Speak
By: Laurie Halse Anderson
"Breathe life into it. Make it bend--trees are flexible, so they don't snap. Scar it, give it a twisted branch--perfect trees don't exist. Nothing is perfect. Flaws are interesting. Be the tree"(Anderson 153).
The summer before her freshman year, Melinda Sordino was raped at a party by a senior, she called the police and she is now ignored by her peers even her best friend. Melinda goes back to high school as a social outcast. Unable to say what happened, Melinda stops talking altogether, and instead expresses her voice through art. Her art slowly helps her acknowledge, what happened to her at the party, face her problems, and recreate her identity,
About the Author
Laurie Halse Anderson was inspired to write "Speak", based on a real life incident of when she was raped. She is also the author of Catalyst and Twisted
Praises
"An uncannily funny book even as it plumbs the darkness, SPEAK will hold readers from first word to last." -The Horn Book, starred review
"A stunning first novel... Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy... Melinda's hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired." -Publishers Weekly, starred review
Accolades
A New York Times Best Seller
A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
An ALA Quick Pick