Anastasia

JOURNAL ENTRY #1

Speak is a book that shows how miscommunication can change a person’s life. In the book Melinda Sordino called the cops at a party during the summer. No one knows why she did what she did and people started making fun of her at school. All of her friends started ignoring her. Melinda had no friends except for Heather from Ohio but later on even Heather dropped her as a friend. Melinda spent her lunches in the art room with Mr. Freeman drawing. She found an abandoned janitors closet and made it her own little sanctuary. All of this happened because Melinda didn't tell anyone that she was raped at that party during the summer. Andy, the guy that raped Melinda, torments her at school. He always teases her and he also started dating Melinda's ex best friend Rachel/Rachelle. Melinda also distanced herself from her parents and spent most of her time in her room. She tried to tell Rachel/Rachelle what happened at the party but Rachel/Rachelle didn't believe her. Later on Rachel/Rachelle understands that what Melinda told her was true. The truth about Melinda started circulating in the halls and Andy heard from one of his buddies. When Melinda was cleaning out her stuff from her sanctuary Andy appeared behind her. Andy told her that everyone knows what he did and that no one else can hear about it. Andy tries to rape Melinda again but while she struggles to get free, the girl’s field hockey team opened the door and saw what was going on and pulled her out of the sanctuary. For once Melinda felt protected. After that moment the whole school understood why Melinda called the cops that night. All of this happened because no one knew the truth. The truth is always the best choice even if it’s hard to say it.

JOURNAL ENTRY #2

I have finished reading this book and all I can say is that it is very depressing most of the time. It’s a good book but a very sad one. Melinda is always alone and has no friends. All her friends dropped her after she called the cops at the end of the summer party. Heather from Ohio was her only friend and even she dropped Melinda. Heather told Melinda she was too depressing to be around. Every time people hear the name “Melinda Sordino” they automatically start talking about the party and how it was ruined by Melinda. The sad part is throughout the story no one knows what made Melinda call the cops. Basically everyone only knew half of the story and that was not fair. It brought tears to my eye when I read the part about when she got raped. That is such a scary thing to go through and it’s hard to tell someone. I really liked the way the author wrote this book. It was an emotional rollercoaster that consisted mostly of downs. Another sad part was when it was thanksgiving and Melinda’s mom forgot to cook the turkey and then tries to but doesn’t know how. Her dad tries to help to but then her mom has a crisis down at her store and has to leave and tells Melinda they’ll go out for dinner instead. Thanksgiving has always been my favourite kind of dinner to have as a family and this year was the first year I had thanksgiving dinner without my whole family since my parents separated. So I know how important it is to have thanksgiving dinner as a family and to have it traditionally made at home. In general I think this book should have had some more happy moments because it was too depressing for me.

JOURNAL ENTRY #3

The sadness of this book reminds me of another book I once read called “Thirteen Reasons Why”. The story line is a bit different. In Thirteen Reasons Why the main character Hannah commits suicide but leaves behind thirteen tapes explain thirteen reasons why she did it. In one of the tapes she talks about going to a party. At the party she almost kisses a boy by the name of Clay that she likes but ends up leaving to a different room. A girl at the party gets really drunk and passes out so the guy that Hannah almost kissed brings the drunk girl to the room that Hanna’s in, but before they enter Hannah runs and hides in the closet next to the bed. Clay lays the drunken girl down on the bed and stands outside the front door, guarding the girl so no one comes in. One of Clay’s friends tells Clay that everything is going to be okay and that he just need to talk to the drunk girl. The guy comes in but instead of talking to her he rapes her. While he rapes her Hannah is sitting in the closet covering her ears, even though she can still hear everything. When I read the part where Melinda gets raped, I had the exact same thoughts and feelings as when Hannah witnessed the drunk girl getting raped. Even though it wasn’t necessarily the same thing, the same emotions rushed through my head and those emotions were sadness and distress. Those two moments were the most depressing and anticipating parts from each book.

JOURNAL ENTRY #4

Overall Speak was an amazing book. Like any other book, Speak had its ups and downs. Some parts of the book bored me to sleep like when she described her teacher and classes. Some parts made me fall almost cry like the part at the party where everything went downhill for Melinda. I liked the story line and how the author organized the events well. Also I always enjoy books that are written in first person and so the fact that Speak is written like that, makes me really happy. I like it when you know the thoughts and feelings of the main character. Reading Melinda’s thoughts were interesting because she was feeling alone and depressed and reading about it was a bit different but a new experience. Speak also brought up an adrenaline rush inside of me at some parts of the book. For example when she was having a flashback of the party and also when Andy found her in her sanctuary and tried raping her again. There were also some very touching moments that I really enjoyed. For example when Melinda stood up to Heather and told her everything she has been feeling. Also when the girls from the field hockey team protected Melinda from Andy when he tried to rape her again. Speak is an amazing book and I recommend this book to teen girls.