speak

"You can't expect to make a difference unless you speak up for yourself."

This weekend I read Speak, the graphic novel adaptation of the award winning novel by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Speak was originally published in 1999, and yet the story remains as poignant today as when it was first released.

From GoodReads:

"Speak up for yourself-we want to know what you have to say."  

From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless--an outcast--because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. Through her work on an art project, she is finally able to face what really happened that night: She was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. 

The graphic novel is able to tell the story in a new way. 

The art is perfect and creative.