Speak: 10th Anniversary Edition

High school freshman Melinda Sordino is finding it hard to speak up: "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." Of course no one at school is speaking to her, she's a

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virtual outcast among her peers.

We learn right away the reason no one likes her: she called the cops at a party and got a lot of people busted. She had good reason to call out for help, but the reader doesn't learn about it until much later. Ostracized by the entire student body, Melinda is completely isolated. She had a small group of close friends, once upon a time, but we all know how quickly allies can become enemies when you're a teenager.

I was stunned by this book - it is very well written, and the experience of Melinda's trauma and the pain she suffers every day is palpable. Her story is compelling from cover to cover. Melinda's journey of self-discovery takes place largely in her art class. It is only through art that she is capable of expressing her agony.

Speak is affecting, heartbreaking, inspiring, and clever. Anderson portrays the reality of high school with absolute clarity and accuracy. Melinda's sarcastic sense of humor will have you alternately laughing and crying all the way through.

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You don't have to be a rape victim to relate to Melinda. Despite what people say your high school years are not the best years of your life. I really enjoyed this book, but it was hard to read and not be able to help her. I wanted to jump in the book and be her friend. I think books like Speak will

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help girls, to know that they're not alone.

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Laurie Halse Anderson so perfectly captured what it's like to be a high-school outcast that I found it difficult, at times, to continue reading. I found all the worst days of high school flashing back at me in all their hideous glory. Of course, even my worst day in high school can't compare with

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Melinda Sordino's freshman year. Although she used to have a wide group of friends and a defined place in the school's social caste, she now finds herself adrift and alone, outcast, all because she called the cops at a summer party. Her friends believe that she called the cops just to bust up a rowdy party, but the truth is that Melinda had a much more serious reason to call 911. She tries to forget the reason, to hide it deep inside, and she never tells anyone about it. Not even her parents. But as time passes, Melinda begins to realize that her secret will never die, and eventually she will have to tell someone. Speak is extremely honest, and the horrors of high school aren't hidden or prettied up, which makes the book hard to read at times. Melinda's situation only makes this worse. However, it's a story that belongs to thousands of American teens and one that needs to be told. For that reason alone I highly recommend that everyone read it. Add to that the compelling story, wonderful writing, and sympathetic characters, and you have an absolute winner.

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"I wonder how long it would take for anyone to notice if I just stopped talking."

Melinda never said a word about what happened that night at the party. She never said anything when she was accused of calling the cops, getting a lot of people in major trouble. She never spoke up against her

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classmates when they pushed and bullied and belittled her for it. She never told her bestfriend Rachel why she called them or how it feels to have your bestfriend say she hates you. She never said anything to her teachers who scolded her for going from a good student to a failure. She never told her parents who just can't understand what their child has become.

She never said anything, to anyone, at all.

Sometimes what you have to say is so horrible, it's unspeakable.

"I have no friends. I have nothing. I say nothing. I am nothing."

This book is the very reason I am so enamoured of the YA genre. Books like this, and Thirteen Reasons Why and I'm sure countless others I've yet to encounter are on a playing field all their own. They are written not only so that everyone can understand, but in a voice that reflects the conflict of emotions that happens in the heart of every teenager. "Like OMG, SHUT UP" that's the surface and the majority of YA books and those happy go lucky books, while entertaining really don't give you any insight into humanity, which more than anything right now our impressionable youth needs. Books like this that deal with actions and consequences and force you to think on it's terms teach you so much more than you could ever imagine you'd learn from a young adult book.

EVERYONE should read this book. I'm glad it's required reading material for some programs. It should be required reading material for life.

The usual words that spring to mind to describe this book are "haunting", "beautiful", "dark" but those are so generic. The language of this book doesn't paint pretty pictures, it paints black holes. The story doesn't haunt you, it stays with you, right there, always, not like a ghost- like a heavy rock you can't move, and you'll stumble on it again and again. I can tell you this if you read it- you will never forget it, even if you want to.

The edition I have is the Platinum Edition, excellently packaged (covers/jackets as bookmarks=bonus) and includes a discussion with the author, Laurie Halse Anderson.

