Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is the classic touchstone YA novel about sexual assault. I first read this book in 2014, along with every other book by Laurie Halse Anderson, but Melinda’s story felt especially poignant to me. There was something about the isolation in her silence and the way she felt so alone, depressed, and powerless.
Find your next great read for National Reading Month by exploring my reviews of these YA books if you enjoyed reading Speak as much as I did.
The Cutting Edge of Friendship by Khristina Chess
“Sometimes my inside hurts so bad that I need to make the outside hurt worse so the inside will stop.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Cutting Edge of Friendship
Sadie and Elana have always shared everything—but now, they’re keeping secrets that could destroy them.
On the night of the fireworks, something terrible happened to Sadie—something she can’t even put into words. Instead, she turns to cutting, the only way she knows to cope.
Elana has secrets too. She’s been texting Hunter, making plans to meet in secret, and never questioning why he insists on hiding their relationship.
As their lives spiral deeper into danger, Sadie must find the strength to fight back—not just for herself, but for Elana—before a predator can strike again.
Absolutely gripping! The Cutting Edge of Friendship pulled me in from the first page, and I couldn’t look away until the girls were safe. Sadie’s resilience is fierce and unforgettable, and the novel’s raw, unfiltered emotion hits hard. This story doesn’t shy away from the truth—it reveals, with painful honesty, how self-harm can become a desperate response to trauma.
You won’t want to miss this powerful YA book about self-harm and cutting that explores the complicated nature of friendship. If you enjoyed Speak, you won’t want to miss this powerful YA book about rape and the complicated nature of friendship.
The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith
“No, can’t cry. Because there’s nothing to cry about. Because it was just a dream. A bad dream. A nightmare. Not real. Not real. Not real. That’s what I keep thinking: NotRealNotRealNotReal. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Like a mantra. Like a prayer.”― Amber Smith, quote from The Way I Used to Be
Fourteen-year-old Eden was raped by her brother’s best friend. In her own room. In her own bed.
Instead of telling anyone, she internalizes the trauma and begins a multi-year downward spiral of acting out, drinking, taking drugs, losing friends, and sleeping around. She’s no longer the “good girl” she used to be.
This book shows how a young girl can stay silent about rape for years, why it can be so hard to tell someone, and what it’s like to try to survive in silence.
The Way I Used to Be is an emotional YA novel about rape that can be hard to read because Eden’s pain makes her an unlikeable character at times, but this story is worthwhile.
Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake
“This. This is why I never said anything. Because no one ever believes the girl.”― Ashley Herring Blake, quote from Girl Made of Stars
Mara and her twin brother Owen are as close as any twins can be. So when Owen says he is innocent and never raped his girlfriend, Mara is faced with a difficult decision. She’s friends with the victim. Who is telling the truth? Her brother, who she knows as well as she knows herself, or the girl?
In addition to Mara’s confusion about her twin brother’s role as an accused rapist, she’s also dealing with her own sexual identity and relationship with her best friend, a girl named Charlie. Her parents pressure her to support her brother, but why would the victim lie? And in wrestling with these conflicts, Mara can no longer ignore a secret trauma from her own past and what happened to her.
Fans of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak will enjoy this powerful YA book about rape, consent, teen relationships, and sexual identity.
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Three life lessons:
1. No one will see you.
2. No one will say anything.
3. No one will save you. ― Elizabeth Scott, quote from Living Dead Girl
Fifteen-year-old Alice is the kidnapping victim of a pedophile named Ray who took her at age ten. This haunting, horrifying, graphic, disturbing, and tragic book is about so much more than child rape, although that certainly happens. This novel shows how a person—a child—can lose their self-worth and believe their captor’s lies.
How someone can lose their own humanity.
This thin novel was a fast read, but Alice and her story have stayed with me long after I finished. It’s her voice. In her unflinching viewpoint, Alice shows us what happens to children who are taken and never found. She challenges us to look more closely at the people around us. To notice.
Like the Melinda in Speak, Alice does not speak. And monsters prey on the mute. So pay attention. Speak.
Some Boys by Patty Blount
“Brave. The word hangs in the air for a moment and then falls away, almost like it even knows it has no business being used to describe me.”― Patty Blount, quote from Some Boys
In this book, Grace was raped by the “golden boy” student and star athlete at their school named Zac, and she does speak. But no one believes her. Instead she is bullied and ostracized for daring to accuse the prince of such a heinous crime.
Zac’s best friend is Ian. Although he has a major crush on Grace, he no longer feels he can follow-through on that because the whole school is slut-shaming her.
Grace sets on a plan to prove to everyone that Zac isn’t the perfect son everyone believes him to be, and she’s the kind of fighter to make that happen. Instead of a depressed and withdrawn rape survivor, this character is a middle-finger-in-your-face girl who goes after her rapist despite nearly everyone being against her.
This YA book about rape takes a look at how girls are labeled by how they dress or act.
All the Rage by Courtney Summers
"What a stupid thing it is, to care about a girl." ― Courtney Summers, quote from All the Rage
This book tells the story of a girl who was raped at a party by a boy she thought was beautiful. And then, she loses her best friend for telling about it. And everyone in the school begins bullying her about it. And she ends up at another party in the same situation, only this time her ex-best friend turns up missing.
The plot alternates between bewildering and breathtaking. Who was the rapist? What happened to Penny? Will there be justice? Is the girl going to be okay?
I felt sorry for Romy because of what happened to her and what continued to happen as she suffered bullying by the other girls. At times, she is a difficult protagonist to embrace because she's a person in deep pain. She's not always nice. She doesn't make good decisions. She hurts kind people who care about her.
Although this is a fast read, the ending wasn't what I expected or hoped. I felt things remained unresolved. Still, if you're looking for an emotional roller coaster about rape, victim blaming, and bullying, All the Rage is definitely worth checking out.
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
"I am vengeance."― Mindy McGinnis, quote from The Female of the Species
I loved this book. Alex Craft is a unique female YA protagonist, and I had a hard time pinning her down. Sometimes I wanted to label her as a psychopath / sociopath based on her actions and reactions to things, but I don't think that's right.
She is a criminal. It's easy to forget that about her because she makes friends, takes care of kittens, shows compassion to other kids, and falls in love. But she also kills people. So there's that.
This is my third Mindy McGinnis novel, and I'm hooked on her. She writes compelling stories and tough, unflinching characters, and she’s one of the top authors in my list of the Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited. Alex Craft in The Female of the Species is definitely a five-star read! It is an unflinching, painful, searing, riveting, brutal YA book about rape and sexual assault that will shock you to the core. Fans of Speak will definitely like this one.
Other YA Books Similar to Speak
If you are looking other books similar to Speak, check out the Books Similar to Speak, Young Adult Books about Rape & Sexual Abuse (331 books), and Rape Book Lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books by type of tough topics.
What about you? Do you have any recommendations to add to my list? If you enjoyed Speak, are there other similar books you loved?
Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.