Speak

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Melinda Sordino begins her freshman year in high school as a social outcast. The... read more

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 Now Melinda is finding it harder and harder to speak about anything at all, and she becomes increasingly withdrawn from her family and her school.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)

© Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2000

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