Name: Speechless
ISBN: 9780373212033

Hannah Harrington

After her behavior causes her to lose her popular friends and results in one person being hospitalized, Chelsea takes a vow of silence.

Speechless

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; so now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence and if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse. Original.

★★★★ // a book with a good sense of humor (heh), and has a satisfying conclusion to a pretty decent romantic story.

Jessica Nottingham

To be honest, the very first thing I noticed about Speechless was the gorgeous cover. I realize you might find that a little odd. There are no faces, no swirls, no fancy typeface to draw in the reader. However it is exactly the lack of all those accoutrements that caught my eye. Simplistic. Beautiful. A blank slate. Then, the synopsis. Thank you whoever wrote this! Thank you so very much for not giving away the entire plot in a few paragraphs. I promise you, vague or not, this synopsis is perfection. Speechless holds much more than you are expecting.

Chelsea Knot is definitely not a perfect person. What she is, is realistic. A girl who is flawed, selfish, and raw. Harrington starts out the book by showing us a Chelsea that is pretty easy to dislike. One who spreads rumors, and hurts people. However as she learns the error of her ways, she grows by leaps and bounds. The Chelsea at the end of Speechless is an entirely different person, and just being there for her journey will make you fall in love. In fact, the entire cast of characters that support Chelsea in her time of need are easy to love. I could go on and on about Asha, Sam, Dex and Lou, but I won't. I'll let you meet them for yourself.

What I loved most about this book is that Chelsea's story is full of hope. It is full of growth, and understanding. Speechless touches on tough topics, and it does it well. Instead of relying on angst to draw the reader in, we get to dive deep in Chelsea's head and learn right along with her. There is a message here, that bridges that gap between all ages that might pick up this book. I think Harrington says it best with: "Hate is... it's too easy," he says. "Love. Love takes courage." 

Despite it taking some time for me to feel the writing style of the book, I soon became immersed. In fact, a sigh escaped my lips when I reached the last page. A sigh of contentment at how perfectly this book is paced, and executed. Even the romance in this book is spot on, and builds slowly. Gorgeous. Speechless has just further cemented my opinion that Hannah Harrington is a master of her craft.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

**Originally posted on Lost in Literature.

When I first saw this book, I thought the premise sounded so fun. Silly, but fun. Chelsea has a big mouth. She gossips a lot. She gossips one too many times. Now she decides not to gossip... or even talk... at all anymore. I can't even imagine. I mean, seriously, a vow of silence?! I don't think I could do it. No... I KNOW I couldn't do it!! Not that I gossip, because I don't... but just no talking at all, to anyone, about anything? No way could I do that! But this book turned out to be a lot more than just a fun read.

Chelsea is forced to learn a valuable lesson at the detriment of herself and others. She quickly becomes the outcast at school, being picked on and bullied on a daily basis. But was she right to tell? Are the consequences of her actions worth her squealing? At a tough time like this, Chelsea learns all too quickly that her friends might actually not be her friends after all. Will she ever recover from this terrible situation and be forgiven? Will anything good come from this? Can she learn to forgive herself for her actions? These are questions that Chelsea must find the answers to, while succumbing to pure torture on a daily basis. No one ever said high school was easy... but Chelsea is definitely tested on a whole new level.

Speechless was entertaining, fun, and also carried with it a valuable lesson. This is definitely a story I would recommend.

Milana Marie Waller

i didn’t write a review for this ? oops . well , i loved it . i’ve never seen this book or heard of it from anyone but i’d discovered it at a used bookstore and paid practically nothing for it . It was one of those paperbacks with foldable insides where you read the synopsis as if it was a hardback . It had dangled (dangled is that the word ...) edges as well and this shimmery sort of cover that made rainbows in the sun. I don’t know why i’m writing so much about the physical appearance of this book. Anyways, I think it’s insanely under hyped and would even make a decent movie. I found it similar to books like Speak or If I Stay. Lots of character analysis and self discovery.

Speechless

Reviews

Highlights