Speak

Anderson, L.H. (1999). Speak. New York, NY: Square Fish.

Melinda is beginning high-school as an outcast.  At a party in the summer, Heather was raped by an older boy and she called the cops. The party was busted by the cops, and now it seems every student at Merryweather High hates her.  Even her best friends Rachel will no longer speak to her.  She hasn't told anyone about what has happened to her including her parents..  On the first day of school in the assembly, the new girl, Heather from Ohio, decides to sit with her and tries to begin a friendship.  But Heather is on a mission to join clubs and find a niche in the school.  Throughout the book Melinda describes her school, teachers, and life in a sarcastic and cynical tone, just the way a teenager would tell it.   She is doing poorly in school, has decided to hide out in the supply closet for part of the day, and Heather dumps her for a new set of popular friends. The one class and teacher she actually likes is her art class.  Heather begins to talk and interact with others less and less as the year wears on.  It is as if she has crawled into a cocoon.   To make matters worse, the rapist, Andy Evans, goes to her school and taunts her.  She becomes more and more depressed and is alone.  But when spring begins, as the weather warms, something breaks Melinda slowly out of her cocoon. She begins to work in her yard, raking leaves and planting seeds, she stands up to Heather, and she writes on the bathroom wall as a warning to other girls to stay away from Andy. Finally, one day when she is hiding out in the supply closet, Andy comes in and attacks her.  She screams , fights him off, and  other students hear her and comes to help.  She has finally found her voice and confidence, and speaks up for herself. 

Laurie Halse Anderson has written many YA novels that deal with the difficulties of being a teenager in today's world.  Speak was her first YA novel, which addresses  rape and depression.  Catalyst addresses the pressures that young people today have to succeed.  Twisted is written from a teenage boys perspective of growing-up and becoming a man.  Wintergirls is about a teenage girl dealing with anorexia.  Anderson also writes historical fiction for young adults, as well as fiction and non-fiction for younger readers.

Connections for young adults: rape, depression, losing friends, fitting into high school, and overcoming difficult situations.