Speechless (Harlequin Teen) [Paperback]

Hannah Harrington (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 28, 2012 | Series: Harlequin Teen

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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up-Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret. She tells all and makes many enemies along the way. Nothing seems to stop her from blabbing until Noah, a gay teen, is beaten to the point of hospitalization after she reveals that she saw him hooking up with another guy at a party. Upon learning about the trouble that she has caused, the teen decides to take a vow of silence like a monk she reads about in a National Geographic article. "What comes out of my mouth is the root of my problems, so the solution is for nothing to come out." During this time, Chelsea is abandoned by her former best friend and bullied with name-calling, locker trashing, and other forms of harassment. She sticks to her guns, however, and remains mute. Readers will wonder what will finally break her silence as the drama surrounding Noah's beating unfolds. The book could stand on this premise alone, but Harrington has chosen to throw in a bit of romance between Chelsea and Noah's best friend, Sam. Chelsea grows as a person, making new friends, learning to bite her tongue and developing a stronger sense of self. However, some readers might feel that her vow of silence draws too much attention away from Noah, especially those who sympathize with him. This book is part of the Love Is Louder movement whose mission is to help those who are mistreated and misunderstood. Readers might see Noah as misunderstood, but maybe not Chelsea.-Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MIα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About the Author

Hannah Harrington resides in Michigan with one dog and too many cats. When she isn’t busy writing like a crazy person, she enjoys arguing about politics, watching documentaries, playing guitar (very badly), and speaking about herself in the third person. You can find her online at hannahharrington.blogspot.com, facebook.com/hannahharrington and on Twitter @hharrington_.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin Teen; Original edition (August 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373210523
• ISBN-13: 978-0373210527
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking and entertaining August 28, 2012

By K. Sowa

Format:Paperback

Chelsea is exactly the kind of girl I would have hated in high school. She is mean, snobby and a gossip. When her inability to keep a secret causes some real damage, her vow of silence starts a journey that I really enjoyed reading. I give the author a lot of credit for making her main character so unlikable at first. She is not a sympathetic character, despite doing the right thing, but as the layers of the story were added, I slowly began to start to see Chelsea as someone who took a hard road to find the right path. Even more enjoyable were the friends she makes during her vow of silence. I became just as attached to Asha, Sam and everyone else as I was to Chelsea. Although Chelsea's story was at the core of this book, it really became a string ensemble cast of endearing and believable characters.

There is certainly an examination of the consequences of bullying from the point of view pf the perpetrator, which was very emotional, but more than that it is a story about someone who decides that she is worthy of her own opinions. Chelsea is a follower and as the best friend of the most popular girl in school, there are certain perks, but Chelsea's journey involves the realization that sometimes you have to think enough of yourself to make a different choice. The wonderful people she meets because of her social ostracism are a great example of people that are ok with being themselves, even if they aren't the most popular. Chelsea's growth throughout the course of this book was such a joy to read and the honesty in the storytelling really brought this book to life.

With this sophomore offering from Hannah Harrington, I have officially become a devoted fan of her writing. Saving June was one of my favorites of 2011 (fans should keep their eyes peeled for a Jake and Harper cameo in this book) and I predict that Hannah Harrington will become one of the strongest voices in YA contemporary fiction.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Hannah Harrington has done it again August 28, 2012

By K. Butler

Format:Paperback

Speechless, Hannah Harrington's sophomore novel, while not quite as impressive as her debut, still packed quite a punch. She seems to have a knack for writing heartbreaking contemporaries and even though I didn't love this one, I still really enjoyed it.

Speechless is the story of Chelsea, a girl whose big mouth manages to not only get her in trouble but also land someone in the hospital. Chelsea is not a heartless girl. She is a bit of a bitch but she never does things to hurt someone physically. She doesn't see herself as mean or hurtful. However, after the incident she reevaluates her actions and decides to take a vow of silence until she learns how not to hurt people when she talks. Through her silence she actually learns to listen to people. Chelsea may not be an easy person to like in the beginning of the book and she isn't totally loveable at the end either but she grows so much. The fact that she's not totally perfect by the end of the book makes her seem so much more real to me and I loved her even more for that.

Chelsea is not the only mean character. Her ex-friends are not nice people. They bully and torment her from the moment she turns on them and they really are nasty people. Honestly none of them redeem themselves and I felt that they deserved everything they got. Chelsea's new friends however are freaking fantastic. Sam, Asha, Andy, and the rest of the gang are hilarious. They're kind of a bunch of misfits and they just don't care. They think for themselves, they do what they want, and they are truly kind people. Sam is of course the love interest but the romance between him and Chelsea is very subtle and it's not a driving force in the book. And in no way is this insta-love. For the majority of the book Chelsea doesn't speak and she and Sam are forced to get to know each other through notes, texts, and other cute little ways. They don't have a typical relationship and it's what makes them so perfect together.

