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4.5 stars

*This is another book which I would not have picked up had it not been for a book challenge. So happy I did. This serves as a nice reminder that stepping outside of what we would normally choose can, and in this case, did pay off.

High School. Some remember it as the happiest time of their lives while others are so happy when it is over that they never want to look back. Where do you stand?

Melinda is an outcast, a pariah, she has no friends. She is lonely, depressed, anxious and carrying a secret around with her. Secret- six simple letters which can feel like a ton of bricks when one carries it around with them. This book shows how one night changed everything for her and destroyed her friendships and once happy life.

Melinda called the police during a party and the entire school has turned on her. As the school year progresses, she deteriorates more. She begins to get bad grades, she skips school, she doesn't speak she doesn't confide in others, she only finds solace in her art. Her art teacher is the only teacher in her school who shows an interest in her and encourages her to express herself through her art.

Told with heartbreaking honesty and with devastating insight, speak shows the cruelty of high school students. The fragility of friendships, how warning signs are missed and how the ones who need it the most, often fall through the cracks. Speak is well-written, poignant, and evokes emotion.

This is a book I am reading (well, I finished it first) with my fifteen-year-old and will be discussing when both of us have completed it. Great book in a great format for teens. There is a lot to discuss here.