Speak

It is insane to me that a book written 20 years ago is telling a story that happens in today's world.

We meet Melinda as she's starting high school and follow her to the end of her freshman year.

High school is hard, but it's even harder when everyone is against you. Yes, I know, this sounds like every other kid thinking the world hates them, but for Melinda is was kind of true. Everyone knew she called the cops and broke up their house party...they just didn't know why.

 

Melinda struggles, a lot. She skipped classes, she stayed quiet, she found herself wandering through the halls of life. But she finds her voice at the end, which is incredibly badass because not everyone gets that chance or has the courage to do what she did. She stands up to her attacker, her rapist, and makes sure everyone knows what happened.

It kind of breaks my heart that things like this are still happening 20 years later.

But it blows my mind how strong the Melinda's of this world are.

 

 I rarely use the word "groundbreaking" when describing books, but I'm definitely marking Speak as groundbreaking. Not only did it capture the teenage image of 1999 but of 2019, as well. This book is absolutely going to stand the test of time and I'm beyond glad that I had the opportunity to read it and pass it along to all the other kids who might be trying to cope with their own struggles.

 

Looking for other books by Laurie Halse Anderson?

Wintergirls