Speechless by Hannah Harrington

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.

Speechless was one of those books I practically stalked the postman for! I was so excited to read it! I loved Saving June and couldn’t wait to see what she did with this story.

At the beginning of this story Chelsea Knot was a character I would have gone out of my way to avoid in real life. I just didn’t like her at all. She came across as someone who didn’t think for herself – just did whatever her ‘best’ friend wanted her to do. Of course, in this ‘world’ secrets are a commodity – something to use as a way to make you more popular with the in-crowd. So when Chelsea stumbles across a very big secret she doesn’t think anything of sharing it with everybody. But when it leads to someone getting hurt it makes Chelsea take stock of what she has done and forces her to decide what kind of person she wants to be.

What I loved about this story is the growth in Chelsea’s characters. The fact that she actually takes the risk and reports what she knew made me think she was someone worth getting to know. And over the course of the novel she really evolves as a character – I loved her by the end. Her decision not to speak is understandable too – I can see why she would choose to do this. And it makes for very interesting reading – seeing how people react to her – and seeing what she learns from it.

We are also introduced to some wonderful characters. Asha is bubbly and someone who first thinks Chelsea is worth getting to know. Sam (who I absolutely adored!) – he’s so kind and nice and I loved the scenes he has with Chelsea. The rest of the gang at Rosie’s Dinner –  I loved that place – so warm and inviting. It made me wish it was real and I could go there!

Hannah Harrington has just secured her place on my list of authors to auto-by. I will read anything she writes! Her characters are so realistic and I adore her writing. Brilliant!