(Click image to take you to Goodreads)
Format: e-arc
Publishers: Mira Ink
Published: 1st February 2013
Pages: 288
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Main Characters: Chelsea
Date Read: 1st February - 7th February 2013
Rating Given:
Blurb from Goodreads:
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.
Every month Mira Ink send out a newsletter of books to be released and when I saw this one it had me intrigued so I thought I would try and get a review copy from Netgalley which I'm so pleased they accepted my request as it was a very good book.
This cover was one of the reasons why this book intrigued me as the tape across the girls mouth is very different and made me want to know what was the reasoning behind this which I think a book cover should do.
Speechless is a very different book as I haven't read anything like it which I like as books that are similar storylines are predictable but this one not so much. I love that even though the title is called Speechless and the girl doesn't speak it still has a lot to say as it tackles quite a few hard hitting topics. When I fist started it I thought I wasn't going to like it but after a few chapters it really picked up to the point I didn't want to put it down and also had me thinking about it long after I finished. There was a bit of romance in this book and for once I didn't mind that it wasn't the main focus. There was a few things that I felt could have been wrapped up at the end but apart from them I was happy with the ending.
Chelsea started off annoying and I just didn't like the way she was but when her actions turn into trouble she really does grow as a character and I really do feel like her vow helped her to do so as well as some new friends. Asha was one of her first friends who I thought was so sweet and was there for Chelsea. Sam started off not really liking her but we do find out the reason why and it is completely understandable and it also made him seem like a better person because of it. There was also a few other characters that wasn't in it that much but when they were I loved them which where Andy and Noah. Chelsea also had a different friend at the beginning called Kristen and even before anything happened I never liked her as she just wasn't what you would class as a friend.
Overall a very different book that's out there that has you thinking about how you would react in certain characters situations.
Speechless Book Trailer
Interview with Hannah Harrington
What is a typical
writing day for you?
I don’t really have a typical writing day. Sometimes I’ll
write a few thousand words, sometimes it’s only a few hundred. Sometimes
nothing at all. I try to go with the flow on that!
How hard was it to
get your book published? Have you got
any tips for aspiring writers?
The process is different for everyone. I felt like things
sort of fell into place for me, and there’s certainly an amount of luck that
plays into it. My advice for aspiring writers is: Finish something. Whatever it
is, don’t give up on it halfway through and start something else—work through
it to the end. Have people you trust who will give you honest and constructive
feedback. And look for an agent. Agents are necessary!
Who is your favourite
character in Speechless?
This may come as a surprise to people, but my favorite
character is Andy. I felt like he was one of the most vital characters, even if
his role isn’t the biggest. He really gives Chelsea a needed dose of reality,
and he doesn’t sanitize her actions. I always find it fun to write the
character who doesn’t parse words and is more blunt about things. Not only is
it entertaining, but I think it’s a voice that the reader needs to and wants to
hear.
What you are working
on now/next...
I am working on a third novel. It’s too early to go into
detail about it, but it will be another contemporary young adult!
