Speak

by Laurie Halse Anderson

[wyvernfriend]

So, Melinda Sordino called the cops on a party during the summer and now she's an outcast in her school. She's not dealing well with her year and it's showing but many people, including her parents aren't seeing that it's a real problem, they can only see the top layer.

As the story unfolds we find out what's wrong, we see how she's shamed by her school mates and ostracised by everyone, they blame her for what has happened. The story has been spoilered by a man who wants it banned for soft port because of the rape scene which lasts half a page and is disjointed, upsetting and brutal. As it should be.

And you think that this couldn't happen and you read about the poor girl in Texas on the cheerleading squad who was thrown off the squad because she wouldn't cheer her rapist. (go google it)

It's not an old story, it's not a new story, it's a story that has been told too often and shouldn't be told again, it would be wonderful if we lived in a world where this was unusual, where we could look back in horror at a time that was and a "norm" that was so abnormal, but we can't. This book needs to stay read, needs to stay in the hands of teenagers who need to hear it's eventual message of hope.

It's a compelling, heart-wrenching story and it's really worth looking for and reading.