Laurie Halse Anderson did an amazing job at constructing this novel. She also did a good job of showing that sometimes people have to speak about but are not really allowed because of circumstances. And it attack the horrific actions of people who would happily turn the blind eye of someone’s pain to satisfy their on ego. I connected to the character but not for the circumstance. Although I did not experience the horrific event as she did, I understand when there something that you want to say but there’s no one there who wants to listen. Personally from my parts within my family and common in parts of the African-American community, there are people who would simply refuse to listen. I have family members who are too prideful to accept mental health issues as depression as an issue. Something of that matter is always considered as “The thing we don’t talk about”. They see as a sign of weakness. Quite commonly, people who feel to be weak consider themselves to be embarrassed in front of family and strangers. Miranda did something that was considered as embarrassing, so she was ostracized.
In these particular situations, status quos are very important to some people. Her friends cared more about there social status more than the welfare of her friends. That reminds me of some of my family. They care more of what their neighbors say and how our more high-status familly will react to things. It’s heartbreaking and they never really see that they are ever the cause for our family divide. I truly believe that people don’t understand that is also the reason why young adults feel neglected. No one should ever feel neglected especially from their family.
I can’t say that I was even suprised from the reaction of people to Miranda. I have seen it too often. I only wish that close minded people would read this book and truly understand what Miranda was experiencing everyday. Maybe after concluding the book, they would try to listen more often to their friends and family. In the conclusion of this novel, I loved that she didn’t leave Miranda unresolved meaning of how she let Miranda find the courage and cope on her own. She allowed Miranda to feel herself become free independently and not depended on her FAKE friends.( They fake because they left and didn’t believe her). Miranda was aslo the cause for other warriors to come forth.
Andrew Graydon Jr. 
***I agree with you 100%. There’s too many people in this world that only care for themselves and won’t even give it a second thought to hear what someone has to say, even when it’s someone they claim to love so much. I’ve always struggled with speaking for myself when it came to anything. I haven’t experienced what Melinda did, either, but even when it’s just a regular conversation, I never really share what I think with anyone because I’m too afraid of being judged or that no one will really care about what I have to say, so I felt Melinda’s pain and completely understood why she had trouble gathering the strength to finally tell someone what happened to her. I didn’t really surround myself with friends that really cared about me, and I never really noticed that until years later, so I understand why Melinda was so hurt by her “friends” leaving her behind, in the beginning. Overall, if people were to just be more open and hear what their loved one has to say, then their relationship with that person would be much stronger.
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I think African Americans avoid talks of mental health issues in household because it is not something that is seen as a problem. We’re told at a certain age to “suck it up” or “deal with it” because we’re supposed to appear strong in the eyes of others. It’s a sign of weakness and we are expected to brush our problems aside because they don’t matter. This type of avoidance to sensitive subject matters stems back farther from when our parents were growing up. Just imagine the type of environment they lived in compared to now. I think with time, African Americans will be more open to the discussion of mental health as todays youth becomes more vocal in their struggles.
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