books to read: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Melinda is a girl starting the high school but before she starts class her friends are invited to an end of Summer party where she meets a senior and ends up raping her. She is drunk and hurt, she goes to call the police but ends up hanging up and walks away from the place before the police get there. The students resent her and ostracize her. In turn she becomes an introvert and refuses to speak. Melinda decides to tell her friend she was raped on the night of the summer party but her friend gets mad when she find it’s her boyfriend. The senior who raped her confronts Melinda and tries to rape her that’s when the cross team comes to her rescue and stop the attack. She gets to tell her parents what happen to her and they love on her when she opens up to speak.

This book deals with Date rape one of the common things girls in high school and college has being exposed too. Girls are taken advantage when they get drunk or strangers who may drug their drinks at parties. There may also be of relatives who take advantage of being family that the overpower themselves to abuse the girls. Girls suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that they start to cut themselves or become anorexia/ bulimic to deal with the pain. Melinda story is an example of young girls who are going through this type of drama and the only help is by getting therapy and finding a good friend the can listen to them. This book is a good example of teenagers who look different and are reclusive. They are the ones that we need to help and not condemn. Other books that are similar to Speak are Richard D'Ambrosio's No Language But a Cry and John Marsden's So Much to Tell You.