Plot Summary
Melinda
becomes the school outcast when she calls the cops at a party. No one knows why she did it and even she has
blocked the memory out. She no longer has
friends and people she doesn’t even know hate her. Slowly, Melinda begins to remember what
happened the night she was raped. She
makes a friend in art class, David, who encourages her to speak up for
herself. Just as Melinda is starting to
come to terms with what happened to her, her attacker confronts her and tries
to rape her again. This time, Melinda
defends herself and gets away. Once the
story spreads through the school, Melinda is accepted again allowing her the
confidence to tell her story to her art teacher.
Critical Evaluation
Speak starts out with a glimpse of the
party that Melinda supposedly ruins.
After that, the reader slowly has to gather the pieces of what actually
happened to Melinda that night. This
story is such an important one to be told.
Rape is something that can happen to anyone, and even by teenage
boys. What Melinda experiences is so common
to rape victims. Being afraid to speak
about what happens to them, either fearing that no one will believe them or
because they are so scarred by what happened they can’t do anything, is such a
problem. Not only do victims need to
realize that it is vitally important to share what happened to them, it is
extremely important for those is authority positions to believe them.
The
journey that Melinda takes to figuring out what happened to her and who she is
will relate to many teenage girls.
Melinda does the right thing by warning her friend who starts to date
her attacker, even if she doesn’t believe her.
This is the unforgettable story of a girl who comes out of a very dark
place to realize who she is and what she is capable of.
Reader’s Annotation
This is the story of Melinda, who finds the courage to come
out of her darkest place to speak the truth.
Author’s Information
Laurie writes books for children of all ages. She is a NYT bestselling author and Speak has won numerous awards including
the Printz Honor in 2000. Laurie’s
website is here: http://madwomanintheforest.com/.
Genre
Realistic Fiction
Book Talking Ideas
This book is so stirring that after someone reads it, they’ll
never forget it. Melinda becomes an
outcast after experiencing one of the most traumatic things a teenage girl can
imagine. It is a tale of courage and
finally coming to terms enough that she can tell what happened. Melinda is a protagonist girls can relate
to.
Reading
Level/Interest
12/14
Challenge Issues
The material covered in this book is sensitive as it
involves an underage girl being raped by a boy her same age. She is then persecuted for her actions after
the incident by all her peers. This is
an important topic for girls to know about.
Parents need to let their children know that they will listen to
whatever they want to say and that they will believe them. This book can help parents talk about this
subject.
Why Include This
Title?
Speak, as I’ve
written, is a book that stays with readers.
The message is so critical for this age range. The book is so well written that it is one of
the best YA books tackling this subject so I included it.
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