Speak Melinda Sordino Quotes

Mr. Freeman is happy and inspirational, but he also shows his own sadness, depression, and anger. It's not 100% clear why Mr. Freeman slashes his masterpiece, but Melinda appreciates that he shows his emotions dramatically in public.

Heather's Valentine's Day meanness hit Melinda very hard. This is partly because she's convinced herself the envelope taped to her locker is a real valentine, either from a friend who wants to make up or David Petrakis, her lab partner.

This is Melinda after she gets the horrible we're-not-friends Valentine from Heather. Melinda stays true to her pattern. When she's sad she isolates herself and inflicts pain on herself.

This is Melinda after she tells Rachel that Andy raped her and Rachel doesn't believe her. Melinda thought she'd feel so much better after telling Rachel, but Rachel doesn't react the way Melinda wants. Still, Melinda sounds slightly less sad than normal here as if telling does give her some relief.

Here, near the end of the novel, we see Melinda waking up, moving away from sadness. Sadness is a useful emotion for her, but she's ready to feel it less than she has been.

Dryads are female spirits of nature, who live in trees and are in charge of forests and groves. Melinda sees them as beautiful, unlike the way she sees herself now that her face has been transformed by her reaction to the trauma.

When you see someone having an issue with their eyes, glasses, or contacts in a book, it's probably a sign they are about to go through a metaphorical change in vision.

Stealing passes and skipping classes are things Melinda would never have considered doing a year ago. She does them now because she feels compelled to be alone with her problems.

Melinda doesn't just decide to stop talking. She experiences real, physical symptoms of stress that stop her. She does decide to keep quiet, but some of it is out of her control.

Melinda is deciding to take control of her transformation and guide it in a more positive direction. She'll be compelled to talk about the rape as part of it. Forgetting doesn't seem to be an option.

Melinda finds lots of peace in the transformation of seeds to flowers and plants. Nature gives Melinda a model she can try to copy.

Melinda's at the spot where she was raped. She is able to use her knowledge of seeds growing to make peace with the spot. This seems important for her journey back to health.

Again we see tears as part of Melinda's process of transformation. In this scene, the tears are healing and the help open a space for Melinda to tell Mr. Freeman her story.

Melinda blames Rachel for turning against her so easily, but she never really holds it against her. The other seven or so years they were friends is what Melinda dwells on.

Melinda is thinking of herself as a criminal here. It takes all school year for her to understand that she is instead the victim of Andy's criminal act.

Shame seems to be a big part of why Melinda doesn't tell. She feels like the rape is alive in her, has somehow become part of her, like a punishment for making wrong choices like drinking beer and kissing a senior.

Melinda's blaming herself for not trying harder to escape Andy, or for not recognizing him as a violent predator. In a way, this is good because she's planning ways to escape him. The best way would be to report him, but she's not thinking along those lines.

Melinda tries to report the rape, but the drunken, angry partiers stop her. It's horrible that nobody recognizes her distress, not even Rachel. She would have showed physical signs of Andy's attack for sure.

Whoa. It kinds of shocks us to hear Melinda ask the question. This is after Melinda dares to remember the details of that night. We didn't realize how much she blames herself for what happened.

Melinda understands that while she's not responsible for being rape, she is responsible for taking control of her recovery from it.