Reader Response:Speak Revised

  In the book Speak the main character Melinda just gets into high school and is already hated. How did this all happen? When she walks down the halls everyone stares at her like she is an animal. Some people even punch her and call her names. She's in misery she is depressed and moody all the time, she is desperate for friends and none of her old friends will talk to her because she called the cops at a wild senior party... but if they only knew why.

   Melinda in the beginning of the book is terrified for her first day of high school. Why though? In our world high school is supposed to be exciting. Some people even go as far to say that it is the best time of their lives! Well the year before she and her friend Rachel went to a senior party and everything was good until Melinda started to dance with a dangerous senior named Andy Beast. She says "He started to unzip his jeans before I could process what was happening, my lips tired to say no but I couldn't he was like a boulder on me, as soon as I find my voice it was too late. I rushed to the phone to call the cops but Rachel shot me a look that made me feel awful but I had too." Melinda was hurt and was trying to protect herself because she is still very young, she was only in 8^th grade and she isn’t perhaps used to these parties, but everybody sees it as she is just busting the party for one reason or another. This happens often, were people only see one side, they don’t know what is really happening they just go with what they see or what they think they see, or what people tell them and this can make the person look bad but in reality the person might just trying to do the right thing or doing that action for their good or some else’s good.

    Through the book she is constantly being tortured, people punch and slap and throw things at her all the time. Her teacher don't understand. Her parents just yell at her. Her best friend is goingthrough strange phases and won't talk to her. On the first day her best friend Rachel mouths to her "I hate you". Through the book Andy keeps popping up , constantly reminding Melinda the one day Melinda wants to forget the most. Rachel starts to go out with Andy Melinda tries to warn her about the real side of Andy. When her and Rachel finally talk and Melinda tells her what really happened at the party. Rachel dosen't believe her and thinks she is just jealous that she is dating a senior. Melinda is very loyal because Rachel hasn’t done anything for Melinda, in fact Rachel has just done the opposite of helping Melinda. But that   dosen’t stop Melinda from trying to warn Rachel. She has been knocked down the whole book and even in the end she is trying to do the right thing even though she didn't do anything in the first, and when even trying to do the right and look out for the people that hurt her and didn't even try to figure out what really happened, the people still turn around and leave her.

    Melinda life is pretty difficult and complicated right now. Also she  isn’t doing much about it.  Maybe it’s because she dosen’t think it’s going to get better, or whatever the reason she dosen’t do much about it. This reminds me of a book called The Letter Q. The Letter Q is about older gays writing to their younger selves telling them how things get better and they should stand up for themselves. This makes me think what if Melinda told people about her problem sooner? What would she write to herself? Would she tell herself to tell to tell people earlier?  Would she confront Andy? Not go to the party? There are a million solutions or things she could write to herself. But she must have been aware that she could have said something earlier and people might understand. Or maybe she thought people would just think she is lying. But at the end of the book everyone seemed to understand  the situation , maybe the people needed time to adjust. But the point is when you are older you get to look at all your past experiences and think about what you could have done different or what you think what have been better to do but what if these characters and people had these thoughts earlier maybe situations would have gone differently, people would have maybe made better decisions, helped themselves and others.

  So in this book Melinda has been through a lot of things mostly bad but she pulls through. And she really didn't treatment. She should have been comforted not shunned she should have been loved not yelled at. But it shows how strong she was and how she was breaking though, you could see by the end of the book she was in pieces she couldn't take much more of any of it. She was slowly breaking apart , little by little , with each comment, name , punch and memory. She is alone and has nobody to help her. Nobody, not her parents, not even a friend. The people who were supposed to be there, helping her.