Hi everyone! My name is Mrs. McKee, and I'm a student teacher at MD. I'm really excited to be a part of this group, because I have a special place in my heart for Melinda Sordino. She's very much like a lot of kids I met at my former job as a crisis counselor.

I hope you're enjoying Speak. And Laurie, I don't think you should feel bad about the scholarly questions. I'm sure the kids who are reading the book are grateful that they're going to get to meet you and return the favor by asking some tough questions of you!

I wanted to talk to Kimberly, who asked three questions to the group about Melinda's actions. This is just my opinion -- you can, of course, disagree -- but I think Melinda was in a lot of pain. People deal with pain and trauma very differently; some people laugh it off, and some shut down. I think Melinda had a difficult time acknowledging the pain, even to herself. When thought and language are one's enemies, staying silent feels safer.

Melinda's actions make sense to me, based on my experiences working with teens. There are a lot of girls and boys who never reveal their secrets to anyone.

Just my two cents.