Review – Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Posted 20 June, 2012 by Danny in Blog, Danny, Danny's Book Review / 27 Comments

Speechless

Genre: YA Contemporary
Expected publication: August 28th 2012 by HarlequinTeen
Copy received from publisher
format: eBook, Paperback
Synopsis from goodreads
Rating:
The story of a girl named Chelsea Knot who takes a voluntary oath of silence after her gossip-mongering ways yield unexpected consequences…
Saving June was one of my most favorite reads last year so I was eager to pick up Speechless! Hannah Harrington surprised with her strong and touching debut and  in addition, the cover although very minimalistic is awesome!

Sometimes less is more..

Chelsea can never keep her mouth shout. Every Gossip she hears, she has to spread. This is how we meet her, she doesn’t care about consequences, she just likes the attention she gets whenever she has something exciting to tell. Moreover, Chelsea’s BFF is the Queen Bee at her school and it seems incredibly important for Chelsea to prove herself to her constantly. In fact, her “best friends” are all truly superficial and .. Chelsea just likes to play along. However, when one revealed secrets leads to serious happenings Chelsea is finally forced to rethink her behavior and she stops speaking… completely!

Suddenly Alone

Although you might think that your best friends would stick to you, think again. Suddenly ,Chelsea is on the outside, not a kid of the cool crowd anymore and she realizes what it means to be alone… Her former friends are the classic kids that only care about popularity and not about really the person. There was clearly nothing to like about these people. When something horrifying happens and Chelsea for once speaks up, suddenly all her “friends” start to bully her. Bullying at high school has a terrifying cruelty to it, it always makes me shutter..

Chelsea – a very flawed young girl ….

My main problem was, that I didn’t like Chelsea so much at the beginning. She was shallow and just concerned about her friends and having the right clothes and hanging with the right crowd. However, I do get the author’s intention and  it was important to display her exactly like this, because what follows is a story of self-finding, self discovery and growing. Although, I understand all this, I couldn’t help my feelings towards Chelsea. Especially considering that I am a very character driven reader, this clearly bugged me while reading!

Dynamic friendships and great characters

The secondary characters were phenomenal and I loved the different characters we encounter in Speechless. Hannah Harrington clearly showed deep love for the development and introduction of all the additional characters. I loved how they took Chelsea into their circle even though these were kids she would have never hang out with before.  But, those are the true friends, those who stick to you and forgive! These kids were the real interesting, great and awesome characters in this story! They way they treated Chelsea with love and understanding was wonderful and it was great to see Chelsea slowly trusting these kids…

Bewitched Rating

Bottom Line

The way Chelsea changed and realized what is important in life and who are real friends to count on and trust was a wonderful journey. Some elements were a little too picture perfect for my liking but overall, the story and the message was great and important! Clearly, Hannah Harrington is a wonderful writer who spins fantastic stories. My only complain was my lack of true emotional connection with Chelsea, which prevented me from giving a higher rating.
 

Additional Notes

Truly, I love the cover! I adore the simplicity of it! If you are interested in Hannah Harringtons previous work , please check out Saving June which was her phenomenal Debut!
Much Love,

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27 Responses to “Review – Speechless by Hannah Harrington”

  1. Hmm…I’m curious. Even though you didn’t love this one, the premise sounds fantastic. I wonder what I’d think of Chelsea.

    I saw this one at BEA and didn’t grab it for some reason. I’m kicking myself.
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    Danny 6/20/2012

    I think this is on NetGalley?! And the premise is awesome and I hope you are going to love this book!
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  2. This book sounds absolutely fantastic especially since it seems to be dealing with an important issue like bullying.
    I loved Saving June by Hannah Harrington and I’ve been waiting for this one for some time now, but I think I’m going to have to lower my expectations.
    It’s really too bad that you couldn’t feel any connection with Chelsea although I doubt she’s a character everyone will identify with.
    Thanks for the honest and lovely review, Danny.

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    Danny 6/20/2012

    Not just bullying, there are a lot of things addressed that I think are important. I loved Saving June so much, and that was probably a tiny problem when I read this one. My expectations were too high… But it doesn’t mean this is not a grest story, because it is – just not as awesome as SJ!
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  3. WOW! I am so glad you enjoyed this book, Danny! I thought that was only the ARC cover so I completely had no idea it was the actual cover of the book until reading your review. I LOVE HOW SIMPLE IT IS! I’ve never seen a cover like that before!

    Like you, I really enjoyed Saving June as well so I can’t wait to read Speechless!

    Awesome review, Danny! <3
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    Danny 6/20/2012

    Nope, I’m pretty sure it’s the real cover and I loved it!!!! Totally love it! Saving June totally blew me away last year! Hope you’ll love Speechless!
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  4. I’m happy to hear that you liked this one! I know what you mean about not connecting with the MC. I’ve been having that issue a lot lately. I adored Saving June so I’m looking forward to reading this.

