Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak is a cleaver and an ironic title for a story in which the main character chooses not to speak. The story is written in first-person narration from the point of view of protagonist, Melinda Sordino. Speak is written like an interior monologue in the mind of an introverted teenage girl, like excerpts from her personal diary during her miserable freshman year of high school. Instead of blending in and finding her way through high school. She withdraws and secludes herself from the other students. She calls herself an "outcast." Melinda is so desperate to hide from the world; she turns an old janitor's closet at the high school into her safe haven. She cuts classes to hide in her closet. How lonely could this teenage girl be? All of these characteristics are common in assault victims. Melinda has been seriously disturbed by something traumatic and doesn't feel comfortable talking about it, nor does she really trust anyone. Teenage depression is a common

The story takes place from Melinda's perspective. Every character's description, emotions and behaviors are written as Melinda sees them. The characters in the story are people in Melinda's life. Her family life seems boring and uninteresting. Her mother, Mrs. Sordino is wrapped up in her retail sales job. So, there is an obvious lack of mother/daughter compassion in their relationship. Her father is mean, strict and uninvolved. He doesn't care about how she feels, and he doesn't play much of a role in Melinda's life. She has names for the people she doesn't like. For example, her English teacher is a scary looking woman and her hair looks as if she never combs it, so Melinda refers to her as "Hairwoman." She also refers to her enemy/rapist, Andy Evans, as "It" or...

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... at her and tells her that she is jealous and lying. The first person Melinda finally confided her secret into, doesn't believe her. Eventually, Melinda finds the courage to stand up and the evidence she needed to back up her story.

Luckily, for Melinda she found the strength she needed in a special person and project to support and encourage her expression. So many victims of sexual assault are trapped inside their minds, kind of like the way this book reads. Like a series of letters, trapped from within someone else's mind. They are afraid to tell their story, for fear they will not be believed. But finding that one outlet that builds your inner strength gives you the courage to face your fears. The character transformation that Melinda made was remarkable. She started her freshman year out as an outsider and ended up feeling confident and rejuvenated.