January Juice

A girl swallowed by a crowd of mad faces consumed her as she tried to make her way through Merry Weather High School. Silent rumors were spread about what had happened last summer. “She called the police on us! “What a loser...” “Melissa? What were you thinking…” The story Speak emphasizes a moral that the reader will never forget: “ Don’t say anything that might not be true, because you never know…” “Will they ever tell the truth? They don’t know what they are talking about…Why must they lie?” These are the thoughts that may run through the mind of a girl like Melinda, who was sexually harassed the summer before, and had called the police. Everyone thought that she had called them because there was drinking involved, but that was not the reason. When she returned the next year, no one, except one, wanted to be her friend, having no idea what happened. Melinda was lucky to have at least one friend that she could trust and lean on with her troubles. At the end, everyone finds out the truth and they treat Melinda with respect. She gains most of her old friends back, and she is happier that she has gotten her secret out, and has friends to back her up now. Every year, about 100,000,000- 300,000,000 people are sexually harassed. If you were one of them, would you report to the police immediately or will you be like Melinda and continue to be bottled up, hiding your emotions? To read more about Melinda’s troubles, pick up a copy of “Speak” in your local library today.