Speak

Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. NY: Penguin.

In Speak by Laurie H. Anderson, protagonist Melinda is a freshman in high school that has had a bad start at things to say it lightly. Because of the way things turned out at a summer party where the cops showed up after Melinda makes an emergency call, her friends have rejected her and she is an outcast. The sad truth is that she was raped at the party by an upper classman which was the reason she called the police, but did not know how to speak of the incident which consequently still led to them showing up to stop the party. Since that night, Melinda has stayed quiet about the whole thing until she finds out that her close friend is facing the same threat as she dates Melinda’s perpetrator. Melinda finds the courage to fight back against the boy after he tries to confront her and she is finally free when she speaks of the truth of what happened in that summer party. Although many teenagers might not have experienced what Melinda has in the story, teens can still identify with the character’s silence and her fear to speak up. Educators can use the theme of the importance of speaking up to draw real discussions on the issue of rape, bullying and even depression. This book is a great book for teens who are both avid and reluctant readers. It targets the readers who enjoy contemporary realistic fiction as the story portrays a protagonist that the reader can empathize and relate with. Overall, this book is a must read and to help encourage readers it has been produced into a film.