Speak
This is the story of Melinda, a freshman in high school, who is carrying a big secret. Over the summer she attended a big party with friends and was raped. She did the only thing she knew to do a at the time and called the police. The police did come and break up the party, but she never spoke a word about what happened. The result was that the entire school, even her closest friends, completely ostracize her for breaking up their party and getting them in trouble. As the new school year begins, she is forced to face high school alone and shunned on top of dealing with the deep scars that the incident left inside her. The one friend she does make turns out to be flakey and superficial and every time she runs into the rapist at school she completely shuts down. Unfortunately, her home life isn't very healthy or happy either and she doesn't feel safe telling anyone what happened. Her one saving grace is her art class. Through art she learns to heal and deal with her pain.
This is an excellent book for any young adult. I think it is so important for young adults to read and to discuss. Rape is all too common, but too often the victims are not able to speak up for themselves. It was difficult reading as Melinda struggles and even stops speaking all together, as you wish so desperately for her to find courage to speak up and for justice to be served.
Laurie Halse Anderson's website:
Thematic unit for Speak:
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