Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Release Date: August 28^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 288

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Source: NetGalley 

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 had fallen in love with Hannah Harrington’s writing in Saving June, probably one of my favorite book last year. Of course, when I heard she had another book coming out this year, I was dying with anticipation. Maybe all that anticipation affected my view of book, maybe I was expecting this new book to be even better than Saving June, but I wasn’t left Speechless by her new book (yes, it was easy. I’m not sorry.) This doesn’t mean I didn’t love the book. There was simply a little something missing, for this book to be really unforgettable.

One thing for sure with Hannah Harrington, she seems to know how to write that you simply can’t put down. I read it in a matter of hours, simply because her characters really get you into the story. You need to know how everything will end for the characters you love, or even those you love to hate. My biggest problem with the book was that I felt like an action that Chelsea seems to be all about the consequences of her words, and how what she said affected people around her. Yet, I found that her vow of silence was a little more selfish than that. I felt like her reaction was brought by how her ex-best friend and all her old gang start treating her after she told the police the truth. That’s probably the one thing that bugged me in the book. Doesn’t mean I didn’t like Chelsea as a main character. I actually loved her, and loved the interaction she has with Sam and Asha.  I really was glad to see Chelsea grow and learn from her mistake, and mature from all she went through. That was part of the good stuff about the book.

Once again, Hannah Harrington’s writing doesn’t fail to impress. This book may not have been as amazing as her debut, but it is still a hell of a book. To me, the one thing that slightly irked me was the feeling I got like I was supposed to see Chelsea’s vow as selfless. Maybe I’m the only one who saw it that way, but I still got that little voice in my head, even days after I’m done, telling me I missed something in the book, because I shouldn’t feel like she was selfish. Yet, I do, and I’ll probably still do in a couple of days. Am I still making sense?

Overall, Speechless was worth reading. If you still haven’t read her debut, you should also check it out, because Hannah Harrington is simply an amazing writer. 

Review: Saving June

Title: Saving June

Author: Hannah Harrington

Series: None

Release Date: November 22^nd, 2011

Number of Pages: 336

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Source: NetGalley

When her older sister commits suicide and her divorcing parents decide to divide the ashes, Harper Scott takes her sister's urn to the one place June always wanted to go: California. On the road with her best friend, plus an intriguing guy with a mysterious connection to June, Harper discovers truths about her sister, herself and life.

This is the kind of book that I find the hardest to really talk about without sounding like a complete idiot. This is the kind of book that leaves me speechless, because it shares the emotions beautifully. It is so easy to sound fake or cheesy when you try to write an emotional book.

This is why I loved this book: I believed in the emotions. I was captivated by Harper’s grief, by her need to do things right for her sister. This is the kind of book that makes me cry.  This is the kind of books that will make you forget about what’s going on around you. This is the kind of books that makes you feel like you know the characters.

Everything was beautifully done for me. I was falling for Jake and all his music knowledge. He was the guy I would want by my side if I had to go through something like that. Still, for me, Harper made the book. She made her way to my heart, even thought she isn’t the most loveable characters. She doesn’t try to be, which is one of the thing that I loved about her. She wasn’t the vulnerable character that you simply feel bad for. Harper impressed me by her strength, without making me feel like didn’t care. It was easy to see that she cared for her sister. Yet, she was able to stay strong through most of the things life threw in her way, because she had to do this one thing for her sister.

This book is the kind of novel that left me speechless, and that made me feel what the main character was feeling without much effort. Yet, it never felt too heavy for me, as Hannah Harrington was able to balance everything to make it the beautiful story that it is.