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SPEAK may be the name of Laurie Halse Anderson’s award-winning novel, but that is exactly what Melinda Sordino doesn’t do after she’s raped at an end-of-summer party. She slowly retreats into silence, using art as her only solace, and only later truly learns the power of voice, expression and sticking up for oneself.

SPEAK is often considered a “problem novel,” and that’s exactly what makes it so powerful --- it has been praised for utter realism and intelligence, and the way it tactfully tackles a difficult and important subject. But it’s banned for these reasons too, and even called “soft porn.”

Author YA Katelyn Detweiler (IMMACULATE) and Teen Board member Isabel C. talk about their own perceptions of SPEAK, and what they would say to people trying to ban it.

Do you remember when you read this book for the first time? How old were you? Did you read it for school or for pleasure?

Katelyn Detweiler: I actually just read SPEAK very recently --- it's fresh, the claws still firmly latched around my mind. It's a book I've meant to get to for ages now, on that daunting list of "MUST READS" that only gets longer, never shorter --- and I'm so glad I finally did. It was just as poignant and important as I'd always expected it to be.

Isabel C.:I read SPEAK for the first time in ninth grade. I'd met Laurie the summer before at GeekyCon and was inspired to read it.

What do you like about this book, and how would you persuade somebody else to read it?

KD:I love how this book shows the deeply psychological consequences of rape --- and the consequences of holding it in, allowing the damage to fester, to dig deeper and deeper into your life, your behavior, your sense of identity. Speaking is the first step toward healing, and this extends to all kinds of physical and mental abuses that teens (and kids, and adults) may face. Speaking is necessary. Speaking is power. I think we can all benefit from being reminded of that, sometimes.

IC:The book is very poetic, but in a way that is beautiful instead of pretentious. It's also a story that really needs to be told more often. SPEAK is the kind of story that really sticks with you. It's one that inspires you to do more, help more, and for some, finally begin to heal. To get someone to read this book, I think I'd tell them that it's about a girl who refuses to speak after a tragedy occurs to her. By doing so, she learns just how powerful speech actually is.

A parent from Laurel Nokomis Middle School in Florida said SPEAK is “child pornography, nothing more and nothing less. It does not belong in our public schools.” If you had the chance to respond to that quote, what would you say? 

KD:It's hard to even know where to begin. Firstly, the rape scene itself is as minimal, as non-gratuitous as it could possibly be --- one short scene, a flashback. This isn't a book about sex --- there is nothing positive, appealing or desirable about the act that takes place. This is a book about rape. But rape primarily explored through the emotional aftershock, not the details of the event itself. This book so powerfully takes us into the mind of a victim, showing us the full arc of the experience, the shock, the depression, the slow-building recovery. This book is a valuable, heartbreaking lesson --- and hopefully for those who have experienced rape firsthand, an inspiration. To say that this is "pornography" misses the point entirely, and it pushes all of the Melindas in this world further into the dark corner. They deserve to be heard, just as this book deserves to be read. No one should have to suffer silently, or alone.

IC:Quotes like this make me so insanely mad. I don't understand how someone can honestly think like that. But if I were to respond, it would be this: What makes this child pornography? The girl whose only sexual act isn't even consensual? Her fear of speaking out? You can't just go around screaming child pornography at every book you dislike. Child pornography is a serious issue, not one to lightly apply to novels that are helping far more than they hurt. Speak is the EXACT kind of novel that is needed in our public schools. How else are we going to reach the survivors of rape and other injustices?

You need to give the protagonist of this book a book recommendation. What would you recommend, and why?

KD:STARGIRL by Jerry Spinelli. It's perfect for anyone who feels like they don't totally belong and are on the outside looking in; for anyone who needs a reminder that acceptance and happiness start from within. It is beautiful and magical and heartbreaking, the story of a new girl who is quickly shunned for everything that makes her different (and incredibly special). It's high school brutality at its worst --- the perils of individuality vs. non-conformity; the fragile, fleeting nature of popularity; the cliques; the gossip; the peer pressure. Overall, it's a lesson for the rest of us: Be true to yourself. Always.

IC:I think I'd recommend EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING by Nicola Yoon. It's about a young woman who's trapped in a very different way than Melinda, but is trapped nonetheless. Whereas Melinda is trapped in her mind, Maddy is trapped in her body. I think these two would have a lot to talk about.