[Review] Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Title: Speechless

Author: Hannah Harrington

Publisher: Harlequin Teen Australia 

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.

I can't really remember how I felt about Hannah Harrington's debut novel, Saving June. That sounds harsh, but it's probably because I read it a year ago so any lingering emotions would probably have long disappeared. Either way, I'm really glad I still went on to read Speechless because it really left me speechless! 

Sorry, couldn't resist.

In all seriousness, this book was great. Even though it deals with tough issues like homosexuality and bullying, I never felt at any point that the story was getting overly intense or preachy. Instead, it was frank, funny, and even kind of fluffy at some parts. (It's a good thing, I'm telling you. Hannah Harrington is a pro at writing adorkable love interests!) I also liked how the premise circled around secrets and being a blabbermouth; it reminded me of Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble series. 

The main character, Chelsea, struck me as an obnoxious, shallow and superficial brat at first, but thankfully this changed pretty quickly. As she began to understand the repercussions of her actions and started trying to make amends, you could tell her heart was in the right place and that was endearing :) Chelsea does a superb job with her Vow of Silence; she stubbornly refuses to talk and communicates through writing instead. Even when she got alot of flak from her supposed best friend and many schoolmates, Chelsea never sunk too deeply into self-pity or despair. And that's why I like her so much-who doesn't like a heroine who can pick herself up? 

I won't go into too much detail in fear of spoiling you too much, but rest assured that all the side characters are all equally likeable, with the exception of the main antagonists. Overall, Speechless is a fascinating combination of diabetes-inducing romance, high school bullying, new friendships, discrimination and self-discovery.