The first Laurie Halse Anderson book I ever read was Catalyst and I fell in love with her writing. (Funnily enough, Catalyst is probably the least well-known and well-favored of her books, although it's probably my favorite. Also, the downside to reading it first was that I did not appreciate the fact that Melinda makes a brief cameo.) I read Speak shortly thereafter, although that was probably around 10 years ago. I LOVED getting to re-read this book and appreciate it all over again. 
 Melinda, our main character, compulsively chews on her lips and has undergone a drastic personality change. Anyone with an undergraduate psychology degree could probably tell that Melinda had recently been through a traumatic life event/abuse, but most everyone in her life seems oblivious to that fact. Is this unrealistic? Perhaps a little, but it's not uncommon. Sometimes people have a hard time seeing what's right in front of them and it's too easy to blame uncharacteristic moodiness on the state of being a teenager. The reason for Melinda's shift in moods is due to the fact that she was raped at an end of summer party by a boy that she now has to see on an almost daily basis. (Melinda refers to the boy for most of the book as IT, which is a heartbreaking detail.) She called the cops at the party and now she's lost her best friends and the rest of the school hates her. Well, not everyone in the school hates her. She has a few potential allies and a revolutionary art teacher. Melinda's assignment to spend the year in art class by learning how to draw a tree is highly effective. The themes of new growth and pushing through to the sunlight and establishing roots are made very clear without seeming cheesy or overdone. 
 This book is important reading for everyone, really. Everyone needs to know to report a rape if it happens and everyone needs to know that rape is not the victim's fault. As Melinda learns to speak up, hopefully it will give others courage to do the same.