Speak by Laurie Anderson YA/Banned Book Review
Renee Chaffin EDRL 524

Melinda is a freshman in high school who has lost her voice and all of her friends due to an incident that occurred at a party over the summer before freshman year. Melinda was raped by an upperclassman at the party and calls the police but when the cops come, she can't speak. Her friends abandon and blame her for ruining the party. She holds in her trauma and loses her voice, apart from the solace she finds through expressing herself silently in art class. Her grades, attendance, and social life suffer due to the incident, yet she remains silent. Finally, rumors begin to spread that the rapist is a bad guy, and he tries to attack Melinda at school. In a fit of rage and self defense, she regains her voice, and at last, she speaks.

Melinda is sarcastic and sardonic, and I love the way Laurie Anderson portrays Melinda's teachers and relationship with her parents through a teenage lens.

This book is written about teens and is for mature readers. I would recommend this book for a minimum of grades seven and up. I would ask my students what the significance of the title is? What keeps Melinda from speaking? What is she afraid of? What is the social hierarchy at Merryweather High? How does it compare to your school? What role does Melinda play in this structure? What finally makes her speak?