Book Review - Speak

Speak                                                                                                                       
Anderson, Laurie Halse, (1999). Speak. New York: Penguin Putnam Books For Young Readers.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a wonderful piece of young adult literature.  Not only does it deal with the tragic result of a rape on a young girl’s personality, but it also deals with issues such as cliques, friendships, crushes, being and outsider, suicide and many other perils of being in high school.
    This is an important book on so many levels. The most important of those issues is that one should speak up if they have been raped. The topic of rape is a very important one to present to young adults. The idea that Melinda is having a problem discerning whether or not she was truly raped is something that many teen girls may have gone through. Melinda’s friends have abandoned her and she has become the outcast. No one knows why Melinda called the police and so they feel separated from her. Her best friend totally snubs her. That alone is enough to break many teen girls. Her futile attempts at suicide result in her mother telling her that she just doesn’t have time to deal with her suicide attempts and calling her a coward. It isn’t until Melinda finally speaks up that she realizes that only she has the power heal herself.  I think the most powerful moment in the book comes when Ivy shows Melinda the responses to bathroom writings about Andy Evans. It hones it in to the reader that this kid is a predator and if Melinda doesn’t speak something will happen to Rachel. Of course, Rachel doesn’t believe Melinda until Andy tries things with her at the prom. Rachel dumping Andy for the exchange student leads to the climax of Andy trying to rape Melinda again.  This time Melinda fights back, and in doing so she isn’t just fighting not to be raped – she is fighting for her identity. She can stay a victim or she can do something about it.
    The book also tackles cliques and friendships. It is clear from the beginning that Heather is simply using Melinda and hoping to move up in the social scene. Melinda, unlike Heather, doesn’t have the fixation on joining a clique. Melinda is going through an extremely hard time and Heather dumps her to fit in with a clique. Reading the character of Heather reminded me of a former friend from high school. Didn’t we all have friends like Heather who only used us as a stepping-stone to get to somewhere else?
    Melinda’s innocent crush on David Petrakis is also entertaining and telling at the same time. Melinda isn’t going to make a move on him because she is afraid of guys. I was shocked at how well the author got the interrelationships between people after a rape, especially those regarding dating. Heather likes this guy, but she is afraid to go to a party with him. She knows he is a nice guy, but she doesn’t want to be touched. It is apparent to the reader that he probably likes her as well. But, she does nothing.
    The situation is made all the worse by Melinda’s family.  I honestly did not like her mother.  Her mother addressed her as an inconvenience rather than a daughter. I can’t believe her parents didn’t ask her about the party or recognize any of the warning signs. The mother’s response to the suicide attempt was deplorable.
The book gives the reader a humorous look at political correctness in the form of the choosing of a school mascot. It also gets the characterizations of many of the teachers that generally exist in kid’s minds.
This was a great piece of young-adult literature. The book is written in first-person, which aids the reader in understanding the character even if it takes a while to discern what the unspeakable IT means. The great thing about the book is that it wasn’t just about the rape; it was also about recovery and how even in the midst of all your problems life still goes on. As deep and dark as the subject matter of the story was in the book, it still manages to make you laugh. But, at the end, when Melinda handed in her art project I cried. I didn’t expect to. Melinda could have been any one of us, and maybe she was. 
I’m glad I bought this book. It will definitely be included in my collection of classroom books.