Speechless in E.Y.A.B.

Jul 16, 2012 Rose rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary, realistic-fiction, coming-of-age, tbr-challenge, tough-subjects, netgalley, favorites, glbt, young-adult, arc-or-galley

Initial Thoughts: I could say something completely cliche like "Speechless" left me speechless, but that's rather inaccurate and couldn't be further from the truth. Hannah Harrington's novel made me want to climb on rooftops and declare its awesomeness. Wonderfully constructed characters in a beautifully written novel - and it manages to be funny in spurts while tackling some very tough issues.

One of the best reads in YA I've read this year.

Full Review: "Speechless" is Hannah Harrington's second Initial Thoughts: I could say something completely cliche like "Speechless" left me speechless, but that's rather inaccurate and couldn't be further from the truth. Hannah Harrington's novel made me want to climb on rooftops and declare its awesomeness. Wonderfully constructed characters in a beautifully written novel - and it manages to be funny in spurts while tackling some very tough issues.

One of the best reads in YA I've read this year.

Full Review: "Speechless" is Hannah Harrington's second novel and the first that I've had the opportunity to read from her. It's one of those novels that completely blew me away in the spectrum of YA contemporary fiction, because it not only tackles a very tough subject with sensitivity and resolve, but also manages to be funny and have characters that genuinely leap from the page and come into their own as the novel progresses.

The story revolves around a high school student named Chelsea Knot, who would be aptly considered an "it" girl at her school - very popular, very chatty, engaged in the latest juicy gossip. Her gift of gab (or curse as one might put it) has enabled her to climb to the top of the social ladder. I'll admit that I wasn't endeared to Chelsea because of how she uses her gossip to pull strings and manipulate others into doing what she wants.

But goodness does she get a reality check. At a party, Chelsea's observance and subsequent spilling of details leads to a horrible event which ends up with one in the hospital, and two football players in the center of evens. Chelsea's devastated, and ultimately, she ends up doing the right thing by telling the truth of the event, but she becomes alienated by others in two measures - being the causation of the incident, and ultimately "ratting out" those that were directly responsible for it. So she's ostracized and put into a position where no one likes her at school or are at least cautious about her in the community. And her actions have consequences that reach far beyond and within her circles.

Believing fully that her telling ways were the fault of things, Chelsea takes a vow of silence, and moves to change herself in the process. She befriends some unlikely people (Sam and Asha as per example) who wouldn't have walked in her social circles prior to her vow of silence, and is alienated by people whom she used to be associated with, even called her best friend at one point. The characters are very well crafted, and I felt they were easy to identify with - it's easy to connect with their grief, humor, and overall interactions with each other. Even Chelsea, who does have her noted flaws, becomes someone that the reader can sympathize with as they watch her transformation in her vow of silence. I'm in awe of how well Harrington treats her grief, guilt, and gradual coming to terms and moving forward.

I couldn't put this book down when I read it and loved every moment. I would highly recommend this novel for those who like YA contemporary coming of age stories, with elements of romance, humor, a wonderful look into its tough subject matter and GLBT issues. It's a beautifully written work and I would no doubt look into Harrington's other works.

Overall score: 5/5

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Harlequin/HarlequinTeen. ...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Tee loves Kyle Jacobson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: around-the-world-arc-tours, 2012-must-reads

I want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Around The World ARC Tours for allowing me to read and review Speechless. When I first read about this book I said I MUST have it and I was excited when ATWAT had it. Speechless deals with gossiping, bullying, and hatred for Homosexuals. This book to me is a must read for all teenagers because it addresses so many issues teens are facing today. I have to say when I was in high school the girl who gossiped the most was ignored and treated like an outcast because I want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Around The World ARC Tours for allowing me to read and review Speechless. When I first read about this book I said I MUST have it and I was excited when ATWAT had it. Speechless deals with gossiping, bullying, and hatred for Homosexuals. This book to me is a must read for all teenagers because it addresses so many issues teens are facing today. I have to say when I was in high school the girl who gossiped the most was ignored and treated like an outcast because the popular kids did not want their parents knowing what was going on.

