Speak Novel as a bridge for Salinger's Catcher in the Rye

In Laurie Halse Anderson's gripping, Young Adult novel, Speak, Melinda Sordino is, "Outcast." Similarly, Salinger's protagonist, in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is on the verge of expulsion, again, and both main characters traverse the pages of their novel in search of their identity. Melinda is traumatized by the events of a summer party and the effects it has on her pool of friends as she begins high school. Holden searches all around New York City, hiding his expulsion from his parents, and delaying his eventual coming-to-terms with this inevitability. By taking the time to read both of these excellent works of literature, the reader will benefit by drawing parallels and comparisons as well as contrasts with the protagonists of these novels.

Other pairings of Young Adult Literature with Classic Literature include The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton to pair with Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, for more direct parallels with Melinda Sordino. Young Adult Literature is making waves in today's English classroom. These books are worth the time to read, and even worthier of your students to unlock parallels among Classic Literature by which they might be otherwise "put off." I hope you will find ways to use these novel "pairings" in your classroom. I am certain your students will be richly rewarded.