Speak (describe character)

The main character, Melinda Sordinho, is a very tragic person. Before the party and the thing which happened there, Melinda was a normal teenager. She had friends and was almost happy. But after Andy raped her she was not the same again. She got split up. One part of her wanted to tell everyone what happened. But the other more stronger part in her kept silent. So she seems to be a very melancholic and ironic person now. This is the reason why a new friend of Melinda's, Heather, broke up the friendship. But it seemed that Melinda don't really like her. She was only her friend, because Heather was the only person in her age who talked to her in a normal way. Rachel was Melinda's best friend in the past. But after the party she avoids her. Melinda tried to speak to her, but Rachel (who is now called Rachelle!) didn't speak to her. The only two people Melinda really liked was her lab partner David Petrakis and Mr. Freeman. When David fought against the social teacher Mr. Neck and his rassism, Melinda said to herself that David would be her hero. But she never wanted him as a boyfriend. Only as a good friend. She was too afraid of boys since the party. Mr. Freeman was Melinda's art teacher and he knew that there was something wrong with Melinda. He was always nice to her and saw big potential in her drawing. Melinda really liked him. And at the end she even told him what was on her mind. The parents of Melinda also knew that Melinda wasn't the same again but they didn't ask her what's wrong. They only said to the headmaster that it was his and the teacher's fault that Melinda was so depressive. In the end, when Melinda told what happened, her friends first didn't believe her. Rachel thought that Melinda was only jeaulous. But then all stood behind Melinda and everybody hated Andy.

Speak (book review)

“Speak” was written by Laurie Halse Andersson. Speak is her best known book. She says that the character of Melinda, the main character, came to her in a nightmare. Other novels of Andersson are: Fever 1793, Catalyst, Prom...

Melinda Sordinho used to be a normal teenager until she went to a party with their friends in the summer before school start. There she got raped by a boy called Andy. She called the police, because she didn't know what to do. Some people got arrested. Then everybody started to hate Melinda because of that. But at first she couldn't tell anybody what really happened. Her friends didn't speak to her anymore. She was all alone. She couldn't even speak to her parents because they wouldn't listen or understand anything. On the first school day a girl named Heather sat next to Melinda and started to be her friend. But after a little time Heather broke up the friendship because she wanted to stay with "cooler" friends like the Marthas and she thought that Melinda was too depressive for her. Melinda got a new lab partner, David Perkins. First it seemed that he didn't like her. But then he invited her to a little party at his house. But she couldn't go because of what happened on the party. She was too afraid. The only place she felt a little bit safe was a secret room in her school. There she had all her "tree" pictures which she painted in her art class with her favourite teacher teacher, Mr. Freeman. In the meantime Melinda's ex best friend Rachel/Rachelle had a new boyfriend: Andy. One part of Melinda told her to tell Rachel about Andy and the other part of her wanted to hurt her. But in the end she told her that Andy has raped her on the party. First Rachel didn't believe her and called her a lyer and thought Melinda was only jealous. At the prom party she broke up with Andy and told him what Melinda have told her. Andy got very angry and followed Melinda the next day in school into her secret room and started to hit her and also called her a lyer. Melinda started to scream and wanted to cut his throat with a sharp triangle of glass. but she didn't do it and opened the door. There stood Melinda's ex friend Nicole and the whole lacrosse team with a stick in each hand. The ending scene was when Melinda told Mr. Freeman what happened.