Reviews

Speechless by Hannah Harrington

heyjudy's review against another edition

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4.0

~4/5
[Also available on my blog (with quotes!).]


I was really looking forward to this book. I read Harrington’s first book not too long ago, and did not like it as much as I would have liked to (although I know some people were really moved by it), but this one seemed more my style. And it was.

Chelsea, the main character in Speechless, has a hard time keeping secrets to herself. In fact, she loves spreading gossip. But then she tells something that she shouldn’t have and almost gets someone killed. She feels terrible and isn’t sure what to do. She knows who did it, but knows that her friends will hate her if she tells. But she does tell. And then decides to take a vow of silence.

I liked Chelsea. She’s definitely not perfect, but she does quite a bit of much-needed growing up in this book, and I did rather like her.

The part that I really looking forward to in this book was the vow of silence. I am generally a very quiet person, I don’t like talking, and I’ve always wondered about taking a vow of silence, but have never done it (although I’m thinking about doing this one in April, even if I’m going to be home all day). This part of the book was done really well, too. I liked how she got the idea, too, how she was inspired by an article and didn't just think it up out of nowhere. I also liked the mention that she couldn’t even sing aloud to the music on her iPod or radio, which is something that I love doing but have never thought of in regards to a vow of silence.

I just really liked that part of this book. Although it bothered me how everyone, all her teachers and her parents, kept trying to get her to talk, and saying that it was unreasonable or unhealthy; that really annoyed me, probably because I didn't agree with them. Also, I liked how she broke her vow of silence. That part was very nice, and very satisfying.

Next is the love interest. I liked him. A lot. He’s not at the top of my list (because that’s Cricket, and he may very well be up there for always), but he’s up there. He’s really sweet and nice, even if he’s unsure of her at first. He's definitely one of the good guy love interests, and I don't think there are enough of those out there in books. I just really liked him.

There are also several other characters that Chelsea meets, people who are friends with the love interest and the person who almost gets killed, and I liked all of them, really. They were all really different and fun and great.

Now, the crime part. I was not expecting the secret that Chelsea reveals to be what it was, and I was really happy about that. And I don’t want to spoil it, but that part of the book was done very well. I agreed very much with Chelsea’s decision later in the book, I really liked her thoughts on the subject, and I just really liked how the subject was discussed. It took some growing up for the characters, and it was needed. Also, I don’t think the topic was talked/thought about in a preachy way, but I can see how someone else would think so.

Also, Chelsea’s old friends. I didn’t really like any of them. Kristen especially. I did feel like there might have been more of a story for Kristen, though, and maybe what’s going to happen with the people who Chelsea turned in. We didn’t get a lot of closure with that, and while I am happy with how the book ended, more would have been nice.

I pretty much just really liked this book. It was really good, and I do plan on reading Harrington's next book.

bmg20's review against another edition

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3.0

Speechless was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Harlequin.

'I can't change what I've done and what I haven't done, but I can change what I do now. I can actually do something. Stand for something.'

After Chelsea stumbles upon something at a high school party and unintentionally tells the entire party what transpired she's horrified at what she ended up causing. She realizes that her gossiping mouth has done more harm than she could have ever thought possible and in turn decides to take a vow of silence.

Chelsea Knot is not an immediately likeable character so don't expect to right off the bat. It takes time and development and maturity on her part. She was incredibly realistic nonetheless; I think we all went to high school with a 'Chelsea', I know I did. I was having vivid recollections especially when she said lines like:
'He won't even look at me! And, not to brag, but I am something to look at, dammit. I'm not gorgeous like Kristen, but I've been known to turn a head or two in my time.'
Oh yeah. I might have gone to school with a few Chelsea-types.

Despite being the one who did the right thing by telling the police what really happened, even though that resulted in the ruin of her social standing (which involved a few friends being thrown in jail) she still worries day in and day out whether she made the right choice, still doubts that she's really a good person and didn't just have a lapse in judgment. After making friends with an unpopular girl named Asha who manages to see Chelsea for the good person she is, even though Chelsea herself doubts that she's really that good.

This story was not flawless. There were times where I really enjoyed it and others when I felt like tossing it. I think that largely had to do with the fact I felt it was for a less mature crowd despite the serious message intended. I typically write my reviews immediately after finishing books but had a hard time turning my thoughts into words with this one. After taking so much time for it to run through my brain I ended up actually reducing my rating from 4 to 3 stars. I loved the message and I loved seeing the popular girl transformed; however, I had a hard time relating to Chelsea and often felt her actions weren’t entirely authentic. Maybe because I’ve never been the popular girl and could never relate… maybe because of the fact that she decided to take her ‘vow of silence’ after glancing at a magazine article. Either way, this was enjoyable but unfortunately not completely my cup of tea.

nagam's review against another edition

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5.0

[Review originally published on Rather Be Reading!]

