I just recently finished reading the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I thought it was an excellent example of how victimizing high school can be, especially to the young quiet freshmen. It was a beautifully written account of Melinda, the protagonist, and her struggle to blend in to the background and keep quiet after experiencing a rape by one of the senior boys at a party the summer prior to her freshmen year. It is rich in sarcasm and vaguely reminds me of MTV's old cartoon series "Daria", but with a bigger underlying theme that runs a little deeper than simply hating high school and thinking that the social hierarchy is ridiculous.
Anderson captures the feelings of invisibility that a lot of young kids wish to find when they first enter high school in Melinda's character and longing to fit in, in her sort-of friend Heather. Melinda takes great comfort in her art class where she feels some sort of belonging, and in the abandoned janitor's closet that she has made into a second home. Heather on the other hand, a kind of foil to Melinda, wants desperately to fit in and is looking to be invited into a prestigious group, a a clique that could offer her friends, popularity, and a sense of belonging. The two girls' different social views eventually draw the two apart, but Heather's attitude cause Melinda to grow in a different direction in the end. She begins to speak to people, she gets motivated to do some things around the house, like cleaning up her long forgotten yard, and eventually finds her voice to fight back against her rapist and win back some of her old friends that she had lost in her depressing struggle and silence.
The writing style of Anderson makes the book a quick read, and it keeps you turning the pages, ready to find the next sarcastic joke with a bit of dark humor. All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book. It is an excellent book for any adolescent struggling with their identity or the urge to find a social circle in high school to read. It also helps bring up important issues like sexuality, and how to speak up for oneself if something bad happens to you (like rape). I would recommend this book to teachers of 7th or 8th graders definitely to prepare them for high school, and I would recommend this book to any young girl searching for inner strength and identity.
