First published 2003
Melinda enters Merryweather High School friendless and shunned. Her classmates hate her for calling the cops on an end-of-summer party, but they don't know why she made that call. As freshman year progresses, Melinda withdraws further into silence. She finds her only refuge in art class, working on projects that help her process buried trauma. The truth emerges slowly: an upperclassman raped her at that party, and he still walks the halls of her school. Melinda's silence deepens as she struggles with shame and fear. Through her artwork, she begins to confront what happened to her. When her attacker corners her again, Melinda must choose between continued silence and fighting back. This time she refuses to be a victim. Anderson creates a fierce portrait of a teenager finding her voice after violence steals it away.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, adolescence
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Merryweather High School
Period: contemporary
198 pages · Paperback
Content warnings: sexual-assault, violence