From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda Sordino knows that this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. Her peers don’t even want anything to do with her, and she really doesn’t want anything to do with them either.

Personal strength is what gets humans through society, and Melinda had a lot of personal strength. She survived rape, and then she broke down her mental wall to talk about it. Most importantly she made a decision, and wasn’t afraid to deal with the consequences of the situation. Whether it be calling the cops, or talking about her experience. She had the will power to resist, and to adapt to the situation. After reading “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson it will be hard for any teen to look at the class scapegoat again without a measure of compassion and understanding for that person--who may be screaming beneath the silence.

Melinda doesn’t want anything to do with society, and shows us this because of her outward action of not speaking to anyone. She is a quiet kid generating a lot of noise that no one can hear. She is trying to reach the society that she blocked off, and can’t because the wall is too thick for even her to penetrate. She finds peace in art, trying to draw trees. This was something she was assigned to do by her art teacher who is her savior.

The root of all of Melinda’s problems is one human being named Andy Evans. He's a senior at Melinda's high school, and Melinda hasn't been able to speak clearly since he raped her at the senior party last August. When she ex best friend starts dating Andy, Melinda couldn’t hold it in any longer. She tells her friend that Andy isn’t this great guy, and lets her know what Andy did to her. No one listens to Melinda, which makes her

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