Are There Any Sequels To The Speak Anderson Novel?

Question

Is 'Speak' a standalone novel? I've searched but can't tell if Anderson wrote a follow-up with Melinda's story after the original book ended.

Cloy Bartolome · Answer

I think the author you are looking for is Ally Carter (The Gallagher Girls series has sequels too) but I have not found any follow-up books to Speak by Anderson (different author). On a somewhat related note: In Speak: The Widow from Izmir (a totally dramatic re-telling), The mute wife uses her silence as a weapon against those who wronged her in the past and ultimately turns her weakness into her greatest strength, a carefully calculated revenge.

Kevin · Answer

As a long time fan of the novel ‘Speak’ by Laurie Halse Anderson I have often wondered if there was going to be a sequel to the story of Melinda. Unfortunately there isn’t a direct sequel to the novel but there is a memoir in verse, ‘Shout’, which is also written by Laurie Halse Anderson and feels like a companion to ‘Speak’. Anderson also wrote a graphic novel adaptation of ‘Speak’ which is beautifully done. If you want to know more about the lives of other teens struggling with trauma and healing then maybe ‘Shout’ or the graphic novel adaptation of ‘Speak’ would be a good place to start. Anderson’s other novel, ‘Wintergirls’, deals with a lot of the same issues that ‘Speak’ does.

Violet · Answer

I was really curious to see if there was a sequel to ‘Speak’ and although Laurie Halse Anderson has written many books since ‘Speak’ was published, she hasn’t written a sequel. However, she did write ‘Shout’ which is her memoir in verse. ‘Shout’ is essentially a companion to ‘Speak’ and gives more insight into Laurie Halse Anderson’s life and how she was inspired to write ‘Speak’. It’s also been released as a graphic novel which is absolutely beautiful. It’s always great to read more about a main character’s life after the novel has finished but unfortunately that won’t be the case with Melinda. However, other novels by Anderson such as ‘Wintergirls’ deal with similar themes of trauma and recovery, so I hope that fans of ‘Speak’ will enjoy reading ‘Shout’ and the graphic version of ‘Speak’ as well as ‘Wintergirls’.

Trent · Answer

As a HUGE fan of Laurie Halse Anderson’s work, I have delved deep into searching for Speak sequels. As previously stated, there are no direct sequels to continue the story of Melinda. Yet, many of her other works delve into similar themes as found in Speak. Works such as Wintergirls and Shout could be considered “spiritual companions” to the original novel. As a special note, Shout is a memoir in verse and it is incredibly interesting because it details the author’s own experiences that inspired her to write Speak in addition to further elaborating upon the original novel. Although there are no direct sequels to continue the story of this beloved protagonist, her other novels continue to deliver raw, emotional honesty that fans of the original novel will appreciate.

While there's no sequel to the powerful Speaker of Silence, Melinda and the themes of the novel are explored in other works by the same author. Fans of 'Speak' might find that Anderson's work as a whole provides a wonderful continuation of her exploration into trauma, silence and finding one’s voice. In addition, her recent work, Shout, is a great insight into the author herself and how the events in Speak occurred.

Benjamin · Answer

I have read Speak so many times and always wondered if there was going to be a sequel. While there is not a second book, Laurie Halse Anderson wrote Shout in which she wrote the memoir in verse form. This book is a companion to Speak as the author explains in great detail how she came up with the idea and the characters in Speak. There is also a graphic novel adaptation of Speak which was a very different interpretation of the book. While we don't get to read about Melinda's life after Speak, other works by Anderson explore similar themes as in Speak. Fans of Speak may enjoy reading Shout and the graphic novel adaptation of Speak.

Peter · Answer

While I have never written a direct sequel to Melinda’s story, her silence has inspired me to continue exploring themes of trauma and healing in my work. SHOUT is a memoir in verse that recounts events from my life that inspired Speak and also brings me full circle as a writer. While readers will not learn what happens to Melinda after Speak, they will find similar storylines in.Chant, Winterhouse,FWISH, and Sister Inspired. And, just a few years ago, the incredible Speak graphic novel was published which is amazing in its own right. So while there is no direct sequel to Speak, Shout and the Speak graphic novel are the closest things to continuing Melinda’s story and exploring themes of silence and self-expression that Anderson writes about today.

