Speak

"Speak is a popular novel written from the point-of-view of a young woman who is sexually assaulted in high school. Speak is a powerful prevention tool, which research shows can increase empathy and dispel rape myths among readers. Everything that teenagers consume, including books, shapes their ideas about sex. We know the preponderance of assaults are committed by heterosexual men. Reading Speak will help boys understand what they shouldn’t do. Speak is a book that should be read by every teenager to begin a conversation about how to approach sex without doing harm. Sexual citizenship has two important components. First, people have the right to choose their sexual experiences. And second, they need to understand that other people have that same right—that one person’s sexual autonomy cannot trump another person’s sexual citizenship. We are agnostic about what young people should be doing sexually. But we’re very moralistic about sexual citizenship."