"Speak" Book Review

Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak disturbed me with its dark story and evil characters. The book is about a teenage girl who gets raped at a party, becomes depressed, and nearly stops speaking. Despite the dark tone, I did enjoy the book.

One of the themes of this book is about how it is bad to keep some secrets. Melinda keeps the fact that she was raped a secret from everyone and it causes her many problems. The book says:  "As they walk down the aisle, people who were my middle-school lab partners or gym buddies glare at me." They are angry about her ruining a party and they don't realize that she did it because she was raped. Through most of the book, Melinda has to spend her free time hiding in an abandoned janitors closet because she is outcast from everyone. She could've been accepted if she had told her secret and gotten help. Also, throughout the book, Melinda sinks deeper and deeper into her depression. This is because her secret was tearing her apart on the inside.

The setting of this story is Syracuse, New York. The setting often reflects how Melinda is feeling throughout the book. As the days get colder towards the end of fall, Melinda becomes colder and more distant from other people. In the long, frozen winter, Melinda reaches the deepest part of her depression and becomes very fragile. As the days begin to warm up in the spring, Melinda begins to warm up to other people and "thaw out."

Melinda is the main character and one of the few likable ones in the book. In one part of the book, Melinda thinks:  "There is nothing wrong with me. These are really sick people. Sick that you can see." Here, she shows that she can be tough when she needs to and should be. Throughout the book, Melinda spends a great deal of time skipping class and hiding in a janitor's closet. This shows that she wants to be isolated from everyone else. During most of the book, Melinda speaks very little and often tries to avoid social situations. This shows how withdrawn from other people she is.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has not read it before.