SETTING: Melinda Sordino, a freshman, and the rest of the students at Merryweather High School live in Syracuse, New York. Speak is written from the perspective of someone who despises school. Melinda seeks safety in her art class and an empty closet. Throughout the book, Melinda decorates the closet with her artwork and makes it her own. He goes there to think, hide, and occasionally cry. Melinda's feelings and emotions are in tune with the seasons. During the winter it is cold, vulnerable and empty. But as the spring months arrive, she begins to blossom into the girl she was before the accident. PLOT: The summer before sixth grade, Melinda and her friends attend their first high school party. Melinda meets an old man named Andy Evans. The two dance, talk and kiss. As the night goes on, Andy becomes aggressive and rapes Melinda. In her drunken and terrified state, Melinda calls the police but doesn't tell anyone what happened to her. The entire school finds out that Melinda crashed the party and everyone abandons her. During the first months of freshman year, Melinda is friendless and falls into a depressive state. She befriends a girl named Heather, who later abandons her due to her "low social hierarchy". Rachel, Melinda's former best friend, starts dating Andy. Scared and worried for her friend, Melinda decides to tell her about that night. Rachel refuses to believe what he has to say and leaves. However, Rachel eventually believes Melinda the more she thinks about the story and calls Andy. When Melinda finally has enough courage to leave her closet for good, Andy locks her inside. The furious man tries to rape her again, but Melinda is no longer the same girl. She slaps and scratches... a piece of paper... someone who wants to fit in. Everyone leaves Melinda to fend for herself when everyone else decides to. The book is also an educational tool about sexual abuse and teaches readers how to identify possible victims. PERSONAL RELEVANCE: For me this book was much more than a good read. It was a real life, up close and personal story of a very possible situation. The truth is, it can happen to anyone. A question of being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. It clearly describes what happens in the corridors of a high school. It supports the idea that so many kids battle depression but no one cares until they do something drastic. Life can be hard and sometimes it gets harder before it gets easier. But there is always light at the end of the tunnel. This is a story of true courage and strength to overcome the monsters around you and the hardest one to fight, yourself.