Speak

Secrets are not always easy to keep. They can eat away at you and slowly take over your mind, body, and soul until it consumes your every thought and movement. No, secrets are definitely not good to keep. . .

Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak is all about one gigantic secret kept by Melinda Sordino, the quiet, antisocial girl in school.

After a classic, parents-out-of-town summer party, Melinda's world is turned upside down and muted. The party starts to get out of control for her, and all she can think of doing is calling the cops. Unfortunately, everyone at the party shuns her for ruining it, including her very best friends. Melinda becomes the outcast.

Now, it's the first day of high school and instead of having new friends, all Melinda has are some new pencils and notebooks. Not even her old friends speak to her anymore.

Although she doesn't mind being alone, her thoughts haunt her. They take her back to that night at the party where her deep, dark secret still remains.

So when a new girl comes to school and latches herself onto Melinda, she feels a little bit grateful to finally have a friend. But her new friend discovers Melinda's "status" in high school and feels that it's best if they aren't friends after all, for the sake of her reputation, of course. Once again Miss Sordino is alone.

Being alone is not the end of the world, but she needs a way to release her emotions somehow. The secret almost burns through her skin on some days. When the art teacher suggests that she use art to liberate her feelings, Melinda finds this is a fairly good strategy.

But even as she purges her emotions, her secret continues to follow her. . .

Speak is an excellent novel about speaking up for yourself and what you believe is right, even if it's the hardest thing you ever have to do. Exceptionally well written, this book is full of typical high school drama and daunting trauma that is so real, readers actually feel with the leading lady, Melinda. Her story is so memorable and this book is defintely a great read for high school students and anyone else who has ever kept a secret.

The Lucky One

Being a part of the U.S. Marines, you have to face a lot of different, scary, and unforgettable things; a little luck can go a very long way.

In “The Lucky One,” by Nicholas Sparks, Logan Thibault, a U.S. Marine, finds just what he needs to bring him some luck.

When Thibault first finds the photograph of the pretty young woman in the dirt in Iraq, he decides to post it up at his base camp hoping that someone will claim their lost picture. After a few weeks with the picture still hanging up unclaimed, Thibault is struck with an urge to keep the picture for himself, safe in his pocket.

With the photograph safely by his side, he finds himself carrying some newfound luck as well. Not only does he win a few rounds of poker, but he also is miraculously saved from deadly combat.

Once Thibault arrives home, he concludes that the luck he was given in Iraq was no ordinary luck, so he sets out with his dog Zeus to find the woman in his picture.

With a few clues from the writing on the back and the images behind the woman in the photograph, Thibault finds himself in Hampton, North Carolina face to face with his lucky charm.

Elizabeth is her name, and she’s a divorced mother living with her son, Ben, and her Nana. The three of them run a dog kennel, and when Thibault finds her, he has an impulse to apply for a job at the kennel.

Beth and Thibault spend more time together after he starts work, and he is surprised by the way he begins to feel about her. He even becomes closer to Ben, which Beth finds admirable in this new mystery man.

The closer they get, the closer Thibault clings to his secret about the photograph and the reason he came to meet Beth in the first place, but her ex-husband won’t rest till he discovers Thibault’s secret. . .

“The Lucky One,” is another great read by Nicholas Sparks that naturally tugs at the heartstrings. Filled with tender loving moments, and suspenseful edge-of-your-seat surprises, this novel is an excellent read for anyone who has ever fought to find their true destiny and their soul mate.