Over summer vacation of her eighth grade year Melinda Sordino finds herself at a high school party, mildly inebriated, and in a terrible situation. She does the only thing she can think of, call the police but this brings about unexpected consequences. When the police break up the party she becomes labeled before even entering high school. She’s the girl that called the cops, the “tattle- tale.” Everyone in the school hates her. Melinda is an outcast. They don’t know what really happened though, but would it make a difference if they did? If they knew why she had to call the police? Would they accept her again if she would just speak?

Laurie Halse Anderson crafts the story of a high school outcast impeccably. Her impression of high school is spot on in a story with importance that spans the decades. However, her sentences have no flow. They are choppy and don’t connect to each other. The characters aren’t interesting and are actually mildly unrealistic. Even the heroine isn’t really likeable. The final reveal toward the end explains why Melinda acts the way she does but by that time it is almost too late. The story is dry up until basically the last forty pages and the mystery loses some of its hook as it struggles to keep the reader interested.
There are a few things that I found off-putting about this book. High-schoolers are spiteful; I should know I was one just a year ago. They hold grudges and they outcast people, it’s not news to anyone. However, I have a hard time believing that every person in the school cares that Melinda broke up a party. I would be surprised if some people didn’t congratulate her for it but I digress. Melinda takes the majority of the story to feel sorry for herself. She complains that she doesn’t have friends but takes no initiative to making friends and the like.
As much as I may have ripped on it Speak is not a book that should be passed up. The implications and importance of the story was not lost on me. Just because I didn’t believe that it was written as effectively as it could have been doesn’t mean that the message should be missed. Speak looks at the dirtier side of high school life that most people like to avoid. I believe that everyone should read speak, especially incoming high school freshman, at least once. It is a powerful story. Do I think you should spend money on it? Well I guess that’s up to you.