Speak

The book starts with Melinda Sordino going in to Merryweather High School as a freshman. She introduces her classes, her school, and she calls her self an out cast. No one likes her, she has not friends and everyone treats her wrong because of what happened that night of the party. All the teachers are different and have there own style of teaching. Melinda doesn’t speak her mind at all, for events that she lets the reader know later in the book. Until then you just see her struggle with depression and bad parents. She gets desperate for friends, but then becomes friends with a new girl Heather.

Melinda’s depression gets worst, she starts skipping school, and drifting away from her parents. What she mostly likes to do is sleep, its like maybe the only place where she’s safe. Soon Melinda occupies an old janitor’s closet. She uses it when she ditches or when she needs time to get away and think. The only class that might be her escape to all the pain is art class who is taught by Mr. Freeman. Who tells the students to express them self through art. He gives them all an assignment to pick a topic out of a hat and draw it giving it some sort of emotion. Ms. Sordino gets a tree and at first she thinks it’s easy but then its gets harder and harder. She then begins to think about what happen at the party and how it came to happen. Okay back before Melinda came into Merryweather everything was okay, but one day she went with her best friend to a party. Melinda was left out in the woods alone. Andy a senior in Merryweather kisses Melinda, at first Melinda liked it and way happy that she finally got a boyfriend. After the kiss Andy raped her, she couldn’t say anything because Andy put his hand over her mouth covering up all sound. Afterwards Andy just smiles and walks away. The last thing Melinda remembers is her calling 911 and being slapped. Back to the normal times, Melinda is dieing inside because of what happen. Soon her ex best friend beings to go out with Andy. Melinda ditches from school again and gets detention. She goes and sits next to Rachell (her ex best friend). Melinda tries to patch things up and tell her what happens but when she does Rachell claim that Melinda is just jealous and that she hates her. The word tore through Melinda’s heart like a knife tears through meat. Eventually Rachell finds out the truth and dumps Andy. It’s the end of the year and Melinda goes to collect all of her things from the closet. Andy confronts her in side the closet, he tells her that she’s just jealous of them two and that she wanted him. He then hits her and tries to rape her again, but she breaks a mirror and holds it saying “I said no”.

Some girls hear her and help her. On the last day of school, Melinda stays late to finish her art project and finishes the course with an A+, though she is facing summer school for failing the rest of her classes. As the students hears the story and realizes the truth about what happened at the party, Melinda goes from being a loser to becoming something of a hero. Mr. Freeman give has always told her that when ever she needs to talk that he’s there to listen. The book ends with Mr. Freeman handing her a box of tissues say “you have bin through a lot haven’t you?” Melinda feels almost relieved that its all over and she ends the book by saying “Let me tell you about it”.

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