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Speak


Summary: 
Melinda is an outcast. The summer before beginning high school, Melinda breaks up a party by calling police. Everyone knows she did it, but only two people know why and now everyone hates her. Speak is Melinda's personal narrative of what happens as she tries to cope with her private trauma and public shame during her freshman year of high school. Unable to talk about the circumstances that led to her police call, Melinda finds solace and grows in strength through her silence and art until she is finally strong enough to reveal the true events of one life changing night and set herself free.

Strengths: 
Speak's narrative style is jarring, disjointed and fragmented, which reflects Melinda's feelings and thoughts. This style is one of the big strengths of the book, as the parallels between the style and the plot draw you into Melinda's thoughts. Also, the subject manner, while difficult, reflects some of the challenges young adults face in reality. Interpersonal relationships, peer pressure, bullying, sexual contact and depression are all major talking points that come out of reading this book. This book can stand as an excellent jumping off point for opening up difficult discussions with teens on the struggles they may face.

If you liked this book, you may like:
The Lovely Bones
Thirteen Reasons Why

 Anderson, L. (1999). Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. 

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