Speak/ Laurie Halse Anderson
1999 Donnelley and Sons 197
Fiction
                        
                   Its Melinda’s first day of high school. Everyone’s staring at her like she’s a pair of new shoes that just came out.

                                                                 Speak is about a girl who got raped over the summer by a boy who’s at her highschool and is a creep. Melinda’s going crazy, has backstabbing friends and thinks her teachers are very awkward. Its just her now, all alone. So Melinda’s first day is full of demerits and mash potatoes getting flicked at her chest. Wonderful just wonderful.

          Yes I do believe the author achieved her purpose of the book.
This writing is effective and powerful I can kind of compare the text to real life situations. Melinda’s weaknesses were, getting bossed around, letting people get you down, and being depressed. Her strength was getting empowered by others, who knew how she felt and could help her and coming back to reality realizing she doesn’t need friends or a boyfriend. I found speak very interesting I could read it all over again. It was fun to read it haves you wondering what’s going to happen next. I would recommend eight graders to read this because they talk about things that go on in the book everyday, all day. Only ages twelve and up. Those who go to parties and something happens to them or there friend they don’t need to keep it a secret. They should speak up and not get picked on for doing so.
   The impression I was left with was be careful who you talk to and who you trust. Speak up, never let others get you down you don’t need anyone to make you feel happy. I want the reader to know that reading this book will give you a different outlook on things you thought were minor.