Melinda Sordino is a high school freshman with a terrible secret, no friends, and a newly acquired habit of remaining mute whenever possible. She is ostracized by her classmates for calling the police to break up a summer party. Gradually, readers will realize the events of that party are the catalyst that sent her spiraling out of control. Will she find her voice in time to save herself?
Anderson does an excellent job of writing realistic teen dialog and creating believable settings and scenarios for her characters to interact. Date rape, which is the trauma Melinda experiences, is thinly veiled and easily predicted; however, there is still interesting build-up to the final scene.
The conclusion of the book may be considered a bit too perfect for more mature readers but, overall, Speak navigates the inner mind of a traumatized teenager with impressive insight. Melinda's use of art to express herself, her parents' detached attitudes, and her utter sense of despair will have readers rooting for her.
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