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At first, this story seems like it's about your average high schooler - Melinda is none too happy about starting high school, especially after a falling out with her friends, and withdraws to the point of barely speaking. But as she tells her story and you find out just why she's so withdrawn, your

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opinion of her changes completely.

The story is scary realistic. Melinda sounds like she could be someone at just about any high school out there and the dialog is dead on. It's a book you'll want to read over and over because it's so easy to relate to Melinda, since we've all had times in our lives where we've felt like outcasts.

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Highschool. Jocks, hazing, studyhall, reputation, mindless torture. tests. failure. Sometimes school can suck, and no one knows this better than Melinda Sordino, who's scraping through her first year at Merryweather High near Syracuse, NY. No one seems to like her and she thinks it might have

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something to do with calling the cops at a wild party the past summer and getting people in trouble. Through her year, she loses friends, loses touch with her disfunctional family, and flunks out of her classes. But she also gains friends, stands up for herself, expresses herself through art, and then finally finds the words to describe her awful haunting memory of that summer night. A very identifiable bittersweet tale of highschool.
Grade 8-12. Medium appeal. Independent read.
Strengths: Appropriately handled Adult content, beautiful writing, national book award, short chapters, funny
weaknesses: none

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From Barnes and Noble website:

"Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place is to be alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's

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something that she is trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth."

My thoughts:

Wow! This book really struck a chord with me and even though I read it a couple of months ago, I'm not having any problems remembering the reasons why. The main reason that I enjoyed this book was because of Melinda. Melinda was such a realistic character and one that I, as the reader, couldn't help but connect with. She had her reasons for not speaking and sadly there was no one around her that really picked up on the fact that she was talking less and less or really not at all. Her parents were absorbed in themselves and their own problems and with her friends not speaking to her...well, there wasn't anyone that she could really turn to. I loved that she began to find an outlet to express herself in art. I just plain loved Melinda. She reminded me of the teenager I once was and while I didn't have the issues that she did, I still was easily able to relate to what she was going through. Which is what makes Laurie Halse Anderson such an amazing author as she has created such a realistic character that the reader understands. I couldn't help but understand why Melinda was acting and reacting the way she was especially as I read further into the story. Such an amazing book!

All in all, this was an amazing read and one that I will be reading again in the future. Even though I didn't make a top ten for 2009 (too lazy), this is definitely one book that would have been on it. I'll be recommending this one to any teenager that I come across as well as to all of you book readers out there :) And I will definitely be checking out this author's backlist and reading more by Anderson.

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From the book cover: "Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won’t talk to her, and people she doesn’t even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that’s not safe. Because there’s

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something she’s trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth."

Speak is a deeply moving account of depression that clearly reveals how lost teenagers. There is no one Melinda feels she can turn to, no one she can speak to. The adults who should be there to support her are often trapped in their own heads and by how they perceive teenage life to be. Her fellow teens are no help either.

But despite her despair, Melinda manages to draw upon hidden reserves of strength within herself to dig her way out. Melinda is a powerful character. She has a clear, vivid voice and is a distint individual. And yet, she represents a universal experience.

This is a powerful story, one that even now as I write this, wants to draw tears from my eyes.

The tenth anniversary addition includes a poem compiled from the emails and letters the author received thanking her for her book and sharing how it helped them get through their own accounts of depression and rape. The poem itself moved me to tears because it so clearly represents the voices of hundreds of teenagers who have been silenced.

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It is easy to understand why this sensitive, powerful, insightful and wonderfully written book received so many awards, including the 2000 Michael L. Printz honor.

Laurie Halse Anderson is an incredibly gifted author who writes with depth of character and compassion.

Her writing is filled with such

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beauty that I re-read the sentences simply to once again savor the words and unique way she expresses emotions.

Long after the physical injustice upon her body occurred, Melinda Sordino is a walking, but not talking, emotional bruise.

The summer before high school began she attended a party with her best friend. While there she was harmed by an older, stronger male student. In a panic, she called the police but then fled in fear.

Locked in her emotions and the horror of what happened, she becomes silent. She tells no one, including her parents. At school she abandoned, taunted and verbally abused. She is perceived as a snitch and cruelly ostracized in the terrible, heart breaking way snitty little girls can use her to hone their nasty little skills.

