Speak is a National Book Award Finalist by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is a teen crossover (meaning adults will enjoy this story) about a High School freshman named Mel who has become an outcast from everyone she knows. It’s a misunderstanding but Mel finds that she can’t speak about it. Little by little she swallows her words until she is barely talking. This book is about everything we dreaded during our High School years, from the teachers to the bullies to our own parents and it’s about learning to speak. This book has also been made into a movie with Kristan Stewart (pre-twilight) and was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. SG