Laurie Halse Anderson

The novel Speak was written by Laurie Halse Anderson, which features a girl named Melinda who is starting her first year in high school. Melinda is hated by her peers and seem to have a heavyweight surrounding her. As the story goes on the reader learns that Melinda’s depressive state is because of the traumatic experience of being raped. Throughout the novels entirety Melinda is shown attempting to take control over her life and to get through the school year in one piece. Speak gave many people the opportunity to put themselves in the place of a rape victim. Melinda kept quiet and told no one for reasons such as fear and humiliation. She faces this horrible experience utterly alone. To make matters worse, she is forced to face her attacker; Andy Evans everyday at high school. Melinda heads down a dangerous and destructive path. After being raped, by Andy Evans, Melinda suffered from many self destructive events

She lost her identity and became cynical of other people. After her old friends ditched her, she lost a major part of herself. Then, although she did not consider Heather a “true friend”, she was desperate to keep her when Heather wanted to cut the ties of friendship. Going through high school is hard enough, but especially difficult when teenagers have no one there to go through it with. Also, Melinda’s appearance changes drastically over the summer. She does not put much effort into keeping her personal hygiene in tact. Over the course of the novel it mentions Melinda’s chapped lips and messy hair all contributing to the effect of being raped. Additionally, she does not put much effort into her outfits and continues to wear clothes she hates. Finally, her old hobbies and interests were nonexistent. She created a barrier around herself and would not trust anyone enough to truly let them in. She ignored her responsibilities and would behave irrationally by breaking