Anderson, L.H. (1999). Speak. NY: Penguin
Melinda is starting
her freshman year at Merryweather High School completely rejected by all her
former friends. Over the summer, she attended a party and was raped. When she
called the police, she was in shock and simply could not speak. Everyone else
at the party blamed her for ruining the fun and because of this, she is now
disliked. Her first year of high school is miserable. Art is the only thing
that she can lean on. She has no friends; they look at her weird, and is often
bullied. In result of her isolation, she spends most of her time in an old
janitor closet where she goes when she just can’t handle things anymore. As
time goes by, she begins to realize that it was not her fault, and she needs to
stop IT (Andy Evans) from hurting others. One day, she finally tells her
ex-best friend about what really happened at the summer party. Surprisingly,
her ex-best friend, Rachel does not believe her and thinks she is just jealous.
When IT (Andy Evans) finds out that Melinda is speaking up, he finds her and
once again tries to rape her. However, this time she is able to scream and
defend herself. At the end, Melinda feels free, relieved, gains confidence, and
finishes her yearlong art project.
This is a great
realistic fiction novel not only for young adults but for parents too. The
theme of this book is very solid. The experience that Melinda goes through
explains exactly what she needs to do, speak up. We clearly see that she grew
as she went from being scared to being strong and confident.
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