Have you ever told a secret you had no right passing along?

Chelsea is in the business of telling everyone’s secrets. She’s kind of known for it. She sits at the top of the popularity totem pole with her BFF Kristen until she disastrously tells someone’s secret. The person ends up in the hospital, almost dead, and Chelsea is forced to speak up and tell everything she knew that led to the attack. Finally feeling the weight of her gossiping ways, she decides to take a vow of silence so she won’t be able to hurt anyone again. She doesn’t realize how quiet her life will become until she faces the attacks and bullying Kristen and her old crowd are now focusing on her.

I was absolutely blown away by Harrington’s writing in Saving June last year. When I saw Speechless at ALA I was beside myself excited to get to read more of her work. I noted the vow of silence and thought, “Hmm. Definitely haven’t read anything like this before!” This did bring up a few particular concerns, though. For a girl who likes to read dialogue and not chunks of unbroken description, would Harrington’s no-speaking thing intrigue or bore me? And also — what would this resolve?

Never fear, friends. My worries were absolutely unnecessary. Harrington manages to speak volumes without necessitating normal dialogue. Chelsea’s inner dialogue is full of emotion — confusion, anger, hurt, hope. Though she chooses not to speak aloud, she has to find a way to communicate, especially with her teachers at school. Thanks to a dry erase board she’s able to minimally say what she needs to. She learns how to communicate with more than just her words — she lets her emotions show via facial expressions and also drops the act of being just like her ex-BFF Kristen by dressing like she wants to.

As for resolution and what Chelsea would learn through this — let’s just say she had a long way to go for redemption. She was not high on my list of favorite characters in the beginning because she seemed shallow, self-absorbed, above status quo, unfazed by her actions, and ridiculously naive. Her silence was necessary; it provided time for her to reflect on her actions. Chelsea needed to grovel and unfortunately, she learned much from the backlash she received from the popular crowd. Silence teaches Chelsea to experience life differently than she ever has — she’s faced with a new set of acquaintances (some of which despise her because they were best friends with the person who was hurt), occupying her time with school instead of parties and shopping as she used to, and getting a job because she’s got nothing else.

What I love most about Harrington’s writing is her refusal to keep things simple; she took away the speaking ability of her character, but also put her through hell. Chelsea was being bullied and there was a very strong message about hate crimes that stayed at the forefront of my mind the entire time I read Speechless. Harrington spotlights how powerful (or hurtful) the spoken word can be and how easily we take it for granted to gain popularity, how we should be more thoughtful and considerate – weighing our words much more carefully than we do.

In my notes I wrote, “Harrington battles it out for the meanest bullies with Courtney Summers’ Some Girls Are.” If you’re a Courtney Summer’s fan, please allow me to introduce you to Hannah Harrington.

Speechless is an incredibly powerful book and I’m even going to go so far as to say that I enjoyed it even more than Saving June. Harrington’s writing just keeps getting better and better.

krish_'s review against another edition

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4.0

I was not going to read this book. I promise you, I was not. I was so fully aware of my (standing) disappointment with Harrington's debut Saving June, and was certain I had a firm grasp of her writing style that I had prematurely made up my mind.

Well. Sometimes people act like snobs, okay. It's not a crime. It just makes you highly unlikeable as a human being.

Anyway. I requested this on NetGalley and as fate would have it, I got approved. It was there for my taking. And then all these reviews were popping up, giving Speechless four stars, five stars! Scoff, I say! But. But they're not entirely, completely, like totally wrong, like they're kind of right because it's really not that bad omg I'm giving this four stars!

I really, really liked Speechless. Harrington's growth as a writer is monumental. One aspect I absolutely did not enjoy in Saving June was the constant, irrepressible presence of the writer. I could only hear her, instead of her characters. Which would've been fine, if it were a memoir. Here, Harrington's commentaries are alive and well, but are much more digestably subtle. She covers a vast ground of topics from typical teenage woes, to much more serious issues plaguing pop culture.

The way that she's done it this time is effective -- allowing us entry through a single perspective, Chelsea. In Saving June, multiple characters tackled specific opinions and it became too much, too tedious. Now, we see everything through one character...whose voice is so perfectly captured, it was ridiculously readable. Here is the biggest contradiction of all. In Saving June, my entire review hung on my aversive attitude towards first-person narrative. Oh, but not here. I could read Chelsea all day. And I did. Her voice is young yet contemplative, privately honest, genuinely snarky, brutally fierce. I loved her. She admitted and accepted about herself so many things that go through our own heads on a daily basis.

