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A review by neenor
Speechless by Hannah Harrington
5.0
I know from reading other reviews that most people picked up Speechless because they loved Saving June. I actually haven't read Harrington's debut novel (although it's now on my TBR list) - I just picked up Speechless and the synopsis immediately had my curious and asking questions; what secret had Chelsea shared that had gone so dramatically wrong?
Every high school has got one; the bullying, popular clique, who do anything that will make them look better. The main protagonist, Chelsea, is in that group - well, until she spills a secret she shouldn't know to begin with. Suddenly, everyone is against her; the culprits, her "friends", the victims - all because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. So she decides to change this by taking a vow of silence; if she can't talk, she can't hurt anyone else.
I usually find it difficult to like typically self-centred and "popular" characters - but not with Chelsea. At first, her quick-witted and catty remarks annoyed me, as it was clear she thought herself as a bit of a smartass. However, as the novel progressed, I actually began to like her comebacks and overall personality, and found she was actually quite a realistic character. Harrington has the amazing ability to write like how a teen thinks, and anything Chelsea said I could just relate to immediately. I also liked how Harrington never really concentrated on what the characters looked like - you got a brief description, and the rest was left to your imagination. This enables the reader to develop a much more personal connection to the characters, as they feel like they are more realistic as to being works of fiction.
I also liked the characterisation of all the secondary characters. Although they weren't the main narrative, Harrington still took the time to personalise them all a bit, again adding to their realism. I actively despised Kristen, and I again thought it was a pretty accurate representation of the "popular" girl in school. I loved Asha and Sam and how willing they were to help Chelsea, even though they were the last people expected to do so. I even liked Andy - although he was a bit horrible at times, it was understandable, and towards the end, I adored his snappy, sassy attitude. Although Sam wasn't the typical, overly-ripped, sparkling and sexy love interest, I loved him. It's pretty obvious to say that I kind of dig the nerdy look, and he was just adorably perfect.
I thought the concept of the story was pretty unique - I mean, imagine not speaking for an extended amount of time? I remember a few years ago, I tried to raise money for Red Nose Day by doing a sponsored silence. Throughout the day, each time I accidentally spoke, I kept making rules up about how many times I could slip up and...well, let's just say that I slipped up a lot. So in one sense, it was a tad unbelievable that such a loud-mouth would be able to be quiet for so long - but it was still interesting, and I think it teaches quite a valuable lesson - that actions can speak louder than words.
As I said, I've never read a book by Harrington - but if Speechless is anything to go by, then I need to get my hands on Saving June ASAP! If you're intrigued by the synopsis, then you must pick this up when you've got the chance; you won't regret it.
Every high school has got one; the bullying, popular clique, who do anything that will make them look better. The main protagonist, Chelsea, is in that group - well, until she spills a secret she shouldn't know to begin with. Suddenly, everyone is against her; the culprits, her "friends", the victims - all because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. So she decides to change this by taking a vow of silence; if she can't talk, she can't hurt anyone else.
I usually find it difficult to like typically self-centred and "popular" characters - but not with Chelsea. At first, her quick-witted and catty remarks annoyed me, as it was clear she thought herself as a bit of a smartass. However, as the novel progressed, I actually began to like her comebacks and overall personality, and found she was actually quite a realistic character. Harrington has the amazing ability to write like how a teen thinks, and anything Chelsea said I could just relate to immediately. I also liked how Harrington never really concentrated on what the characters looked like - you got a brief description, and the rest was left to your imagination. This enables the reader to develop a much more personal connection to the characters, as they feel like they are more realistic as to being works of fiction.
I also liked the characterisation of all the secondary characters. Although they weren't the main narrative, Harrington still took the time to personalise them all a bit, again adding to their realism. I actively despised Kristen, and I again thought it was a pretty accurate representation of the "popular" girl in school. I loved Asha and Sam and how willing they were to help Chelsea, even though they were the last people expected to do so. I even liked Andy - although he was a bit horrible at times, it was understandable, and towards the end, I adored his snappy, sassy attitude. Although Sam wasn't the typical, overly-ripped, sparkling and sexy love interest, I loved him. It's pretty obvious to say that I kind of dig the nerdy look, and he was just adorably perfect.
I thought the concept of the story was pretty unique - I mean, imagine not speaking for an extended amount of time? I remember a few years ago, I tried to raise money for Red Nose Day by doing a sponsored silence. Throughout the day, each time I accidentally spoke, I kept making rules up about how many times I could slip up and...well, let's just say that I slipped up a lot. So in one sense, it was a tad unbelievable that such a loud-mouth would be able to be quiet for so long - but it was still interesting, and I think it teaches quite a valuable lesson - that actions can speak louder than words.
As I said, I've never read a book by Harrington - but if Speechless is anything to go by, then I need to get my hands on Saving June ASAP! If you're intrigued by the synopsis, then you must pick this up when you've got the chance; you won't regret it.