Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I came to this book from first watching the movie at the recommendation of my daughter. It's about an entering high school freshman and some blurred memories of an incident over the summer.

The writing is clear, insightful and funny.
"The ninth graders are herded into the auditorium. We fall into classes: Jocks, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, Cheerleaders, Human Waste, Eurotrash, Future Fascists of America, Suffering Artists, Goths, Shredders. I am clanless. I wasted the last weeks of August watching bad cartoons. I didn't go to the mall, the lake, or the pool, or answer the phone. I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don't have anyone to sit with."

"The orchestra plays an unrecognizable tune. Heather says the school board won't let them perform Christmas Carols or Hanukkah songs or Kwanzaa tunes. Instead of multicultural, we have no-cultural."

"The rest of the Marthas sigh on cue. Apparently, beets are Not Good Enough. Real Marthas only collect food that they like to eat, like cranberry sauce, dolphin-safe tuna, or baby peas. I can see Heather dig her nails into her palms under the table. The peanut butter molds to the roof of my mouth like a retainer."

Through art class, Melinda Sordino finds her voice.
Even though this was written for a juvenile audience, I found many truths here.