Speak

Reader reviewed by Nicki

Melinda Sordino starts high school a few weeks after she was raped at a teen drinking party. She is ostracized by everyone at school because she called the police on their party, but didn't report the rape and is almost entirely mute. The story covers her first year of school. She has emotionally distant parents, a girl she hangs out with who is not really her friend, and a crush on her lab partner. She is getting poor grades in most of her classes due to her emotional trauma, but she has a supportive art teacher. As the year goes on, through her art Melinda is able to come to terms with what happened to her.

Reader reviewed by bookspider

This is the story of Melinda.

She is entering the ninth grade, with the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude, and no group of friends. The reason? At the end-of-school party last year, she called the police. Now she is going to a quirky high school, where everyone knows and dispises her. But why did she call the cops?


Even as the story plummets into darkness, it is still told with a funny, amusing voice. Please read this book. The story is true, touching and darkly funny. One of my favourites.

Reader reviewed by Tia

During and end of the summer party, two things happen to Melinda Sordino-she gets drunks and raped by a senior. I like this book not only because it talked about speaking up when something has happened to you, but the importance of speaking up entirely. Melinda has sarcastic wit and honesty that towards the end you miss her and glad she's okay. The names she gives her teachers are funny and I especially liked her art teacher Mr. Freeman- I guess you could say he is the main person that helps her find her voice and at the end of the book she shares what she's been through "Let me tell you about it." Mrs. Anderson did an excellent job on this book and I am excited to hear that the movie version will be released soon.

Reader reviewed by Ellie, 15

This book really makes you feel. It's about an American girl who no-one will talk to because of something she did. She's very lonely, all her old friends hate her. As the book progresses, she begins to feel slightly better, and you find out what she did to make everyone hate her.
I really think every teenager should read this book, it will make you think twice about people.

Reader reviewed by Kristen

The author captures the reality of true high school drama through the main character, Melinda. When she called the cops on a party last summer, her friends didn't think twice about ditching her before she could even explain what happened. As she goes through the school year, she keeps thinking about that night and how to get her friends back. This isn't your average "My boyfriend dumped me and my friends hate me" book. It goes a lot deeper than that! But you'll have to read it to see how.

Reader reviewed by xbitemynailsx

This is a GREAT book. Especially for teens. It is about a girl who is at a party and gets raped. She becomes a big misfit because she calls the police and tells the truth. It is definately a realistic book. I loved it and would recommend it.

Reader reviewed by Amanda

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is one of the best book i have ever read. It is about a ninth grade who had just went to hight school. During the summer something had happened to her when she was at a party. When she had gone to ninth grade she had o friends beacuse they were mad ay her cause she had called the cops at the party. during the school year she had to keep what happened to her to herself.

At the end she tells her old best freind what had happened to her.

Reader reviewed by Alexa

Have you ever felt lonely, without a friend in the world? Well, this feeling penetrates Melinda Sordino's life in the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. In this touching story of a teenage outcast, Melinda has a secret which nobody else must ever find out. However, readers are able to get Melinda's perspective on the situation through diary entries, hence allowing them to discover her secret and see how it affects her in the long run. This secret thus adds mystery to the plot, enhancing the stories moving message. Speak is a great book for girls 12 and older. Its moral is one that will be helpful to know throughout life. The outcast's opinion is seldom heard, yet Mrs. Anderson captures this distinct outlook on life. So, if you want to observe life through the eyes of someone else while experiencing the heart-wrenching reality of assumption, back-stabbing, and desertion, read Speak.

Reader reviewed by eesha

Speak is a wonderful book packed with suspense. Foreshadowing is the best technique used in this story of a girl. Melinda, the main character, is plagued by a horrible secret. She fights pain and horror to admit the truth to everyone. Once she tells someone she realizes the only person she should have told all along is herself.

Reader reviewed by lookwaticando08

I really liked this book because it was really vivid. You could feel the main characters pain when she got raped. I thought it was a great book that everyone should read if they are feeling bad about themselves.