Chelsea loves to gossip. She loves to tell other peoples business and she loves to bully other people that are not popular. She and her best friend are part of the in crowd and they do as they please. Then over the Christmas Break her best friend has an epic New Years Eve party and things go very wrong. See Chelsea sees something she was not supposed to and in shock and wanting to tell her best friend what she just saw she rushes in the room to dish the dirt. Only the response she thinks she is going to get she does not get and the boys turn around and chase that person down.

The next day after spending the night in the bathroom sick from drinking Chelsea finds out that the incident she told everyone about has had dire consequences and someone is hurt real bad and in the hospital. At first she is torn about what to do but she feels like she has caused this person to be hurt. So she tells her parents what happened and they go to the authorities. Chelsea can't believe the hate that her supposed friends have and she will soon find out who is her friend and who is not.As she is thinking about what happened to that person she reads an article about taking a vow of silence and she decides that is what she is going to do.

When vacation comes to an end and school starts everything that Chelsea did to people comes back to her ten fold. She is now the outcast and she has zero friends and she is being bullied. The only thing keeping her sane is her vow of silence. With this vow she makes good on keeping her mouth closed and never telling another secret. Chelsea will also learn what true friendship is and she will make friends with some unlikely people. She may even find out what true love is. On this journey Chelsea will gain a new family and she will learn to love instead of hate.

On a serious note I have to say this that parents should teach their children to be tolerant of others sexual preferences. We should be teaching tolerance not hate. We should be careful what we say in front of our children.I have talked to my children and I have told them to be friends with everyone and like everyone no matter if they are gay or lesbian or a transsexual. Love conquers all not hate! Speechless left me speechless because I cried and I laughed but this was such a moving book that I am donating a copy to my children's high school for everyone to read.

Remember HATE + HATE= HATRED
BUT LOVE + LOVE= LOVE ...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle-books, arc-book-read

This is the first book I have read by Harrington even though I own her other one I have never had the chance to read it. I definitely think I will be reading it soon after having read this one.

Chelsea, while not a totally loveable character at first, really was realistic. I have known girls just like her, girls who let anything fly out of their mouths without considering what the consequences would be to other people. Without considering how hurtful gossip can be, even little things.

And even th This is the first book I have read by Harrington even though I own her other one I have never had the chance to read it. I definitely think I will be reading it soon after having read this one.

Chelsea, while not a totally loveable character at first, really was realistic. I have known girls just like her, girls who let anything fly out of their mouths without considering what the consequences would be to other people. Without considering how hurtful gossip can be, even little things.

And even though I think Chelsea was pretty selfish in the beginning, I think that coming clean and telling someone what happened the night of the fateful incident, was the right thing to do and I think it took courage. Courage that a lot of girls her age and in her situation wouldn't of had.

Chelsea had a lot to deal with. Things that were her fault and things that were the consequences of her actions, whether some of those actions were good or bad, she dealt with a lot of crap from others and none of it could have been easy.

I do think that the extremes that Chelsea went to to make up for her mistakes ( a vow of silence) was a little much, but again, I think she was doing it for the right reasons.

I know a lot of people didn't really like Chelsea but for whatever reason I found myself liking her.

She grew a lot throughout this book. She made mistakes but she learned from them and she changed. She could have been bitter about all that happened to her and all that she thought she lost, but she didn't. Instead she took it and she made herself be a better person because of it.

She ended up having some really great people along the way help her, to see what real friendship is and what it truly means to be a friend.

I think there were a lot of lessons in this book that a lot of people can learn from about watching what we say and realizing everyone is a person, with feelings and how our actions and words can truly hurt others. But our actions and words...they can lift others up too. They heal and they can love.

I rarely use quotes in my reviews unless they really stand out to me and this one did, so I think I will end my review with it.

