Chelsea Knott can't seem to keep a secret, no matter what's at stake.

She's been the best friend of high school popularity queen Kristen Courteau for several years and pretty much likes her position. As Kristen's best friend she's invited to all the best parties and gets to hang out with all the most popular kids in school. However, Chelsea's own popularity comes at a price because she tends to be able to ferret out important secrets and use them to her and Kristen's advantage.

Then, one night everything changes. There's a New Year's Eve party at Kristen's while her parents are out of town, and Chelsea has lied to her own parents in order to get to attend. At the party is Brendan, the guy that makes Chelsea's heart thud and puts butterflies in her stomach. She's so thrilled because he's actually paying attention to her. In fact, she's so happy and nervous that she drinks a bit too much.

As she heads into Kristen's guest room to get to the bathroom in there, she accidentally stumbles onto something she was never meant to see. It's such a huge secret that she forgets all about feeling as if she were going to throw up from the alcohol. Instead, she races back downstairs to tell everyone what she's witnessed. Because she does this, someone is nearly killed.

Chelsea is so ashamed of the part she played in the events that unfold that she decides to take a vow of silence. The way she looks at it, if she's not talking, there's no risk that she'll tell anything that will hurt someone. Besides, it's not like she has any friends left. All of her old friends hate her; including Kristen, because of everything that happened, so who does she really have to talk to anyway?

Oddly enough, by not talking, she meets new people that know what she did and don't hate her. Her new friends don't mince their own words with her, but they also are open to forgiving someone when that person is genuinely sorry for doing something wrong. These are people that she never would have looked twice at in her Kristen days, but now she sees the difference between using someone and really being a friend. On top of that, there's someone else that just may want to be her boyfriend if she'll only let him. Who would have thought that the worst mistake of her life would lead to a new and happier life?

SPEECHLESS has a story to tell besides just the obvious one. There are many layers to this plot and each one is as important as the next. Hanna Harrington does an excellent job of getting inside the heads of today's teens right down to the language. It's hard to believe that kids today are so very cruel to each other and that they're allowed to be by the authorities. Ms. Harrington gives her readers a clear look into what goes on today. There are lessons to be learned in SPEECHLESS and they're presented in a rather interesting and entertaining manner. SPEECHLESS will remain with you long after the book is closed.