Effortlessly Reading

My Rating: 3.0 I'm very iffy about my opinion of Speechless. I've heard nothing but good praise for Speechless, but when I started reading it, there was only one word to describe my mood: annoyed. In the beginning, Chelsea Knot was one of those girl everyone hates for a good reason. She's a backstabber, a whiner, a brat, shallow, and worse of all, she doesn't know she's being used by her so-called "friend." I've read enough books about those kinds of people to immediately recognize her for what she is and how she's being used, but not realizing it. Chelsea does change in the end of Speechless, but her bratty attitude from the beginning is always fresh on my mind. I just can't get over it, probably because while I was reading Speechless, I was also working on an assignment for English about gay/lesbian discrimination, namely bullying, which included the well-known Clementi case that was on the news for more than two weeks. Doesn't Chelsea know that what happened to him is whatever could have happened to Noah once she told everyone his secret? Sure, she was drunk, but there is simply no excuse for her behavior. It just makes me want to tug my hair out. I personally think Chelsea deserved to get shunned and get a taste of her own medicine. Luckily, she becomes a better person at the end of the novel or else I would have thrown Speechless across the room twenty times. Despite my bad impression of Chelsea, I have to give Hannah Harrington major credit for the beautifully written book with lots of memorable quotes and reflections. If Chelsea wasn't such an annoying character in the beginning of Speechless, I would have fully embraced the novel instead of continually dropping it because I couldn't stand Chelsea. A lot of Speechless's characters are stereotyped. Kristen is the typical blond, popular, vein girl who gets whatever she wants and goes out on a rampage if she doesn't get it. Derek and Lowell are the brainless jocks that only lives for their sports teams. Asha is that typical unique but cool girl that's smart and likes to knit. Only Sam and Andy are truly refreshing. I will try reading Hannah Harrington's Saving June soon. I have a strong feeling that I'll like that novel better than Speechless as long as the main character isn't shallow and annoying like how Chelsea was in the beginning of Speechless.ohdamnbooks: speechless