Speak/YMMV


 * Complete Monster: is a popular student at Merryweather High School whose charming façade conceals a depraved rapist. In the backstory, he raped protagonist Melinda at a summer party, leading to a series of events which lead to her becoming a mute. Taking advantage of her poor reputation and muteness, he mentally tortures Melinda out of sadism. It's later revealed he assaulted many more female students judging by the graffitis in the restroom wall, and Rachel was his intended victim before Melinda warns her of him, destroying his reputation. Angry at this, he tries to rape Melinda again out of spite, even going as far as to say she enjoyed it. Egotistical, sadistic, and completely devoid of redeeming features,  is undoubtedly the worst even amongst the Teens Are Monsters setting of the book.
 * Catharsis Factor: After ruining her reputation and generally making her life a living hell,
 * In a positive sense, Melinda's eventual recovery.
 * Crowning Moment of Awesome: Melinda standing up to
 * Dave standing up to Mr. Neck's xenophobic remarks.
 * Melinda's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Heather.
 * Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: The bathroom wall, It's nice to see not all Teens Are Monsters.
 * Dave and Ivy proving themselves to be true friends to Melinda, accepting her even as an outcast. They're definitely way better than Melinda's former so-called friends Rachel and Heather.
 * Melinda's parents buying her drawing pencils and a sketchbook for Christmas. They may be not the most competent parents, but they definitely care for her a lot.
 * The ending, when Melinda finally opens up and her life does turn out better for her. Earn Your Happy Ending, indeed.
 * Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy: Between the Teens Are Monsters and Adults Are Useless setting, the trauma of the protagonist, and, many found out this book a chore to read.
 * Nightmare Fuel:
 * The Adult Fear premise. A formerly cheerful A-student becomes suddenly quiet and withdrawn and starts failing school, with her parents not knowing why. And then there's the reveal that
 * Tear Jerker: Melinda's reason for why she's so quiet and isolated: . Even worse is how much shit she goes through as a result of this.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Didactic?: Made fun of through the English teacher's opinion of The Scarlet Letter.
 * The Woobie: Oh, Melinda...