There have been many disagreements and arguments when it comes to movie adaptations of books. Many believe that the movies could never surpass the books while others disagree and say that it is easier to understand and even like books with a movie. One popular movie adaptation taken from a book is the movie Speak. The movie Speak came out in 2004 and was directed by Jessica Sharzar. The book Speak came out in 1999 and was written by Laurie Halse Anderson.
The book and movie, which are realistic fiction, both follow the main female character, Melinda Sordino who is a freshman in high school who lost all of her friends due to what happened at a party celebrating the end of summer. The book and the movie have a similar tone which I personally enjoyed and they both nicely represented what it is like to be in a teenage girl’s mind. One thing the book better represented was the relationship Melinda has between both of her parents and how their relationship changes throughout the different things she is experiencing and how it unknowingly affects those around her. This was harder to portray in the movie, most likely because it is only able to be known if the viewer knows Melinda’s exact thoughts, and even though the viewer does get to hear her thoughts in the movie, her parents are not a main focus in the movie.
There are not many differences between the movie and the book, which I find enjoyable. The only differences are small interactions between characters and places the characters are in, which makes sense since it would be difficult for them to be exactly the same.
Overall, the Speak book and movie are both great in their own ways and are highly recommended for anyone trying to get into reading or anybody finding a nice quick movie they want to watch.
