Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson; illustrated by Emily Carroll

The Quick Cut: A teen girl finds herself bullied and ostracized by everyone after a traumatizing experience over the summer. Her life falls apart until she learns how to speak for herself. A Real Review: While many teen shows and movies often portray high school as a fun or exhilarating time, that is not always the case. Far too large a population still finds high school a horrifying experience filled with bullying, fear, and shame. How would you react if you found your life a frightening experience? This is the issue on Melinda's mind. Melinda is a freshman at Merryweather High. However, instead of thrilling new classes and plenty of friends, she instead finds herself isolated. After calling the cops while at a party over the summer, everyone refuses to talk to her. Between the bullying at school and her parents arguing at home, Melinda feels her life falling apart under the weight of what happened. Can she find an ally and get past her pain? Or will it overwhelm her instead? Yes, I wrote a review specifically for the graphic novel. The original book came out in 1999, but the graphic novel version was released in 2018. After experiencing the graphic novel version, I'm thrilled I read this version. While any story is easier to imagine with pictures, this one is elevated with the picture formatting. It helps you connect better with Melinda and feel her pain as her world crumbles. Seeing what she goes through is nothing short of heartbreaking. This wouldn't be a complete review unless I talked about the content warnings. Melinda's story includes sexual assault, bullying, depression, self harm, and heavy amounts of parental distress. If you struggle with these topics, please consult an adult before reading. In the end, it's an uplifting story. Getting there can be hard to manage though. Melinda goes through so much that it's almost unbelievable. Yet, what she goes through still happens on a far too regular basis. Without going into too much detail, the trauma causes her depression, along with plenty of symptoms to indicate she also has PTSD. Trouble sleeping, slipping grades, self isolation, and reliving the experience that traumatized her to begin with. It hits you emotionally as a reader because she feels real. Her pain is relatable and it in turn makes the story unforgettable. Seeing her learn how to get past it only makes the payoff more sweet to read. A powerful story about learning how to speak up for yourself. My rating: 5 out of 5