Anderson, Laurie Halse. 1999. Speak. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. ISBN 9780374371524.
Melinda Sordino is starting high school without any friends because of a terrible secret. At a party over the summer, Melinda was raped by a popular senior boy. She called the cops which busted the party but when they showed up she was too afraid to say anything, so she didn’t and still has not. Everyone knows that she called the cops and are holding it against her. She watches her ex-friends and classmates closely seemingly desiring to be happy and find her clique. The story follows Melinda as she tries to find a place in the world, often times ostracizing herself. She meets an incredible art teacher that helps her build skills artistically and in life. Finally, Melinda is able to reach out and tell her best friend about the rape and from there, her healing begins.
This is a roller coaster story that immediately engages the reader. Initially, we do not know what Melinda’s secret is and slowly details about the night of her rape are revealed. Eventually, when Melinda finally tells someone, you can feel her relief, her transformation beginning and how much pain she is in. We follow Melinda throughout the entire book and teen readers specifically will feel emotionally connected. The first-person narration is vital in identifying with Melinda. When Melinda first interacts with her ex-best friend she describes how she feels saying, “I want to grab her by the neck and shake her and scream at her to stop treating me like dirt. She didn’t even bother to find out the truth -- what kind of friend is that?” (Anderson 1999). Even her best friend did not care to find out what really happened and Melinda feels lost this way most of the novel. Her down-to-earth and realistic responses to her situations draw the reader in.
The things that Melinda goes through are realistic, although rape is usually an sensitive topic, it is truly plausible. The rejection from classmates and loner feeling she has could happen to any teenage girl, especially after they find themselves drunk at a party. Melinda’s only therapy is her art teacher and the art class she uses to find her voice. The fact that she is able to find herself and speak out about her experience can bring about confidence in the readers that may be experiencing hardship.
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year Award Winner
Golden Kite Award Winner
ABC Children’s Booksellers Choices Award Winner
Nominated for National Book Award
Nominated for Edgar Award
Nominated for Michael L. Printz Award
“No one will sit with Melinda on the bus. At school, students call her names and harass her; her best friends from junior high scatter to different cliques and abandon her. Yet Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy”. -- Publishers Weekly Review
“Readers will easily identify with Melinda, a realistic, likable character. Anderson portrays a large suburban high school with a fresh and authentic eyeball the cliques are there, from the jocks, to the Goths, to the "Marthas" (Martha Stewart wanna-bes)”. -- Voice of Youth Advocates Review
“Melinda's voice is distinct, unusual, and very real as she recounts her past and present experiences in bitterly ironic, occasionally even amusing vignettes”. -- Booklist Review
- Invite students to write in their own personal diaries. Do not ask that they share them with anyone or do anything except write how they feel daily. Melinda was only able to speak out when she could do it through writing.
- Incorporate art the same was Melinda’s art teacher did. Give students one image to draw all year and ask them to perfect it through different mediums.
- Other books by Laurie Halse Anderson:
- 2005. Prom. Viking. ISBN 0670059749
- 2007. Twisted. Viking. ISBN 97806700661013
- 2009. Wintergirls. Viking. ISBN 9780670011100
- Other fiction books about rape victims and how this trauma affects victims and the people around them:
- Holubitsky, Katherine. 2004. The Hippie House. Orca Book Publishers. ISBN 1551433168.
- Neufeld, John. 1999. Boy Lie. DK Ink. ISBN 0789426242
- Whitney, Daisy. 2010. The Mockingbirds. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316090537
- Williams-Garcia, Rita. 2001. Every Time a Rainbow Dies. Harper Collins Publisher. ISBN 0688162452
