Book Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Title: Speechless

Author: Hannah Harrington
Series: Standalone
Pages: 288
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Date of Publication: 28th August 2012
Source: Publisher through NetGalley*
Synopsis from Goodreads:
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.

My Thoughts:
Having read and loved Saving June by Hannah Harrington last year, as soon as I saw Speechless up on NetGalley I requested it and started reading almost straight away, despite having a million other books that need reading. I couldn't wait to get started, hoping it would be as good as Saving June, if not better. And it wasn't. I'm trying not to be disappointed, as it was still a very enjoyable read, but I think in this case my expectations were a little bit too high.

When I read the synopsis, I didn't realise that Chelsea literally chose not to speak a word. I thought she'd just give up gossiping, or maybe just talking to the 'friends' involved at school, but nope, she actually doesn't talk at all for a whole month. I found this to be really weird. And I understand why she did it and why she felt she had to, but it just struck me as a little odd, not to talk to anyone at all - not even her parents or teachers, who were obviously unrelated to the whole issue and reason why she was not talking...

And because she wasn't talking, we got to see inside her head, and read everything that is going on inside her brain... And she annoyed me, especially at the beginning. She was self-centred and rambley and obsessed with this guy, convinced that he was stupid for not taking her up on her drunken offer when she was completely wasted and throwing herself at him. She was pissed that her friends hated her for what she did, but she failed to realise that actually those people were not people that she should want to be friends with, even though that much was obvious from the start. I mean, who would want to be friends with people who were annoyed with her because she put two almost murderers in jail?

She does get better as the book goes on, and as she meets new friends and new people I could see her becoming a better person. The Chelsea at the beginning and the Chelsea at the end are very different. It was great to see her growing as a person, and finally realising that popularity and gossip and boys and make-up aren't the most important things in life. She stood up for the things she believed were wrong and I admired her for that because that's not something I'd not always be confident enough to do, no matter how much I'd like to be able to.

The best thing about this book, were definitely Chelsea's new friends. They changed her completely, like I said before, and reading about them going about their lives in the cafe where the worked and the way they just accepted Chelsea in to their group without batting an judgmental eyelid at her vow of silence, and just respecting and honouring her decision to do so. I'm super glad that Chelsea ended up with them, and Sam is adorable! I may even be a little bit jealous of Chelsea and her relationship with him... ;P

Anyway, overall, Speechless was an enjoyable read that, despite everything that I've said, I did really like. I need to try and focus on the good things more, I think! I will definitely be reading everything else that Hannah Harrington writes as I think she is a very talented author, and I would recommend that you read this if you want to. Also pick up a copy of Saving June because that won't disappoint either!

*Huge thanks to Harlequin Teen and NetGalley for giving me access to this egalley, in exchange for an honest review! In no way has this affected my opinion of the book.