Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

           The novel, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson is a powerful book written in a diary format by a freshmen girl named Melinda. Between the summer of eighth and ninth grade, she and her best friend, Rachel, go to a party where everyone is drinking. While being drunk, something happens to Melinda, making her call the cops and bust the party. Keeping the incident a secret, she enters high school where she is ostracized by her peers, including Rachel, and becomes an outcast of the school. As she struggles to deal with depression, fear, trust and isolation, she slowly tries to change herself and mature into a stronger person.

            An important part of this book is when Melinda starts communicating with people again. After the incident, she becomes scared and loses the ability to speak out, making her bottle up all her emotions inside. She has no one to talk to, which makes her feel very depressed, lonely, afraid and painful. Thus, it was very surprising when she makes an effort to reach out to Rachel, who stopped being friends with her after the party. Melinda tells Rachel everything that happened, which makes her sympathetic at first but then angry after. However, Melinda’s intention is not to hurt Rachel but to protect her from the same mistake she made. Although Rachel betrayed Melinda, the action Melinda takes is very caring yet courageous.

            I think Anderson did a great job, constantly attracting the readers to continue reading throughout the book. The readers, especially the teens, can relate to this book in some ways because we all struggle with growing up and friendships just like Melinda. I think anyone would enjoy reading this novel, and for those who are looking for a new book, you should try this one!