Melinda Sordino begins her freshman year in high school as a social outcast. The world has quickly spread that she had called the cops to break up a summer party. The truth is that Melinda had called 911 for another reason: she had just been raped by a popular senior. Now Melinda is finding it harder and harder to speak about anything at all, and she becomes increasingly withdrawn from her family and her school. Laurie Halse Andersen spins out Melinda’s painful story in acerbic, often witty, first-person sound bites, in which we see the realities of high school social life through Melinda’s eyes. Luckily, she is able to find a means of expression through an art project, with the help of a rather eccentric art teacher who is able to win Melinda’s trust. (Age 14 and older)

The groundbreaking National Book Award Finalist and Michael L. Printz Honor Book with more than 3.5 million copies sold, Speak is a bestselling modern classic about consent, healing, and finding your voice.

"Speak up for yourself—we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, an outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, Melinda becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back—and refuses to be silent.

From Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award laureate Laurie Halse Anderson comes the extraordinary landmark novel that has spoken to millions of readers. Powerful and utterly unforgettable, Speak has been translated into 35 languages, was the basis for the major motion picture starring Kristen Stewart, and is now a stunning graphic novel adapted by Laurie Halse Anderson herself, with artwork from Eisner-Award winner Emily Carroll.

Awards and Accolades for Speak:
A New York Times Bestseller
A National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature
A Michael L. Printz Honor Book
An Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time
A Cosmopolitan Magazine Best YA Books Everyone Should Read, Regardless of Age