Not telling anyone about the rape, including her parents, she tumbles into a black hole of depression and isolation. She literally does not speak.

Her salvation gently shines through in her resilience to gradually find a voice for the pain and the locked emotions. Toward the end of the book there are powerful images of strength overcoming helplessness.

I highly recommend this book!

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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

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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.

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At a party one night last summer something happened that made soon to be freshman Melinda call the cops. Speak is the story of her life after this incidence. Melinda is bullied and ignored by all her former best friends because they think she called the cops to get them in trouble on purpose. No

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one takes to time to ask her what really happened or check on her even once. It is not until her last few weeks of school when her ex best friend Rachel/Rachelle starts dating IT, also known as Andy Evans, that Melinda finally gets the strength to let everyone know what happened the night of that summer party.

In art class, Melinda is forced to focus on trees for the entire year, and in biology they talk about family trees. This would be a good chance to take a break from reading and make each student in the class create their own family tree. This would help practice their artistic ability and the knowledge of their family history. Throughout the entire book no one really ever offers Melinda some intense help or a person to help her express her feelings. This would be a good way to inform the students of the importance of reaching out to someone who seems in need. Also making sure every student knows they have counselors at the school to talk to and help them through hard times. No one should have to go through what Melinda did on her own.

Speak was an amazing book. It told a story of a young, damaged girl afraid to speak up. I wish the book would have been a little bit longer so that readers could know what happened to Melinda after the truth came out. It's a believable story and could happen to any young girl these days.

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Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is the story of a young girl named Melinda. It goes through four periods of a school year, and tells of how Melinda is ostracized by all of her peers because she called the cops on a party before the school year started. Melinda lets on that something more happened at

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the party, but she refuses to talk about any of it and instead becomes depressed and hides. That is, until she finally decides to speak.

This would be an excellent book to read to adolescents. It sends an excellent message, and it allows younger people of different genders, males especially to see the outcome of situations like those of Speak. One theme throughout the book is that of depression. Through Melinda’s eyes, a reader is allowed to glimpse what life is like for an outcast in high school, and more importantly, signs to look for if someone needs help. Another major part of this book is that of satire. The main things that Melinda satirizes are the people that we are introduced to throughout the book, such as Hairwoman or Mr. Neck. This is a great book if you, as a teacher, were looking to easily teach satire and examples of it, to your students.

I loved this book. I have seen the movie, and it just does not do it justice. I hate that I was not surprised at the end, but the overall point of the novel really hit me hard. This is because this actually does happen, and you adolescents, whether male or female, do choose to remain quite for fear that they will not be accepted or pitied. In conclusion, I would teach this book to any one of my classes because it is interesting, entertaining, and sends a positive message.

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Speak is a book about a girl who is afraid to speak out because of a traumatic event that happened. She was forced to call the cops at an end of the summer party and now the whole school is mad at her and her friends wont speak to her. She is an outcast and refuses to talk to anyone. She will not

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even talk to her own parents or teachers. Her grades drop and the only thing that helps her escape is her art class. Her teachers and parents worry about her but nothing they do can make her talk. She only has one friend names Heather, but this friendship does not last because it was not really a friendship to start with. By the end of the book, she is faced with the same traumatic experience and the thing she has tried to keep inside the whole year is brought to the surface and the book ends with her life beginning to look up.

I think this book would only be able to be taught to high school students. It is a very intense topic and any younger students might not be able to handle it. From reading this book, students can learn the importance of not making fun of people because you never know what they are facing in life. It can also teach them how important it is to get things out in the open. They can see the affect that bottling stuff in can have on a person. Adolescent girls can learn that they need to be extremely careful with who they hang out with. There are so many social things that students can learn from reading this book. Also, this book has a wide variety of vocabulary that students might not know and this would help them broaden their vocabulary.

I think this book was really good up until the end. I was very disappointed with the ending. I read the entire book in a period of about two hours and I was on edge the entire book until I got to the end and I just felt like I was let down. It seems like the author put so much into the book and then she got to the end and got tired of writing so she hurried the ending. I feel like there is so much more that she could have written. There should at least be a sequel or something. Definitely not my favorite book.

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This book is written about a girl named Melinda. Her friends does not like her because she told the police on them for having a party. Melinda has been raped.

