Speechless

//Speechless// by Hannah Harrington

Chelsea is best friends with Kristen, THE girl at school, the popular queen and Chelsea is her satellite. At a party at Kristen's house, Chelsea gets drunk, stumbles into a room with two boys making out with each other, then outs them to those at the party. Two of the guys are the party beat the crap out of one of the gay boys, putting him into a coma, and the story begins. Chelsea takes a vow of silence, she doesn't want her words to hurt people again. During that vow of silence, Chelsea finds herself and begins to like who she is, discovers new priorities, and develops a new group of friends. I didn't expect to like this book, but I found myself pleasantly surprised. This is a book about getting beyond stereotypes, about finding the treasures within yourself, and finally about developing the courage to love when so many times, hate is easier. I think this would make a nice addition to the list. Sharon Flesher, Nashua High South

“You can be surrounded by people and still be lonely. You can be the most popular person in school, envied by every girl and wanted by every boy, and still feel completely worthless. The world can be laid at your feet and you can still not know what you want from it.”

I had low expectations for this book because it had a pure white cover and the start of the novel had me thinking this was a 'gossip girl' type book. I was wrong.

Yes, there are superficial aspects to some of the characters, but as the book progresses the Chelsea really develops some insights about herself worth discussing. I was also intrigued that the author could portray how much damage is actually done by the act of speaking.

This is a solid 4.5 of 5 stars if you like teenage angst and contemporary fiction. I recommend for book discussion and for the Flume List. ~Kathy Watson, Kimball Library (Atkinson)