The story is the best part of Speechless. One night Chelsea stumbles into a room at a party where she discovers a male classmate fooling around with another guy. Not really thinking she blurts this to her friend in front of quite a few people. Two of the boys decide to take it upon themselves to "teach the guys a lesson." This lesson ends up putting one of the guys in the hospital, severely injured. Chelsea's life quickly spirals out of control since she knows exactly who assaulted him. She has to decide whether she should do the right thing and tell the police, which would mean losing her friends, or keeping her mouth shut for once and remaining at the top of the popularity chain. For once Chelsea is forced to think for herself and what she finds out is that she's not that great a person. So begins the vow of silence and a whole new side to Chelsea.

Overall, Speechless is a strong sophomore novel from Hannah Harrington and one that is very timely. I highly recommend reading this one for the story alone.

Originally posted on Katie's Book Blog.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Heart-Rendering, A Contemporary Must-Read! August 28, 2012

By anaavu

Format:Paperback

4.5 stars

You'll be left Speechless by the amount of favorite quotes I have! (see what I did there?)
"Hate is... It's too easy. Love. Love takes courage."

"We've been caught in a wildly passionate, completely one-sided affair since freshman year."

"Sometimes Kristen can be such a bitch. If she wasn't my best friend, I'd probably hate her."

I liked it, being in her orbit. Girls wanted to be us. Guys wanted to date us. Even those who hated us wanted a look. I loved that, loved that I mattered, that people were jealous. I loved turning heads. It didn't matter if most of them were looking at Kristen; I was in their line of vision, and that totally counted for something. Being on the radar at all. It made me more than average. It was everything to me."

"So?" she says. "In my opinion, if those girls hate me, that only means I must be doing something right."

"What's important is the time we spent working on it together. What's important is that Sam is the kind of guy who will trade notes on a sketchpad and teach me how to make tuna melts and drop everything to drive to a parking lot when I need him and throw stones at my window to make sure I'm okay."

But there's nothing like that very first quote. Stunningly beautiful, that one :)

So yeah. I'm stuck today. What should I say? All I can think is gush, glee, and giggles. Yes, I've got serious happy feelings about this novel.
In the beginning, I was a little hesistant; I'd read Saving June, and didn't particularly care for it. That nonsense was soon out of the way, however. Soon, I was riding on a wave of "This novel is insightful beyond belief!"

Plot:
Chelsea Knot has trouble keeping secrets. She likes being popular and one of the best ways she retains her status is by knowing all the gossip and revealing others' secrets. When she walks in on two boys making out at a party, she laughingly proceeds to inform everyone of this fact. This is a small town, however, and though people won't admit it, homophobia is widespread here. After one of the two boys ends up in a hospital (beaten up), Chelsea throws away her popularity and status to
tell the police what happens. And sacrifice she does. She finds herself a social pariah - thrown out of her clique and constantly bullied. Among all this hatred, I find it supremely ironic and a little poetic that Chelsea finds solace in her newfound friendship with those who should have been most angry with her - the victim's friends (characters who will find their way to your heart real fast). The plot is maybe a little predictable, but the way Hannah tells it... which brings me to my next section-Narration :)

Narration:
Harrington has a beautiful voice - no one can deny it. She has a way of making even the most ordinary moments spectacularly emotional. 72 pages in and there were a few tears. Coming from almost any other author, I would have been bored by this storyline. Few authors could've pulled off this story of a prevalent situation as well as she did. Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Jay Asher, Sarah Dessen. I rate Harrington among those classic authors with this heart-breaking novel :)

Overall:
Speechless is a more real (more acessible) version of Speak. Which is in no way a bad thing. It's just that it's easier to relate to a victim of bullying that that of rape. And though it has similarities to Speak, it stands on its own as an insightful and hopeful read.

Not only is this a heart-breaking novel, it leaves you with a overwhelming knowledge of the bitter reality of homophobia among teens. It's another poignant reminder that bullying has not lessened in schools - on the contrary, as we discussed in our chat last night, the anonymity of the internet has unquestionably increased bullying and talking behind one anothers' backs.

P.S.
This vow of silence isn't as easy as it looks! I'm nowhere near garrulous, but I tried it out.. barely made it past 20 minutes! So if you have read this or are planning to, I recommend you trying it out too. It'll give you a new appreciation of "silence".

*I received a digital ARC from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.*