What an incredible book.
If you live in the United States and went to high school during the early 2000s, there is a chance you read this book in an English class. This is one of the books that is generally exposed to young people through school or friends in your early teenage years, and if you don’t find it that way, you may not read it at all.
Fortunately, I recently saw the movie starring Kristen Stewart pop up in a discussion online and thought, “Hey, I never read that book. Maybe I should do that.” I can say that, as a 26-year-old, it was still a very poignant read. This is definitely a book that can affect you regardless of what age you read it at.
Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, is about a young woman entering high school as a freshman. Our main character, Melinda, was sexually assaulted over the summer at a college party. After the assault, she calls the police, who end up coming to break up the party. Alone and afraid, Melinda runs home without ever reporting the event. Because no one knows what happened, she becomes a social pariah for calling the police.
Throughout the book, Melinda tries to assimilate into high school life without thinking about this event. Though she tries to return to her old friend group and hobbies, there is a natural distance created that happens when people attend high school and start to branch out. She notices her friends all joining different groups, and because of the event over the summer, none of them want anything to do with her anyway.
Eventually, Melinda does make a friend in a new girl at school, but this is more a friendship based on necessity rather than concurrent personality traits or interests. Melinda finds herself withdrawing from her friend, school, home life, and any and all activities. Her grades suffer, she struggles to speak to anyone, she takes frequent naps but struggles sleeping at night, and she eventually isolates herself almost completely. The one reprieve she finds is in her art class through a teacher who encourages her to speak through her art rather than out loud.
Melinda’s journey is one of an intense depression that many sexual assault survivors suffer from, especially those who feel unable to report or discuss the event. Her situation is complicated by the fact that this person goes to her school. When she does find the courage to tell someone about the attack, a former friend who is now involved with the assaulter, she isn’t believed.
I think Melinda’s journey is portrayed extremely accurately and is likely an experience that, unfortunately, many young woman can relate to. Upon a second confrontation with her assaulter, the news about him being a serial offender breaks loose, and there are stories from many other girls about his attempted or successful advances.
It’s very typical in these situations for survivors to feel more comfortable speaking out once there’s already some evidence to lend them credibility, specifically because they’re afraid they won’t be believed otherwise. I think including that aspect in Melinda’s journey, the fact that her own former friend doesn’t believe her, illustrates this fear in action really well.
The novel itself is written in short, staccato paragraphs. I remember my mom describing having to “pull” information out of my brother and I during our teenage years, so this form of storytelling feels very natural from the point of view of a teenager. We hear Melinda’s thoughts in short bursts, which is also natural for someone who is trying to avoid thinking of certain things. I think this choice really aided in making the text relatable.
Another thing I noticed is that there isn’t a lot of “slang” or specific references to the time period in the novel. Indicating a time period with specific references isn’t a bad thing, but the choice not to has made it seem like Melinda could have been any kid at any party at any time. Although the book was originally published in 1999, it didn’t fell dated at all reading it in 2024. I think it will be around for many years to come and is a timeless representation of a tragic situation.
I would recommend this book to anyone. Literally anyone. I think weather you’re a young girl or boy, young woman or man, or older woman or man, there is something to be taken away from this book. It can help younger readers understand consent and the importance of speaking up, and it can help older readers understand what a victim of sexual assault may be going through. It’s a relatively short book that discusses a variety of topics and can have a strong impact on any reader.
The Lit Wiz