Book Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Mira Ink (1 Feb 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184845192X
• ISBN-13: 978-1848451926
• 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 is a brilliant new contemporary YA. Speechless will have you cringing, laughing, swooning and everything in between.

Chelsea is best friends with the most popular girl in her school. She goes to all the great parties, crushes on the hottest guy and knows she has to earn her keep if she wants to stay at the top. Chelsea takes her cues from those around her and doesn’t think twice about ruining someones reputation by sharing all the gossip she hears. But when her last secret nearly gets someone killed, Chelsea does some serious life-evaluating. 

After reading an article about vows of silence, Chelsea figures this is best for everyone if she simply stops talking. But people don’t appreciate her silence. Her secret and truths have already been spoke and it’s too late to take them back...no matter how much she is pressured. 

Her friends abandon her. She is verbally attacked in school. No one understands her. Except Sam. Who should, in theory, hate her more than everyone else combined. But Sam takes the time to listen even when she doesn’t say a word. Sam is the one who tries to get Chelsea to forgive herself. It is Sam who shows Chelsea who she really is. 

Speechless concentrates on some really important matters. But it doesn’t lose its quirky and funny voice. I couldn’t put this book down. It was simply brilliant. And I want to reread it, like right now. 

Many thanks to Mira Ink for the copy to review!

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Book Review: Unremembered by Jessica Brody

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books; 1 edition (28 Feb 2013)
• ISBN-10: 1447221125
• ISBN-13: 978-1447221128

Sixteen-year-old Sera is the only survivor of an explosion on a plane. She wakes up in hospital to find that she has no memory. The only clue to her identity is a mysterious boy who claims she was part of a top-secret science experiment. The only adult she trusts insists that she shouldn’t believe anything that anybody tells her. In a tense and pacy novel exploding with intrigue and action, Sera must work out who she is and where she came from. Eventually she will learn that the only thing worse than forgetting her past is remembering it.

When Sera wakes up in hospital, she realises she has absolutely no memory, and no way to answer the question on everyone’s lips: how did she survive the plane crash when no one else did?

Suddenly she is front page news. Everyone wants to know who she is. Including Sera. She doesn’t know who to trust and knows that people around her are lying. A strange boy keeps appearing, insisting she isn’t safe.

Trusting him is like taking a leap of faith and while she cannot deny the pull she has to him, or the familiarity of his words, Sera will come to realise that forgetting is sometimes better than remembering. 

Sera and Zen are two unforgettable characters. I felt almost maternal towards Sera as she struggled to make her way through a world with no memories to aide her. 

Unremembered was a fantastic adventure read with corrupt societies and evil corporations and true love. It will appeal to a broad audience, fans of The Hunger Games and The Bourne Identity will love it. Every page had me guessing and I didn’t anything coming. This is sure to be a brilliant new book series. 

Many thanks to Macmillan's Children's Books for the copy to review. Make sure to check out MyKindaBook for all the best Macmillan news and gossip and bonus material!

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