Bullying? Sure, but only as a course of response to the other issues going on. Teens and sexuality? Sure, but not so much. I got that part right, but the book actually isn’t so much about the issue of bullying as it is about the issue of gay teens coming out and being outed, teen friendships as a matter of survival, and teens treading very tenuous relationships with one another on a daily basis. Considering it was Harlequin, I figured it would be what we have come to expect from that publisher: raw, uncensored detail. My school had just brought The Bullycide Project to our campus for a performance, so I was interested in what kind of light Harrington might shed on this social issue. What drew me to this particular book was the promotional materials, which touted it as a book about teen bullying.
So, first I had to get over that preconceived notion. Being an “older adult,” my only memories of Harlequin include watching ladies with curlers in their hair read the thin paperbacks at the laundromat mid-week, ignoring the end of the drying cycle until they had finished whatever scene it was that held them so enraptured. Speechless by Hannah Harrington is a young adult novel published by Harlequin Teen.
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