By Laurie Halse Anderson

Publication date: 1999

198 pages in the book

IT found me again. I thought I could ignore IT. There are four hundred other freshman in here, two hundred female; plus all the other grades. But he whispers to me.

I can smell him over the noise of the metal shop and I drop my poster and the masking tape and I want to throw up and I can smell him and I run and he remembers and he knows. He whispers in my ear.” This is a quote from SPEAK page 83.

Melinda Sordino is going through the appalling time in anyone’s life; she is a Freshman at Merryweather High School. On top of all that she is also dealing with social humiliation throughout the whole school. Melinda is being ridiculed by others and herself; she is mad at herself for letting what happened to her happen and everyone feeling infuriated about her calling the cops at a big blowout. Melinda is now trying to deal with all these things while still trying to keep her grades up. Melinda is a very enclosed person and is very upset with everyone not liking her..

I would recommend this book to everyone who is 12 and up, or anyone who is aware about rape/sexual contact because these references are prevalent in the book, so don’t ‘be offended. I think anyone who likes to read nonfiction books should read this book.

I would rate this book a 4.5 out of a 5.