Apr 7th, 2009
Speak
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is one of those books where you feel like you’re alongside the main character, living in her shoes. Melinda Sorvino is a typical high school student, but she is keeping a terrible secret. Everyone at school hates her because she called the police to a house party during the summer, everyone including her best friend. It turns out, something terrible happened to Melinda at the party, and she fled before the police showed up. The book chronicles Melinda’s journey from denial to acceptance to growth beyond what has happened. A nice mirror in the story is that Melinda takes an art class with a very supportive teacher, and she is given the assignment to draw a tree. At the end of the story, she not only draws a tree, she understands the symbolism of her own growth. I would highly recommend this book to young teen girls; it’s not really a cautionary tale, it’s more a story of gaining self-awareness and strength.
