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The book, //Speak//, was recommended to me by several friends. I enjoyed reading this book because the main character was the same age as me and was undergoing something I could never imagine dealing with, getting raped. Her emotions changed to unhappy, unsocial, and antagonist-like, she let the situation get the best of her, "It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say." (Anderson, 9) until her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, who attempted to understand her pain and taught her how to stand up for herself. Watching her go from antagonist to protagonist changed me as a reader because it forced me to make self, world, and text connections, which is why i loved the book so much.

Works Cited:

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. United Sates: Farrar Straus Giroux. Print.

You didn't read this in FLC? It is a great book choice, I'm glad you enjoyed it. response: In Honors FLC we did not get the chance to read this book as a class.

While reading //Speak//, I was able to learn more about having an open mind and how to be less judgmental towards others. Through an open mind I would be able to understand other peoples problems and by being less judgmental I could think before I speak out and in place make sure my comments won't hurt others. Even classmates at school hold the power to turn Melinda's day from bad to worse, "If I sit in the front...it's the best chance I have to make eye contact with one of my friends, if any of them have decided to talk to me yet"(Anderson, 3). Their actions towards her are making her upset because she doesn't have anyone to call a friend right now, how they treated Melinda showed me that no matter the situation you should hear the other persons side of the story before you judge them.

Works Cited:

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. United Sates: Farrar Straus Giroux. Print.

The book, //Speak// is a realistic story that girls in their teens and up would enjoy because of the emotional journey the main character has to go through. Melinda is a freshman in high school who is faced with a traumatizing situation that causes her friends to leave and for her to become an outcast until she finds the courage to admit what really happened. With the help of her art teacher Melinda comes clean to her classmates about why she called the cops that night, “Andy Evans raped me in August when I was drunk and too young to know what was happening...He hurt me. It wasn't my fault" (Anderson 198). With this she has overcome her fears and now can move on with her life and put the past behind her, readers can connect to her if they have ever had feelings of similar sadness to Melinda and that is what makes it such a great book.

Works Cited:

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. United Sates: Farrar Straus Giroux. Print.


 * Scoring: Your three paragraphs will be given one overall grade, and the timeliness of your posts will be reflected in your "timeliness" grade. **

// An outstanding response to the prompts will include the following: //
 * A strong topic sentence that clearly establishes the focus on the prompt Good start in each paragraph, use your topic sentence as a focal point for the entire paragraph.
 * Evidence that clearly supports the topic sentence I like your use of personal connections that support your ideas.
 * Correct use of internal citations and a properly formatted MLA citation for your book (put this citation at the end of paragraph one) Good job with MLA format.
 * Strict adherence to the Power Paragraph format
 * Mechanics are clean and do not detract from meaning