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March 2009

Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson

I wasted the last weeks of August watching bad cartoons. I didn't go to the mall, the lake or the pool, or answer the phone. I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don't have anyone to sit with.

I am Outcast . . .

The kids behind me laugh so loud I know they're laughing about me. I can't help myself. I turn around. It's Rachel, surrounded by a bunch of kids wearing clothes that most definitely did not come from the EastSide Mall. Rachel Bruin, my ex-best friend. She stares at something above my left ear. Words climb up my throat. This was the girl who suffered through Brownies with me, who taught me how to swim, who understood about my parents, who didn't make fun of my bedroom. If there is anyone in the entire galaxy I am dying to tell what really happened, it's Rachel. My throat burns.

Her eyes meet mine for a second. "I hate you," she mouths silently.

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops and now everyone in school hates her. None of her old friends will talk to her anymore, so she has no one to tell her side of the story to. As her freshman year progresses, Melinda's emotions and grades drop to all-time lows as she withdraws into herself. But Art class is the one bright spot in her life where she has a chance to speak without talking. What really happened that night? Will Melinda ever be able to tell someone about it? Can she heal the broken friendships, and more importantly, from her own pain? Will she survive high school? This is a riveting and realistic story that you won't be able to put down!

This synopsis was written by a San José Public Library librarian.

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