Essays on Speak

Nine-year-old Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won’t talk to her, she’s been sent to the principal’s office for doodling a tree in class, and she’s having a hard time with her school project. So things aren’t going well for Melinda at the beginning of her freshman year.It doesn’t help that Melinda knows she deserves it all. See, no one knows why she called the cops that night. Not even Melinda can explain what happened. Something bad happened, something that left her feeling scared and alone. And the more she tries to avoid thinking about it, the more it haunts her.But Melinda is determined to tell her story, even if it means facing her fears and speaking up for herself. With the help of her art teacher, she starts to find her voice and tell her story through a series of powerful paintings.And slowly, Melinda starts to heal. She makes new friends, starts to stand up for herself, and finally starts to feel like she belongs.