I think this book tells a story about the different things we will face in society and life. I think this would be a good book to share with

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high school aged students. This book has powerful meanings about life. I feel that the apprioate class that this book can be read in would be some type of home economics class.

I would give this book a rating of 1. I personally did not like this book. It was a book I just could not get into. Mr. Freeman was Melinda's art teacher. This was the only class I felt she really could express herself. Mr. Neck was just a pain to every student. Mr. Neck I believe really had it out for Melinda.

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Speak by Laurie Hasle Anderson is set during Melinda's freshman year of high school in Syracuse, New York. Melinda begins her freshman year as an outcast. In August before school began, Melinda and her friend Rachel found their way to a high school party. At the party, Melinda called the cops, who

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shut down the party. She has been shunned by everyone in the school, including her best friends. A new girl in school, Heather, tries to befriend Melinda, but emotions and reputations cause the friendship to fade. Melinda finds a refuge in Mr. Freeman's art class when she is instructed to create a tree using any media available to her. As the year progresses, Melinda begins to speak less and less. Her parents, teachers, and classmates have no idea what she has been through and why she refuses to speak.

A great way to incorporate this text in the classroom would be through a figurative language discovery. Anderson's text is full of satire, symbolism, metaphor, imagery, and other figurative language devices. In a literature circle, each student could be responsible for identifying a different type of figurative language. Students would be responsible for finding a specific passage, explaining the passage to the group, and teaching the group a short lesson the specific type of figurative language. Another way to use this text in the classroom is through discussion on connections. Have the students read a text similar to this before (text-to-text)? Did the students make any connections to Melinda, Heather, Rachel/Rachelle, Ivy, Nicole, Mr. Freeman, or any of the other characters (text-to-self)? Did the students makes any connections with the setting, theme, or plot (text-to-self)? How have the students seen or heard information similar to this before (text-to-world)?

While reading, I enjoyed the novel. I became involved with the characters and wanted to see Melinda's growth. I felt that this is a very emotionally heavy text, and I would be weary to use it in a classroom. I enjoyed reading the text until the very end. I had a lot of unanswered questions after finishing Speak. I felt that I had only read half of the story. I wanted to learn more about Melinda and how she was going to continue to grow.

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Speak is the story of Melinda who does not speak. When she was in eighth grade, she went to a party where a traumatic event happened. She didn’t know what to do so she called 911. The cops busted the party and now no one talks to her. It is her freshman year of high school and she must deal with

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the trials of starting a new grade but also the hate everyone sends her way. The story is how Melinda deals with her first year of high school and how she must overcome her tribulations.

Speak would be an excellent book to use in the classroom. It deals with several issues that students go through in the middle grades. It would be a great book because the students will be able to relate to the issues that Melinda faces. It can also show the students how Melinda handled her situation and other ways for students to handle it. It will be a great learning experience.

I absolutely loved this book! I sat down just to finish the required reading for the class and I couldn’t put it down. The characters were very relatable to and the high school was very realistic. It is really a situation in which people have gone through. I loved how Mr. Freeman was there for Melinda to talk to when she needed him. If I ever get the opportunity to teach a middle grade reading class, I will definitely use this book.

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In Speak, The main character Melinda is a young girl in school that over the break of school had called the cops on a party. When school got back in session the students at the school made fun of her and they are mad at her. But what the students do not know is something more happened at the party

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that night. Melinda will not speak about what happened, but she decides to hide from it and becomes depressed about it. Later she finds the strength to speak out about the night and tell what really happened.

I do not think this is a good book for middle school, but I do think high school would be good age to use it. One thing a teacher could focus on is the theme of not mmaking fun of students in the school. This can lead to all sorts of things. Teachers can stress the importance of you never really know what can be impacting the way a student is acting or having to be. Another theme a teacher can is partying and hanging out with the right crowd. Teachers can emphasize the importance of being consciencious of who you are hanging out with. This is important to be aware of your surroundings so something does not happen to you like it did with Melinda.

I did like this book. I think it was sad the way the students got mad at Melinda for calling the cops, especially when they did not know the reason. However I think it was a good book to read and being introduced to all these books makes me wish I could have read these in High School.

