Review : Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Posted by Kay on November 9, 2012 12:46 pm in 4 stars reads | 2 comments

Speechless by Hannah Harrington
Pages : 288
Genre : YA, Contemporary Fiction
Stand alone 
My Rating : 4/5

What it’s about :

Chelsea has always liked to gossip – until her words turned against her, and put one of her classmates in a life or death situation.

Now, trying to change her ways, Chelsea has taken a vow of silence. She won’t let her mouth put her in trouble again, and she won’t speak until she feels the time is right.

My Thoughts :

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Speechless : the cover, suiting the title perfectly, says very little about the book.

I’m happy to report that I was very pleasantly surprised. From the start, Chelsea isn’t a really likable character. She is shallow, likes to gossip behind everyone’s back and definitely thinks she’s a little better than most. She talks because she likes the attention, not giving a second thought to the consequences of her actions Chelsea is, without a doubt, a mean girl.

When her words both endanger other kids and put her at the bottom of the social scale, Chelsea’s decision to stop talking is the best she could have made. Sure, it’s not easy: her family, her teachers and the other kids mostly don’t get it. But her silence gives her a new perspective on the way she acts and thinks. The change is realistically slow, but as Chelsea gets rid of her old ways, it gets slowly easier to like her and root for her. I could only imagine how hard it was not to talk in some of these situations. Whether you like her or not, you can certainly admire her determination. If I’m being honest, I’m not sure I could have done the same!

I also appreciated the cast of characters surrounding her. Her parents’ worrying felt true (I’m a bit tired of conveniently absent parents, though I know they are also needed in the YA fictional world), and I liked that not all of her teachers reacted the same way. I loved her new friends. Asha was perfectly sweet, and Andy was angry without being unreasonably spiteful. As for Sam, he was just that good, sweet, charming guy you just know Chelsea will develop feelings for. It was sweet, really!

I felt contented when I read Speechless‘ last pages. The story offered a nice progression, and Chelsea’s transition from mean girl to mostly-good girl was believable. I do wish some of the characters had been more developed, but all in all, it was a good read that left me in a positive mood.

Similar Reading

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Read two years before Speechless, Some Girls Are is a book I still remember vividly. Courtney Summers is, without a doubt, one of the best YA writers of our generation – and deservedly, one of the most popular.

Still, Some Girls Are was my least favorite of her novels. The subject of bullying is a difficult one, and it was hard for me to empathize with bully Regina – much harder than with Speechless’ Chelsea. Maybe because Some Girls Are is darker, grittier, a punch in the heart, while Speechless ends on a hopeful note.

I would still recommend both books in a heartbeat, as they both give different perspectives on similar issues.

Thanks to Harlequin Teen for generously providing a digital copy of Speechless.