Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a young adult fiction book about a girl named Melinda and an event that happened to her in the summer before starting high school. Melinda Sordino is a thirteen-year-old girl who becomes closed off to everyone and has a hard time communicating with others. Throughout the book we learn more about her, and what really happened during that summer and caused her to become this way. Melinda begins to try and go back to living her normal life like before, and she learns new things about herself. She is able to accept herself, even after what happened to her—and she tries her absolute best to overcome it.

This book is very hard to read and be able to understand, as it involves a very serious topic that is often overlooked. It gives the reader insight into what a certain event can do to a person, and how it can change them. It also allows the reader to realize how friends can change and turn their backs on each other when there’s jealousy or ignorance involved. This book is something that can be really understood if it’s correctly explained by numerous people. I actually read this book with my English class in 8th grade and I became deeply invested in understanding the plot and how it developed throughout the story. Overall this book is great for raising awareness on very sensitive topics, and a great read.

Review by: Kassandra R.

Kassandra is a virtual volunteer at Sylmar Branch Library. She is a 12th grader at Sylmar Charter High School.

—Dana Eklund, Sylmar Branch Library