Speak!

I just finished reading this book. My daughter's 8th grade English class is going to be reading it at school - and I thought I should also read it so we can discuss some of the content at home. And there is some heavy content to discuss - acceptance issues among teenagers, date rape, under age drinking, and so many more.

The book left we a little dazed for a day or two... it would be very interesting to discuss with students and view their reactions to how things play out for the main character of the book at school. She is filled with fear and dread of anyone finding out what happened to her (date rape) and yet she needs to have someone on her side. She is conflicted on what to do and when she finally does tell her ex-BFF ... she doesn't believe her.

In the end - she has one teacher that she has built a relationship with that she spills her story out to. As the teacher of middle-schoolers, I can only hope that at some point, if one of my students is experiencing extreme difficulties in their life, that they will feel safe in discussing them... if not with me... then with someone else.