She makes no excuse. She is sometimes selfish, sometimes generous. Sometimes emo, sometimes compassionate. Sometimes dense, sometimes perceptive. Sometimes dull, sometimes cool. Sometimes rude, sometimes kind. Sometimes skeptical, sometimes optimistic, sometimes weak, sometimes strong. And more. Chelsea was unlikeable in the beginning, but darn did she grow on me. You see, she isn't really a bitch. Rather, an energy misguided. She has bite but she doesn't know where to aim. She is a genuine outspoken, stand-up-for-herself, no-bullshit kinda gal. Not Harrington's version of sweet, innocent female protagonists who "don't believe in themselves" until a gorgeous young boy swoops in and convinces them otherwise. Chelsea knows she's got stuff going for her. But thankfully, her ego isn't so big as to stunt character growth.

Now, the secondary characters. I loved Sam, Asha and the whole gang. But I'd hoped we'd have gotten more insight into them than we did. We know close to nothing about Sam and Asha's personal lives. Did Sam have other friends? Does he have siblings? Why is he so darn cute and nice? How does Asha feel when racial jokes are thrown at her expense? How does she handle being called a freak? How does she see the good when there is so much bad? These characters were wonderful to have in the scene but I almost wanted to follow them on when they walked out. How did they get to be how they are?
One exception, though, is Andy. One particular scene with Chelsea coloured his entire being all shades of beautful.
SpoilerWhen they're at the back and Andy tells her about him and Noah
Oh, the love! Wonderful scene, Harrington.

Kristen, on the other hand, I was glad not to have had more out of. Why? Because that's the point, I think. She's not supposed to grow. She is the foil to Chelsea. Kristen is a tragic character because while she knows the truth about herself, as Chelsea accepts the truth about herself, Kristen isn't strong enough to brave it out like Chelsea is. She denies herself freedom. Cheslea unleashes herself from chains. That's the difference.

This was a surprise. A surprise I couldn't get my hands off of, according to Goodreads, from August 13-16. Those were great days...yea.

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An ARC was provided by the publisher.

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Well, well, well, colour me a prejudiced snob.

Review to come...I'm pretty sure.

aimeelio's review against another edition

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4.0

So, all the way through this book, I keep thinking that I would love for my eleven year old to read this book. The message is really that good. The book is about a 16 year old gossip queen who tells a secret, then when something bad happens she sacrifices her social status to do the right thing. What she finds is a whole new group of real friends that do more than save her, they teach her how to be a true friend in return. Now some of you might think this is too adult for an eleven year old because there is teenage drinking, sex, (homosexual and straight) and just plain awful kids but I think my kid can handle it. Just please, think about this recommendation carefully.

postitsandpens's review against another edition

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4.0

Speechless is a book that has been on my tbr list for YEARS. I was looking for a shortish contemporary read to enjoy while I was in Mexico, and decided this was a good one to finally cross off my list. To be honest, I had a hard time with Chelsea at the beginning of the story - she verged just on the edge of being too unlikable, but thankfully redeems herself as the story progresses. I loved the cast of characters she befriends and surrounds herself with after she falls out with her previous group of "friends", and also loved the introspection she goes through; it was interesting to watch her thought process as she traverses not speaking for almost a month. All in all this turned out to be a very good book, and a solid choice for my first read of 2018!

appelkers's review against another edition

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5.0

a very well written bokk with a good theme and story, sprinkled with some humor. i loved it a lot!

isobelleogden's review against another edition

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4.0

Loved this book. Interesting concept too. I don't think I'd ever last not speaking for that long!

calypsogilstrap's review against another edition

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4.0

Serious issues but kind of cliche.

atinydisaster's review against another edition

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5.0

Speechless was listed as one of the YA books with buzz at BEA, and after reading it I have zero questions as to why. This was a really great book that I think will speak to a lot of readers about that moment in all of our lives when we realize who and what are really important. The main character Chelsea makes for a great ‘every girl’, someone I’m sure most people can relate too on some level which makes her story that much easier to compare to your own life. Speechless is a quick read that you wont be able to make yourself put down. I stared it first thing in the morning and had finished before lunch. Love, love, love this book!

At first Chelsea is incredibly hard to like. She’s a gossip (obviously), incredibly immature and has her priorities all muddled but seeing her grow from this point in her life is what made this book so fantastic. You aren’t supposed to like Chelsea right away. Even when she initially takes her vow, she isn’t doing it 100% for the right reason but she gets there eventually and it’s a really interesting evolution to watch.

The other characters are all a lot of fun to read as there is both the popular crowd and the mish-mashed group of outcasts floating around in Chelsea’s life. While one group obviously has a better handle on what is important in life, both groups are painted as genuine human beings and part of what Chelsea needs to learn is that all of these people have feelings and are more to her than just a new source of gossip.

I don’t comment on covers in my review as that is something most people can decide their opinions on themselves without even having read the book, BUT let’s just take a second here to appreciate the level of thought that went into this cover. It is very, very fitting considering the material of the book. I love it.

Overall, great book and highly recommended!