"Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth" (Goodreads feature review).

An honest portrayal of a rape victim's silence and depression and a teenager's fear of being outcast. Perhaps Anderson's greatest achievement is Melanie's frustration with the world and herself, causing her to ignore it and try to escape it. Even though she believes that silence will protect her from her torment, it is the silence that eats away. This book is also beneficial for tweens, teens, and adults that haven't experienced such trauma. Even though her grades are dropping, she is not a delinquent and she is not dumb. Although written 13 years ago, there are no dated cultural references and the topic is still prevalent.