Foreward:
Melinda is a 13 year old girl who went through a tragic experience during an end-of-the-summer party, and to top the end of her reputation, ended up losing all of her friends after a phone call to the cops. After this party, she goes into her first year of high school, her freshman year of 9th grade. She doesn't speak. Not to her teacher, classmates, or parents about what happened to her. Onstead she stays inside of her own little world, quiet, as the outcast of the school.
In the book, Melinda goes to an end-of-the-summer party, the party of the year, which is where her reputation is officially ruined after she makes a phone call to the cops. At the party Melinda (who is 13) gets drunk, and wanders into the forest (not far, just outside of the barn, REMINDER: the party is in the barn), when a senior starts to flirt with her. They start to dance, when he started to kiss her, then asked 'Do you want to?'. She didn't give a n answer, she didn't know. Next thing she knew they were on the ground, and she was trying to say no, but her tounge was thick with beer, so nothing came out. Next thing she knew wham! shirt up, shorts down and he hurt her. Next thing she could remember was stumbling into the kitchen for a phone. She dialed 911, as an officer asked her what was her emergency. She couldn't say anything, but the police tracked down the phone, she was crying hard, until someone grabbed the phone and shouted THE COPS!!! Everyone was mad, someone even slapped her, but she crawled out of the room, and walked home where her mom and dad weren't.
But, at the end of the book, Melinda learns that when you open up, and express yourself, or at least start to speak, you can benifit from the outcome.
Reading Response:
In the book Speak there is alot of talk about having a loss of friends. The main character, Melinda, struggles with mixed emotions about the loss of her friends, the loss of her chance of making any friends (no one liking her/accepting her for who she is), and how she feels that if she speaks about what happened, it would only make matters worse for her. But, when going through the book, and experiencing what is happening to her, you learn that not everything can be solved if you just stay quiet. If you don't say what you have to say, if you don't speak, you won't be able to go on in life as a person, but as a shadow.
In the begining of the book, Melinda only spoke when needed (talking to teachers). She never would open up or just have some small talk with someone. She also had two sides of her. One that wanbted to stay as safe as possible, never staying some where for too long, and always on the lookout for a predator, while the other side was ready to be a teenager, have fun, let lose, and party. These two sides always fought which would confuse, annoy and make Melinda wonder what would happen if they would both just disappear.
But, towards the end of the book Melinda started to talk. She found ways to make herself feel good, to spread positive energy, and to make the people around a little more confident each day. She started planting, and got into art. By planting, she showed her father and mother that she was capable of making their backyard into something that they will cherish and that the neighbors will envy. In art, Melinda made friends with an old freind who she found out, wasn't that bad of a person. This benefited her because she had someone who she could hang out with, relate too, and talk too.
With the change that Melinda made, it benifited her because she wasn't scared anymore. She conquered her fear and defeted it without any disappoitnment to herself. This helped her alot because she knew that something ahd to be done, and she done it. She helped everyone in her society but mostly herself. And this all happened because she finally realized that without speaking up, nothing will be done, and you will never be heard.
In conclusion, Melinda has made it through adolesence with a risk at hand. But, she finally conquered her fears and defeted them at the same time. She has mad herself and confident young lady and has benefited life for her in the future.