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This book is about a typical teenager who is trying to fit in. While at this party she gets raped and calls the police which stopped the party. So she is beginning high school with no friends nor associates. Melinda becomes muted, she has no one to talk to, or even hear what really happened that

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night. But as she goes through the semester slowly but surely she begins to find her voice again and finally SPEAK up for herself.

I believe every school should read this book because this is something that happens all the time among teenagers today. So some of them become muted and tries not to deal with the problem in order to become popular or anything to that sense. You also have teenagers who shuts down and the parents dont even try to figure out what is truly going on. My class will definitly read this book.

I loved it and recommed it to everybody and also the movie because its pretty accurate.

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The novel begins with Melinda beginning her first year of high school as an outcast. Over the summer at a party, Melinda had called the cops. All of her friends had abandoned her without even questioning her about the situation. Her family did not communicate well; they mainly left little notes to

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one another. They knew something had happened but did not know what. Heather became Melinda's only friend. Melinda's grades dropped drastically, and she did her best to somewhat hide from the world. As time went on, It, the one who had raped her, the reason she called the cops, attempted to rape her again. However, this time she was able to stop him. He was caught and then the entire school knew what had caused Melinda to disappear from everyone.

I believe this novel is for older teens for the fact that it involves a child being raped. When teaching this novel, a teacher should be very delicate with the subject, yet enforce it at the same time. Rape is a serious issue today and should not be taken lightly. To discuss the novel with a class, a teacher might use examples of Melinda's change in attitude and behavior to discover the trauma behind the situation.

Personally, I believe this novel would be good for teens taking maybe a sex-ed class, for it allows the reader to see how this particular trauma can affect someone. I did not like the novel because stories such as this are very depressing. I know that it has really become a common thing in our world today, but I still do not like to hear about it or read stories about it. I believe it would be good for young girls to see how serious the matter is and how bad it can ruin an individuals life.

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"Speak" is a story about a 13 year old girl named Melinda, who is raped at a party. This horrified event changes her life forever. Melinda scared and confused shuts down completely, refusing to speak for a entire school year. She becomes distant and wants to hide from the world and everyone in it,

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isolation is how she handles the problem. Finally Melinda realizes she can't escape this problem and has to speak in order to free herself from pain.

Discussing what to do if a situation such as this one were to ocurr is a lesson that can be taught. Providing students with information about rape and steps to take in reporting such crimes. Discussing under age drinking, and it's effects.

I really enjoyed this book, I think Melinda represents a large number of teens who have endured rape or similiar experiences. I hated the way people in her life made her feel alone and crazy. Parents are the people that children should feel closes to, but Melinda's parents made for feel like she more of a burden than a blessing. She had no communication with them, sticky notes was the only direct contact they shared. At school she was humiliated and taunted constantly by students and teachers. She finally finds a friend in one of the most unusual characters, Mr. Freeman believes in Melinda and helps her to believe in herself. The tree Melinda draws represents her, how she was once fill of life then events happen that cause her to die inside, then renewal.

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Speak is a novel about a young girl entering high school. Events that took place at a summer party have left Melinda estranged from her friends. Not only is she faced with the challenges of a new school, but she is having to battle them alone. If Melinda could just speak, maybe her friends would

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understand what really happened at the party this summer, but she chooses to carry her burden alone. In this book, readers follow Melinda through frightening and important choices.

Speak would be an excellent book for students starting high school to read. A teacher could reinforce character lessons on friendship and the importance of choices that people make. For more academic lessons, A teacher could take certain scenes, such as Mr. Neck's tirade on foreigners, and teach more applicable history lessons on immigration. The teachers in the book do not always handle their classrooms in the best ways, so taking their lessons to build more accurate lessons might be helpful to adolescents.

Even though I found some of the occurrences in this book sad, I still found it quite interesting. I have never experienced the things that Melinda has, but I could feel her pain. I could feel her loneliness and exclusion. I adored the tree metaphors and the evolution of Melinda throughout the story. She is a rich character and her story was disturbingly entrancing.

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Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson follows the freshman year of Melinda Sordino. Melinda begins her ninth grade year as a social outcast because she was the reason the end-of-summer party was busted by the cops. Melinda carries with her a dark secret about the party and why she called the cops, but is

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unable to talk to anyone about it.

