Speak

Speak was first published in 1999. During this time, teen girls throughout the United States often struggled to tell others about their experiences with sexual assault. Approximately 285,000 children and teens were victims of rape in 1999, 89% of which were females. Of these female victims, 95% were raped by a male, and 29% of these victims were raped by a male under the age of 18 (National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART), www.ojp.gov). Anderson sought to address an issue that was rarely discussed at the time and that permeated the lives of far too many girls. She wanted to create an honest depiction of the results of rape and how deeply it can traumatize and alter the victim. Furthermore, she tried to shed light on how severe depression can grip a person with no one to help them (taken from the back of the novel).

Speak also touches on the suffragette movement and the ideologies of feminism. It promotes the importance of female voices and empowerment and aims to illustrate the necessity of supporting women so they may have dignity and strong self-esteem. Melinda spends most of the year with no one by her side; she is abandoned and rejected after the worst experience of her life. It is largely for this reason that she suffers so deeply, as she is forced to help herself get through it alone. Melinda does not speak throughout the novel, aside from a word here or there. She remains silent, describing lumps in her throat and an inability to tell anyone what happened to her. Melinda symbolizes the damaging effects of remaining silent and how important it is to speak up about one’s experiences and for one’s rights. The novel may also inspire its readers to speak out about their own experiences.

In a twist of real-life irony, Speak was banned or restricted by several school boards across the country at varying points since its publication in 1999 and, most recently, in 2022 in Nebraska. Some see the novel as sexually explicit and inappropriate for younger readers. Melinda’s story does not explicitly describe the sexual portion of the rape. Despite this fact, school boards often deem the novel unacceptable. Just as Melinda is silenced by her trauma, her story is silenced by school boards that do not see rape as a relevant or appropriate topic for middle schoolers. Speak was banned or restricted so often between 2000 and 2009 that it became one of the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books for that decade. Readers who have access to this title in their schools or are studying it with their class can do so with a new level of appreciation, knowing that others elsewhere cannot. Knowing that this book is often banned may also spark reflection or dialogue among youth, as it showcases the systemic mechanisms that act to silence women and the often-traumatic social treatment that they experience.