Speak

 Anderson, L.H. (1999). Speak. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.  A gripping fiction tale of the experiences of a girl who is withdrawn from her friends after returning from summer break to attend high school. "Old friends are no longer friends in high school" are upset with her because she called the police to a party that was held by her friend Rachel's brother and his friends.  She is no longer invited to parties "lucky to get an invitation to my own funeral".  She does not feel a connection to many people and is not focused on grades.  She meets a new friend, Heather that wants to fit in and joins club and ends up leaving her alone again.  She has no desire to fit in with the "The Martha's" which are her old friends.  She blames them for what happened in the summer that changed her whole life.  The book is a mystery until the end dealing with acceptance, depression, growing up, changing, and pain.  The book will make see through the eyes of a girl struggling to cope with a tragic situation that occured in her life.  She seems to have given up all hope for a normal life and does not seem to care about herself anymore.  You will be drawn into the story as the truth unfolds.  Expertly written through the voice of a teenage girl giving insight to teen relationships, bullying and hardships.  Also by the same author, another book that deals with loss and pain of teenage girls, Wintergirls a riveting story about two girls trying to race to be thin and one dies.  And The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson about a girl that begins a new school and life after her family moves to escape pain that her father has suffered through PTSD.