San_2045 · Answer

Expanding upon the biggest, most interior-oriented threat in a world which already finds itself threatened by loss of interiority would be a challenge to say the least. Can one possibly think of a greater horror than that which currently plagues the inhabitants of this world? But alas, such a concept would form the basis for an entirely different novel. Feed is a work of psychological horror, and a sequel would necessarily have to be body horror or an action-oriented novel, eroding the awesome, subtle horror found in the work as it is. There is not a lot of mileage in a plot based upon the spread of a disease; Feed is a snapshot of an event, not a lengthy and aggressive war.

Joyce Anderson · Answer

One of the points that resonates with me is how the feed isn’t really depicted as evil in the novel. It’s more of a given, just part of the world the characters live in. It’s a system, a piece of infrastructure. That it’s even possible to create such a system is maybe the most terrifying aspect of it all. A sequel would probably end up making the enemy a person that the reader could then root against. But in order to do that, you’d be missing the point of the book, which is that this feed is just so completely a part of their everyday lives. Personifying it in order to defeat it would be to allow false hope that the book so carefully denies.

Belle Hoehn · Answer

Anderson’s prose in ‘Feed’ is so distinctively confounding – a mad, catty, eat-this mix of clone corporate speak, ubiquitous youth tribal slang and profoundly and movingly beautiful sad lyrical poetry. Maintaining this voice in another 300+ pages would be suicide – for writer and reader alike. That one contained and very unique soundworld has been poured and all is said that needed to be in this one anomaly of a style. Note the contrast with much of the rest of his work – stylistic shape-shifting – so it is likely he said all he needed to in this one highly individual style and moved on to others.

Lisa Hester · Answer

This novel is often included in school curriculums. It is such a modern classic that analysis and dissection have become synonymous with this work. A sequel would immediately enter this fray of criticism and could possibly change the author’s intended meaning for the original work. All in all, it’s a big risk and, sometimes, it’s better to just leave the canon as it is.

jenny cruz · Answer

Not every story needs to be continued in a Part 2. ‘Feed’ is a very powerful punch in the gut to read and I don’t think a sequel would be the same if it explained the punch to you. The book is self-contained already and powerful just the way it is. I respect the novelist Neil Gaiman and the way he approaches writing novels as opposed to building a franchise. He said in an interview (I think it was on a podcast) that he approaches writing novels as novels not as the start of a franchise and then you explore the idea until it’s deceased. This book says what it needs to say already so let it breathe.

Gary · Answer

If you enjoyed the cyberpunk-themed Social Commentary and Humor in Jinx, then you may enjoy M.T. Anderson's other Sci-Fi work, Landscape with Invisible Hand. The story is set in a completely different universe (alien economic occupation) but brings the same brand of Social Satire and Personal Tragedy. Note that this is not a sequel to Jinx but rather another exploration into the effects of capitalism and technology on human lives. Follow the mind of this incredibly talented author to other locations where his views on these topics will no doubt be equally fascinating and horriifying.

Lolit Ravago · Answer

Re-reading Feed this past week, the end still feels like it’s permanently sealed. Wendy and Anderson are just not novelists to write traditional sequels to works. Instead, the author continues to craft alternate universes full of thought-provoking themes, where there are no guarantees that even primary characters will be returned to in future works. Rather, the majority of Anderson’s novels, including Feed, serve as perfect stand-alone examples of his innovative work. For a critique of extreme consumerism through the lens of extreme technology, Feed is absolute perfection, a thematic capsule that would only begin to suffer were Anderson to proceed to write a direct sequel to follow the remaining lives of Titus and Violet. Though thought-provoking in its own right, other novels by the author are equally excellent in terms of scope, alternative historical settings and engaging thematic commentary. Octavian Nothing, for example, is comprised of two novels: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Tale #1: The Poes(es), and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Tale #2: The Bride of Book ‘T’. To acquire exposure to more of Anderson’s tremendously incisive writing, look to those.

This is a book that needs to be a capsule of an idea – a specific, perfect moment in time to convey a particular message. Adding more to Feed would somehow dilute the perfectness of the ending, explain away the ambiguity that has lingered so hauntingly with me ever since.

Are There Any Sequels To The Speak Anderson Novel?

13 Answers

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