Everyone knows Melinda is the freshman who called the cops on that summer party. She got some people arrested that night for underage drinking. But no one knows the real reason she called 911. That night, she was raped by an upperclassman, but hasn’t been able to tell anyone for fear that they won’t believe her. And now that she is a freshman in high school, she has been relentlessly bullied and suffered in her classes. The only class she enjoys is art class, where she can learn to express herself with a semester project. And as she learns to confront her attacker and start sharing her story, she expresses her feelings of hopelessness and fear in her artwork.
This graphic novel is originally based off of its chapter form and also eventually a movie. I actually did not know this when I picked it up, but I still enjoyed it. The illustrations in it were beautiful and flawless, they were so well done. The pictures were one of my favorite parts of the book and a perfect complement to the compelling story. This book was absolutely heartbreaking as the protagonist struggles with bullying, depression, and continued harassment by her rapist. The story was impossible to put down, I practically read it nonstop until I finished it a day later.
If you love the original novel or movie, you will fall in love all over again with the graphic novel retelling.