creative expression in the students and turning his class into  a self-work in progress safe zone. His classroom reminds me of my high school photography class, where one can steadily focus on the artwork in the darkroom and get lost in time and space. Who knew one could find so much in a darkroom? As Marissa had mentioned, I also like how Melinda turned the old janitor room into her musty haven. It's so lovely to find that corner of respite, no matter how cramped, ill lit, or poorly ventilated it may be. Take the childhood fort for example; I used to spend hours in my blanket and chairs fort. 

I forgot how tiring high school could be with its arbitrary social groups and expectations. The Marthas do wear me out; so does Martha Stewart. No matter how beautiful their work seems to be, they seem to rub pretentiousness all over it. You know who Melinda and her description of high school reminds me of right now?! Remember the TV show, Daria from MTV? "The series focuses on Daria Morgendorffer, a smart, acerbic, and somewhat misanthropic teenage girl who observes the world around her."

Speak the movie (2004)

IMDB Page

7.6 out of 10 starring Kristen Stewart (pre-Twilight)

A few things I read said the movie was close to the novel. Maybe we can watch it when we are done.