“Hate is..it's too easy. Love. Love takes courage.”-Noah. ...more

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May 24, 2012 Rabiah rated it it was amazing

Originally posted at: http://iliveforreading.blogspot.sg/20...

After reading Hannah Harrington's Saving June, I've fallen in love with her writing. She manages to make an absolutely gorgeous story, while still making it so easy to read and relatable to teens. I always manage to connect with her stories and her characters, and that's something I find that comes up with each book (well, the two I've read so far) that she writes.

I was slightly reminded of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, because of t Originally posted at: http://iliveforreading.blogspot.sg/20...

After reading Hannah Harrington's Saving June, I've fallen in love with her writing. She manages to make an absolutely gorgeous story, while still making it so easy to read and relatable to teens. I always manage to connect with her stories and her characters, and that's something I find that comes up with each book (well, the two I've read so far) that she writes.

I was slightly reminded of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, because of the silence that Chelsea lapses into, after the big secret she blurted out to everyone. Melinda and Chelsea both have similar characters, and I'm pretty sure this is part of the reason I ended up loving her character.
At first, for like probably the first couple of pages, I absolutely hated Chelsea. She was the most superficial person and I just loathed her character. However, I started to change my opinion– and pretty quickly at that. I loved that she had a conscience, and stood up for what was right. As she was silent throughout the whole novel, it was funny to read her thoughts and her reactions towards the different people she interacts with. She's super sarcastic, and such a great main character. Her emotions came through so clearly, and like I said before, it was just a fabulous experience to connect with her character.

The other characters were fantastic as well. There was the super sweet Asha– I love how Indian girls are becoming apart of YA now days It's still a small majority, but with this book and Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer... I hope this trend continues, because they seriously (and I'm not being biased, being Indian and all) add that extra special sauce to the story. And of course there's the absolutely scrum-dilly-dilly-dumpcious SAM. *Swoon* I fell in love with him from the moment his name was mentioned. He's so kind and adorable and loveable and I could probably go on and on and on, but seriously– AMAZING.
I really loved Chelsea's parents as well. That's kind of strange, because generally in YA fiction the parents are usually the ones that the reader ends up hating. In Speechless, Chelsea's parents just so adorable. Her dad's just hilarious and loveable, and while her mom was a bit hard on her at first, she became extremely nice and understanding. I just in general enjoyed the contrast between the two of them.

I also thought the setting was really significant in this novel as well. I loved the sound of Rosie's. It reminded me of Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald. The whole atmosphere of the restaurant and how Chelsea's character grows, and the relationship between her and Sam deepen– it was such a central part to the story.
I was also really thankful when reading this book, because reading about the high school in this book made me appreciate how safe and tolerant the school I currently attend is. Speaking out for LGBT, especially for what happens to Noah and Andy. I think that books like these are really important, because it practically gives a voice to those who are always the victims.

With a fabulous conclusion, Speechless was funny, sweet, powerful and moving. I enjoyed reading Hannah Harrington's sophomore book, and I'm sure every book that's to come by her will be as engrossing. Loved it! ...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Rachel "Rai29" rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

(Originally posted on http://rai29bookreadnreview.blogspot....)

ISBN: 9781921796579
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 268

Saying she’s sorry just isn’t enough . . .

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 ignor ...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Saturnus rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: svenska-swedish, books-i-ve-read-in-swedish, novels, beautiful-covers, books-that-exist-in-sweden, harlequin

I flera år har Chelsea Knot levt i skuggan av bästa vännen Kristen.
Kristen, som ska få all uppmärksamhet.
Kristen, som är populär.
Kristen, som alla gillar.
Och under hela den här tiden har Chelsea ståt bakom henne och skrattat åt hennes skämt, skvallrat över allt hon kan och aldrig tänkt en tanke på att det en dag kunde komma att förändras.

Men under en fest när Chelsea har druckit lite för mycket upptäcker hon Noah i säng med en annan kille, vilket hon direkt måste gå och berätta för Kristen.
Me ...more

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