Shiirleyy's Bookshelf has migrated to Dear Shirley ! I will continue to post book reviews but there will also be a lot of personal and travel-related posts :)

Book Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

28 Oct 2012

Speechless
by Hannah Harrington
Publisher: Harlequin Teen Australia
Release Date: August 28th 2012
Format: ARC
Purchase: Book Depository 

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.



Speechless.
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to not talk for a whole day? Perhaps a week? Or maybe an entire month? Being the noisy person that I am, I can hardly survive not talking for 3 hours (the usual time frame of my exams) let alone a whole month. And yet, that is what
Chelsea managed to do. Not utter a single word, a single syllable for more than a month.
Quite an accomplishment, eh?

One of the best things about the book was relationships between Chelsea and her friends. I enjoyed her interactions with her newfound friends, Asha and Sam, immensely - they were such kind and support friends. The kind of real friends everyone deserves to have. Chelsea's romance with Sam is extremely sweet and heart-warming; the way the relationship developed between the two as they got to know each other better, made it all the more believable!

 I was also interested in the friendship between Chelsea and Kristen. Being 'best friends' back when Chelsea was still a member of the 'it' group, Kristen soon shunned her after Chelsea rattles out a huge, never-to-be-spoken secret. At first, I found Kristen to be superficial; I never really thought she liked Chelsea much, and only ever cared about her popularity. But as the story progressed, and the more she humiliated Chelsea, the more I felt she really did miss having Chelsea as a friend. It felt like she wasn't gaining any satisfaction from making Chelsea's life a living hell, and yet, she just...couldn't stop. I guess I quite liked what became of their friendship the end of the book- it wasn't a happily-ever-after obviously, but it was like, they were finally about to be on the same page :)

I love thought-provoking books, especially ones that manage to teach a lesson. Readers will be swept away by Harrington's beautiful writing, reflecting upon Chelsea's actions and her past life that was full of parties and gossip. I loved how Chelsea's character develops as the story progresses; she manages to see the wrongs of what she did and tries to become a better person. I was exceptionally pleased and proud of Chelsea's growth! She's definitely a character I will always love :)

Thought-provoking and achingly sweet, Speechless is a real page-turner. I can't believe I haven't read Hannah Harrington's debut, Saving June yet,  but I have no doubt I'll love it too! Speechless is a novel I would recommend to anyone- it's a relatively quick read so do yourself a favour and read it SOON! :)

9 comments:

  1. If you enjoyed this, you will love Saving June, I'm sure of it. :) This is a great review, Shirley! I had pretty much the same thoughts on this book. Weren't Sam and Asha great? I want to will them to life so I can join their crew. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is such a beautiful review Shirley, Harrington sure knows how to provide a thought provoking and heart breaking read, I loved how engrossed she makes you become with the characters too! Like Sam said you should definitely pick up Saving June soon! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would definitely recommend you Saving June. It was such a good book. As for this one, even though I loved the author's first book but I'll probably pass on this one. Didn't sound like my kind of read but still, yet another great review from you Shirley! Glad to hear you enjoyed it! It sounds like a lot of people enjoyed it as well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. OMG you NEED to read Saving June!! I loved it so much :D and I still need to get to this one... sounds so good! Great review :)

    Rabiah @ Confessions of a Readaholic

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can't imagine that. Not talking for so long! It's not that I talk all the time, but I do love having conversations :p (Perhaps you should take a look at 'What I didn't say' from Keary Taylor!)

    I haven't read any of her books yet, but I really want to. This one sounds good and I love it when a book has a certain message.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I can keep silent for quite a while, but definitely nowhere near as long as that. I love that the author has written in some good relationships, and I'm definitely curious to meet Chelsea for myself. Wonderful review, Shirley! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. My thoughts EXACTLY! I *loved* this book so freaking much, with Hannah's lovely writing, and good relationship between the characters. I think I can imagine not talking for.. awhile ;) Lovely review!

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is such a beautiful review, Shirley. :) I loved this book with a burning passion and am a HUGE fan of Hannah Harrington, so I'm really pleased to see that you love this too! Wasn't Sam such a sweetheart?

    ReplyDelete
  9. SHIRLEY! RIIIIIIGHT? YES YES YES.

    Oh, I loved so much about this book, but the relationships. And not just the romance. The friendships, and the people Chelsea never would have known otherwise.

    I LOVED this book.

    And I kind of love that you did, too :D

    ReplyDelete

Hey there,
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog :) Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section; I appreciate all comments left here!
If you have a blog, I'll be sure to visit it and comment back(I love finding new blogs so feel free to leave a link!)
Thank you & have a nice day