I think that this book would be excellent to use in a classroom. Although it covers some serious issues, young adults can relate to most of the feelings that Melinda has. The book would also be great in teaching students about the importance of speaking up and finding someone to talk to when terrible things happen.

I really enjoyed this book. I especially liked Melinda's sense of humor. Although she was dealing with a serious matter, she was still very funny. However, her parents really got under my skin. They were totally unaware of what was going on with their daughter and really seemed uncaring. I wish Melinda would have had someone other than her art teacher that expressed concern for her.

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It is hard enough beginning high school as a ninth grader, but harder when no one likes you. Melinda begins high school as a hated ninth grader. Since she called the police during an end of the year Summer party, she has no "friends". Because of things that occurred at that party, Melinda has lost

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her confidence to speak out. She begins making bad grades in school and ignoring her parents when they ask her what is going on. Melinda has to find a way to tell everyone her secret so she can begin to speak again and enjoy life.

The only concern I have about this book is the issue of rape. I am not sure if this certain story can cause damage to girls who have been raped or help those who haven't told anyone about this happening to them. Rape is a very sensitive issue and could be hard to discuss in a classroom. On the other hand, a good idea to talk about in class is Melinda's struggle to speak out. The teacher can instruct the students to find examples of why Melinda may have been frightened to tell anyone her secret. Also the class could discuss the roles of the people in Melinda's life that helped or hindered her from speaking out.

Without her art teacher Mr. Freeman, Melinda would never have found her voice to speak out. Without Melinda finding her voice, the same thing may have happened to her ex- friend Rachele. Also I am glad that Melinda finally stands up to Heather and tells her no. Melinda is tired of being used by Heather and finds the confidence to stand up for herself. Also I believe Ivy played a major part in helping Melinda to speak out. Ivy spoke and sat by Melinda when no one else would. Likewise, David helped ease the feelings Melinda had toward boys since her encounter with Andy Evans. Overall the book was good. I believe this book could help teenagers who feel like they do not have a voice to speak up and be heard.

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*spoilers about* I just finished listening to the audiobook of Speak. I’d seen the movie a few times before and wondered how the book would compare. I opted to listen to it because I wanted to see if the reader would capture Kristen Stewart’s haunted voice from the movie. The reader didn’t

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hit that mark, but I still found it enjoyable to listen to.

Spoilers abound so if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, be forewarned.

This is the story of a girl, Melinda, who was raped and discovers that after the trauma, she can’t find the voice to tell anyone what happened. It happened at a party and she called the cops. The party was broken up but by then she’d already lost her will to speak so she left and never spoke to the cops. She was ridiculed by her classmates for having called them at all.

She enters ninth grade to find herself an outcast. We see her world through skewed, pain-filled eyes. And it’s her journey to finding that voice that I find remarkable to see. I also loved how her pursuit to draw a tree that projects emotion a fitting parallel to her own personal struggle and growth.

As a story itself though, my opinion may be skewed. I’ve seen the movie a few times and I thought it was great. As I listened to the book, I imagined it as the characters from the movie. Many of the differences between the two seemed better executed in the movie than the book too. So, all in all, I like the movie best. But the story itself and the character’s voice tend to haunt me. I’ll probably have to read the book eventually too. :P

On a side note, I have seen some reviews online where readers complain that they can’t relate to the character. That she was flat and dull. And that the high school was a bit stereotypical. Plus, rapists don’t tend to get what’s coming to them in real life.

I think these reviewers are missing the point of the story. Melinda is in a state of depression and shock. Of course she appears flat and dull. She’s trying to meld into the background, despite her head screaming, “Pay attention to me!” As she works through her pain and finds her voice, she gets a more developed personality. That’s how depression works, folks.

As for the high school, we are seeing it through her eyes. She’s presented it to us as a stereotype because that’s how she’s classified it. I took it only to be her perspective and not necessarily what really was. I could be wrong though.

And yes, sadly rapists do not always get what’s coming to them. It’s a sad fact of life. But, this is fiction. Yes, fiction. And, in my humble opinion, hope in fiction can be better created when they do. It’s that wonderful sense of justice, I guess.

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