In honor of National Anti-Bullying Awareness month and Teen Reading Week, which was celebrated last week, we’re talking about Speechless by Hannah Harrington, a young adult novel about bulling. This tour, hosted by Kismet Book Tours, is also in partnership with Love is Louder.
The Love is Louder movement was started when the Jed Foundation, MTV and actress Brittany Snow decided to do something to help those feeling mistreated, misunderstood or alone. Now hundreds of thousands of people around the world have joined the Love is Louder movement and are using their actions to make their communities and schools better places for everyone. Come join the Love is Louder movement with us. Get started now at LoveisLouder.com/SPEECHLESS
Check out Jessica's Speechless review, and learn about her Speechless moment below...
I’ve always been very talkative. My parents don’t know my official first word
because I used to “talk” incessantly in a language that was all my own, and
somehow I went from that to speaking in full sentences seamlessly (though they
claim my first understandable sentence was, “Omigosh! ET!”). In addition to my chatterbox ways, I’ve also
always been a terrible secret-keeper. As
soon as I hear the words, “You can’t tell anyone this but…” I immediately feel
the need to tell anyone what I’ve
just been told. I just assumed it was
part of my nature and did nothing to quell that urge.
Flash forward to my freshman year of high school. I’m at an early morning marching band
rehearsal, and my friend who marches next to me (let’s call him Boy) tells me a
teeny secret: he has a crush on another band member (we’ll call her Girl). Boy asks that I not tell anyone about the not-even-fully-fledged
feelings he has for Girl, and I nod.
Of course, we step onto the practice field, and a friend who
marches on my other side (I call her Red) asks what Boy told me. Without any hesitation, I immediately spill
Boy’s secret. She gasps and giggles,
which draws the attention of the person marching on Red’s other side. I think
you might see where this is going. By
the end of our first song, the entire marching band knows of Boy’s crush on
Girl, thanks to a wickedly fast game of Telephone and my big mouth.
There was no epic fallout for Girl and Boy from the
moment. Girl told Boy, very nicely, that
she was flattered but she didn’t return the feelings. As I said earlier, his feelings weren’t
overwhelming, and he was able to move on quickly enough. They may have been embarrassed, but they
didn’t hold a grudge, as I’m still on friendly terms with both of them. What did happen after this, though, was that
everyone became extra wary of me. I was
well-known in my social circles for years as the Worst Secret-Keeper This Side
of the County, and my own friends didn’t feel that they could fully trust
me. Which pretty much sucked.
I learned a valuable lesson that day, one that I carry with
me still. You never know the power your
words can hold, even the seemingly harmless ones, until you see them in
action. I consider myself lucky that
this didn’t explode into something more hurtful, like what Chelsea deals with
in Speechless. I’m grateful I didn’t lose those friendships
due to my silly need to blab everything.
I learned the value of knowing which secrets should be kept and which
shouldn’t. It took a few years and more
than a few closed-mouth incidents, but I’ve shed my blabbermouth persona for a
more trustful one. Anyone can now feel free to share your secrets with me, because with me is
definitely where they’ll stay.
Speechless
by Hannah Harrington
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.
Hannah Harrington resides in Michigan with one dog and too many cats. When she isn’t busy writing like a crazy person, she enjoys arguing about politics, watching documentaries, playing guitar (very badly) and speaking about herself in the third person. She released her debut novel Saving June in December 2011 and wowed readers with its intense subject of teen suicide. Her latest novel, Speechless (September 2012), explores the topic of bullying.
Where to find her...
Monday, October 15th - Page Turners
Tuesday, October 16th - Love Is Louder
Wednesday, October 17th - Harlequin Blog
Thursday, October 18th - My 5 Monkeys
Friday, October 19th - The Daily Bookmark
Monday, October 22nd - Wastepaper Prose
Tuesday, October, 23rd - YA Bibliophile
Wednesday, October 24th - The O.W.L.
Thursday, October 25th - In Between
Friday, October 26th - I'm a Book Shark
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I've been wanting Speechless ever since I read the first blurb - it sounds like a powerful novel. <3
ReplyDeleteThank you for the sweet giveaway :)
Mary DeBorde M.A.D.
I thoroughly enjoyed Speechless & I think the Love is Louder campaign has a really great message. It's always nice to see something positive online.
ReplyDeleteI think I sometimes have to take a vow of silence too...my mouth always gets me in trouble. THis was a great post.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much . Speechless sounds looks amazing :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read this book. I think that it's a situation that we can all identify with, though probably to a much less serious extent. Thanks for the giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteTHis book sounds good but sad...hopefully it has a happy ending?
ReplyDelete-JennyC