Have you ever done something you thought was right but everyone hates you for it? Melinda has. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is an inspiring book; it makes you think about what some high schools are really like.

Melinda called the police at a party in the summer between the eighth and ninth grade, because something happened to her. People got arrested and lost their jobs because of Melinda calling the police.

Everyone seems to hate her. She couldn’t take it anymore, she has scabs on her lips because she bit them and she also bit her nails until they bled. She didn’t talk, she had no better grades than a C in any of her classes, except for art, in which she had an A, and the only place she felt safe was in her mind.

Her life seemed like it couldn’t get any worse, until IT comes back. IT is the reason she called the police. It is the reason everyone hates her. IT doesn’t even care. Melinda hates IT. This book is all about finding your identity.

This book really gave me a different perspective on things. Anyone can read this book, and I recommend this book to everyone. It will really make you think about life in a different way.This book inspired me because I like to hear about other peoples lives and how they live. Speak really showed me how Melinda lived, she said how hard it was for her, because she refused to tell anyone, which made her life harder. I thought Melinda should have really told someone about it, but she just “took care” of it by not talking, which didn’t solve anything, just made things a lot worsemkiomk. I think it is a really good book and I recommend it to everyone.