Speak Loudly

Speak by : Laurie Halse Anderson http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/439288.Speak


Summary on GoodReads: Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute...

Laurie Halse Anderson's first novel is a stunning and sympathetic tribute to the teenage outcast. The triumphant ending, in which Melinda finds her voice, is cause for cheering (while many readers might also shed a tear or two). After reading Speak, it will be hard for any teen to look at the class scapegoat again without a measure of compassion and understanding for that person--who may be screaming beneath the silence.

This is the second time I am reading this book, in light of recent events and "Speak Loudly". The first time I read this book, I wasn't really paying attention. The second time I saw just how amazing this book really was, and how we need to have more books like it. Any person who has ever felt silenced or afraid to speak can relate to Melinda and her struggle for her voice. This book is not graphic, or porn, and should be more respected as it does what most books do not. It is truthful and hard to read at times, a book that will keep you up late at night thinking about it.
I give this book A++