Melinda, the main character in the book, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, a New York Times bestselling author,  has had an off the rails school year, and this is very different from previous years. In this book, Melinda, a now depressed and unmotivated teen,  will experience drama, stress, and more. Anderson explores the themes of friendship, trauma, and courage. This book is realistic fiction, set in a high school setting. Melinda's former best friend, Rachel, is no longer friends with her and is very mad at her. Melinda’s grades have dropped and her only friend dropped her at school. Melinda faces trauma and stress in the school year ahead..

I found this book very sad to read at points, but the desire to discover what happened to Melinda encouraged me to keep reading. I think that Anderson does a good job raising awareness and is a very heartfelt story. I loved at the end of the book how Melinda got justice for what had happened to her, and I liked that the book was left off in a place where things were starting to look up for Melinda. I think most middle schoolers and high school students should read this book. Young adults and teens will empathize with Melinda’s experiences.  This book can change the way people see things.