Chelsea has always had a problem keeping her mouth shut and loves to gossip. She can’t help it. Once she hears something, without ever thinking twice, she must tell it to someone. She is part of the popular crowd, attending all the school parties with the most revered kids at school. Karma catches up to her when, drunk at a party, Chelsea inadvertently catches two boys in a compromising position while trying to find a bathroom. In shock and having drunk way too much, she runs downstairs and spills a secret that will create an almost unstoppable wave of destruction. Her revelation leads to an attack that leaves one of her schoolmates in a coma and two of her friends accused of the crime. Feeling like the right thing to do now is tell her parents, her confession leads to being labeled a snitch. At school her locker is repeatedly defaced, her car is egged and her former best friends will no longer acknowledge her. Chelsea decides to take a vow of silence. Finding strength in silence she discovers there are others who believe she did the right thing and that sometimes the people you think you have nothing in common with turn out to be the people who know you best.
Speechless is more than just a novel about a girl who chose to take a vow of silence; it’s a novel about accepting yourself, being brave, facing your fears, coming of age and becoming a better person.