Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Title: Speechless

Author: Hannah Harrington
Publisher: HarlequinTEEN
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Page Count: 288
Buy The Book: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Rating: 5/5
 
 

Synopsis


Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret

Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.

Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.

But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself.

Favourite Quotes

“Hate is...it's too easy," he says. His face calm, calmer than it has any right to be, his eyes not wavering from mine, like he's so completely sure of what he's saying. "Love. Love takes courage.” 

“You can be surrounded by people and still be lonely. You can be the most popular person in school, envied by every girl and wanted by every boy, and still feel completely worthless. The world can be laid at your feet and you can still not know what you want from it.”  “I love the way he says my name, like it’s something he wants to keep safe.” 

Few words quickie

Love is louder, a beautiful read worth picking up.
 
My Thoughts

SPEECHLESS is a powerful and beautifully written book which captured me as a reader and was able to highlight all the many problems facing society today. Hannah Harrington has swiftly made her way onto my favourite authors list because of the wonderful way she presents her characters and develops them through the course of her books.

SPEECHLESS handles issues that teenagers face today. The book allows the main character Chelsea to some extent to find herself amongst all the problems that are thrown at her. One main lesson it illustrated for me is how we're all human, we're the same but different but we all make mistakes. It explores old and new friendships, ones that are temporary and at the end of the day not worth it and ones that have the possibility to last a lifetime. All the characters seemed so realistic and honest it would've been a hard job to truly dislike any of them.

I liked the way the author made Rosies' a kind of central place/area for Chelsea to go to, but it also let me see the change in her character while also allowing me to explore the other characters like Sam who I must admit I very much liked. More like LOVED. Sam and Chelsea's relationship was one of the many reasons this book made me smile, I pretty much was cheering them on to get together through most of the book.

If I had to give one reason why I dearly loved SPEECHLESS it would have to be because it's relevant more than anything else. I think as a whole it shows off how you can change as I person but to forgive yourself in the midst of it all. This book should definitely be picked up and read, even if you don't love it as much as I did (and I sure loved it a lot) you can't mistake the powerful message the book holds.

Links:
Hannah Harrington's website
Harlequin's Website
Harlequin TEEN on Facebook
Love is Louder website
Love is Louder on Facebook