    Also, I LOVE the cover too! So great.
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    Danny 6/20/2012

    it was a great book and had some great messages, especially if you get past your inital confusion with Chelsea!
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  5. Every time I see this cover, I’m a little bit stunned by how beautifully SIMPLE it is — so much that it’s definitely going to be an eye-catcher in stores! Haha I love it when characters have good character growth in a novel too, but I totally understand being put off if she starts off wholly unlikable because that makes it harder to change your feelings x) But the secondary characters sound so wonderful!

    Amazing review, Danny! I’ll be reading this book AND Saving June soon — it’s sort of like a double recommendation! 😉 <3
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    Danny 6/20/2012

    Yes I know!! It’s simple but stunningly awesome!! And yep it totally will stand out in the stores, very smart of them!!

    Chelsea definitely grew and her silence made her reflect her action and her friends. It was important for her. The Team of new friends were awesome!

    You haven’t read Saving June?? You must! it’s awesome!
    Danny recently posted..Review – Speechless by Hannah HarringtonMy Profile

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  6. Glad you enjoyed this! A few bloggers who’s opinion I highly value (we share a lot of the same likes/dislikes) recently posted disappointed, negative reviews on SPEECHLESS, so I wasn’t really sure. It’s too bad that you didn’t feel an emotional connection with Chelsea – I hate it when you can’t feel connected with a book’s characters! Still not that sure if I’ll read this or not, but thank you for your honest thoughts 🙂

    Great review!

    Misa
    Skyway Avenue Reads
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    Danny 6/20/2012

    Oh I haven’t read a review of this one yet to be honest. I especially shy away from reading them before I wrote my own! I sad to hear that a few were so disappointed! I thought it was maybe be, especially since I am such a character driven reader..
    Danny recently posted..Review – Speechless by Hannah HarringtonMy Profile

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  7. I can only imagine how hard it is to like a character like that–one who revels in the gossip and attention–even though she learns from her experiences. This sounds like something I might need to share with some of my students (Last year, I had some serious drama queens who loved to backstab and spread gossip)!
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    Danny 6/20/2012

    You know I think this is a perfect book for your students!!!!!! There are tons of issues addressed which are really important! Especially for the Gossip Queen’s. Here they can see what can happen if you spread too much – and it can be serious!
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  8. I think I would struggle a bit with Chelsea as well Danny. While I can understand that she needs to be the shallow, unlikable girl in the beginning in order to show growth, but so often that first impression for me seals the deal and I can’t move past it. Reader flaw I guess:) Still, I love a good set of secondary characters, so that might make the read worthwhile for me!

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    Danny 6/20/2012

    Yep unfortunately for me I couldn’t get back to loving her! Plus at the end, all came together a little too perfect for me.. YES it totally is a readers-flaw but I am extremely character driven so I actually can’t help it!

    And.. already started Hounded?? 😉
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  9. I have to agree. The cover is amazing just for being simple and clean.

    I think it’s kind of hard to believe that Chelsea would change that much after not caring about how superficial she was, so I think I would have had a bit of a problem with that. But I’m still curious about this one, but first I want to read SJ.
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    Danny 6/20/2012

    It was believable.. The Author did a great job making this change believable…

    You have to read SJ – this one was amazing and I loved it so much!!
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  10. The first time I saw the cover, I thought it was the unofficial one, haha. But now, I love it. I haven’t read Saving June, but I’ve heard great things. I’m sorry to hear that this one isn’t as great as SJ, but I’m glad you still enjoyed it, Danny! The concept of bullying is always a scary one, but it seems like Hannah does a good job of handling it. Wonderful review, Danny! I think I’ll have to check Hannah’s books out. 🙂
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  11. I do love the cover! Sorry this one wasn’t as good as Saving June. I’m a character girl, too. She must have been really bad if you couldn’t forgive her when she took her vow of silence. I’d probably feel the same way, but this one still has me curious.
    Great review Danny! It’s disappointing to not love the second book from an author you loved. Hopefully the next one will knock your socks off!

    Heather
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  12. Fascinating premise… I find myself wondering how a teenage girl could possibly hold up to this oath even in this age of electronic communication! I’m pretty sure I couldn’t do it! Still, it’s encouraging to hear that there is some growth. Awesome cover!

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  13. Hi Danny! I haven’t read Saving June yet so I don’t know the author’s writing style but according to the reviews…some people like her and some people don’t. I’m glad that you enjoyed Speechless. The title alone is so attractive for me. I’m starting to fall in love with contemporary YA (currently reading How to Keep a Boy as a Pet) so…I’ll add this to my want list. Great review!

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