Novel Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Much nicer in person.

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: HarlequinTeen

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads 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.

Something Specific:

That I Loved:

•  The Vow of Silence. That's a big part of the book, and I explain further in the review, but I just really liked that; it's what caught my interest, and it's part of why I liked this book so much.

Quotes:

•  There were moments where Chelsea starts thinking about Sam, the love interest, and they were just adorable and funny, so I'm going to share some of them: "When Sam approaches the counter and asks for size seven skates, I can't help but think of what people say about how the size of a guy's feet correlates to the size of their dicks--or is it hands? And then I realize I'm thinking about Sam's dick and it's getting kind of emarrassing." (Paperback, pg. 116-117) "...I don't know if it's the steam or Sam's vaguely erotic cooking expertise causing my cheeks to feel like they're on fire." (Paperback, pg. 131)
• "They always say misery loves company, but right now I kind of want to be miserable and alone, so I can wallow in my self-loathing properly." (Paperback, pg. 141)
• "'You are the best kind of person.'" (Paperback, pg. 195) I love this quote. It was said during a very special moment in this book, and it's so sweet and adorable and it makes me smile and I love it. I just do.

Review:

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 thisone 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.