Speak
By Laurie Halse Anderson

Reflection

For my extension project I chose to also design a book cover. I mainly worked in Adobe Photoshop to create a cover that not only went along with the story, but created a feeling or mood for what I felt the story was about.

The book is centered around a young high school girl named Melinda. Melinda is the typical school girl growing up in a community that appears to be normal from the outside. Melinda starts her school year off as an introverted loaner who has no friends and does not engage in conversation with any of her peers. Although Melinda seems to be okay with this arrangement she is struggling to overcome the secret she has been caring around with her since the night of a school party. Melinda was raped and because she everyone thinks she called the cops on the party no one will talk to her, including her best friends. As if the pressures of starting school are not enough she now has to do it alone without friends or a caring family and carrying around all of the dreadful feelings that come along with being raped.

 I thought is was important to display the feeling of putting your trust into someone when telling a secret. Therefore, I displayed the whispering of a secret into an ear. The tree represents the art project that Melinda held so dear during her attempt to make it through the roughest school year of her life. I included a picture of a girl walking alone down a road to represent how alone Melinda must have felt during her heartache. And finally, the words trust, friendship and love are displayed on the person telling the secret to get a better understanding of why Melinda struggles to speak.

Evaluation

I would rate this project as expert due to it’s ability to clearly communicate the book and what it stands for. It is visually interesting as well as creative. This book cover represents all of the important aspects of the book and combines them into a design that draws the reader in tempting them to read the book.