Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Release Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: NetGalley
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

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.

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!

If you like this, try...

• Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett ● Goodreads
• Just Listen by Sarah Dessen ● Goodreads
• Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald ● Goodreads

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Release Date: November 22, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: NetGalley
Buy: Amazon ❘ The Book Depository
Goodreads ◆ Website

‘If she’d waited less than two weeks, she’d be June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn’t consider that.’

Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.

When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going, California.

Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.

Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.

Going into this book I had no idea what to expect– but in the end I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Granted, I'm a person who is easily content with the books I read, but I really didn't look at the blurb for this one, so I had no real idea of what the story was going to be like.

Harper was a great character– totally the opposite of June, as you'd have guessed. She has that whole badass thing working for her, yet her emotions through the novel are so well played out, her whole struggle with accepting her sister's dead and respecting her wishes makes the reader empathic to her problem.
Laney is another great character. Harper's friend is much more bubbly, open and adventurous than she is (which is what you'd usually expect from the "sidekick" to be honest!) and she's just such a great support, and she has her own little story as well, which I thought blended into the plot very well.
Oh. My. God. JAKE! I'm flipping out right now from over-fangirling. He. Is. PERFECT. Love him. Love his love for music, and since I've always had this thing for musicians, he's even more than perfect.

Speaking of music, there is a TON on the road-trip which these three characters take. I'm absolutely smitten with some of them, and I made an entire playlist for songs to get from this book. Completely inspirational :)
Honestly, I have no idea what took me so long to get to this book. I feel kind of like an idiot right now, reading it so long after it published. Seriously, I'm beating myself up about this, because I'm so full of regret at the moment.

Even though it seemed like a typical young adult contemporary, Saving June is far from that. It's deep– it's got that raw deep emotion in it, which preys on the hearts of humans, evoking tears and laughter. Hannah Harrington has written a brilliant debut, and I can't wait to start on Speechless!

If you like this, try...

• Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard ◆ Goodreads
• Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett ◆ Goodreads