Kori Kanaday-P7 "Speak"

SETTING:
Melinda Sordino, a freshmen, and the rest of the students at Merryweather High School live in Syracuse, New York. Speak is written from a perspective of someone who despises school. Melinda seeks safety in her art class and an empty supply closet. Throughout the book, Melinda decorates the closet with her artwork and makes it her own. She goes there to think, hide, and for the occasional cry. Melinda’s feelings and emotions are in touch with the seasons. During winter she is cold, vulnerable, and empty. But as the spring months come, she begins to blossom into the girl she used to be before the “incident.”

PLOT:
The summer before ninth grade, Melinda and her friends attend their first high school party. Melinda meets a senior named Andy Evans. The two dance, talk, and kiss. As the night goes on, Andy becomes aggressive and rapes Melinda. In her drunken and terrified state, Melinda calls the cops but won’t tell anyone what happened to her. The entire school finds out Melinda is who crashed the party and everyone ditches her. During the early months of freshmen year, Melinda is without friends, and falls into a depressive state. She befriends a girl named Heather, who later ditches her due to her “low social hierarchy”. Rachel, Melinda’s former best friend, begins to date Andy. Scared and worried for her friend, Melinda decides she must tell her about that night. Rachel refuses to believe what she has to say and storms out. However, Rachel eventually believes Melinda the more she thinks about the story, and calls Andy out. When Melinda finally has enough courage to leave her closet for good, Andy locks her inside. The fuming man attempts to rape her again, but Melinda is not the same girl anymore. She slaps and scratches a...

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...ryone wanting to fit in. Everyone leaves Melinda to fend for herself when everyone else decides to. The book is also an educational tool on sexual abuse and teaches readers how to identify possible victims.

PERSONAL RELEVANCE:
To me, this book was much more than a good read. It was a real life, up close and personal story, of a very possible situation. The truth is, it can happen to anyone. A matter of being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. It clearly depicts what goes on in the halls of a high school. It supports the notion that so many kids are fighting depression but nobody cares until they do something drastic. Life can be hard, and sometimes it gets harder before it gets easier. But there is always light at the end of the tunnel. This is story of true bravery and strength to overcome the monsters around you, and the most difficult one to fight, yourself.