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November 02, 2012

Interview with Hannah Harrington!

We are very pleased to welcome Hannah Harrington to our blog today! It was last year when I first read a book by Hannah Harrington. The book I read was Saving June, and it was actually Hannah's debut novel! I really loved Saving June, and from that day on, I always kept an eye open for her next book! This year, her book Speechless was out! If you haven't read any of her books, you are surely missing out! Now, read below to get to know more about Hannah Harrington and her books!


Hannah Harrington is a 25-year-old born and bred Michigander. She grew up in the town of East Grand Rapids before later moving to the Lansing area, where she currently resides with three cats and a black labrador, all of whom are named after famous musicians. Saving June, Hannah's first novel, was published by Harlequin Teen in 2011. Her next novel, Speechless, will be released in the US on August 28th, 2012. 
‘If she’d waited less than two weeks, she’d be June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn’t consider that.’
Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going, California.
Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.

Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secretUntil 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.

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.  


1)   Describe yourself in a tweet (140 characters)
Cynical idealist writer with too many animals!

2)   Do you collect anything other than books?
I’m not really a big collector. I do like adding to my vinyl record collection. There’s a record store near me that sells them for cheap, so I like to go and buy a bunch at once, and if I’m in another city and find a record store, I always end up picking up a new album!

3)  When did you decide that you wanted to be a writer? And have you ever thought of another career?
I have always loved fiction writing, ever since I was a kid. All through elementary school, and through high school, I was the girl carting around spiral notebooks and writing in them furiously! I didn’t really have a strong goal of becoming a published author back then, though. I went through a lot of phases as to what I wanted to be when I grew up—a film director, a horse trainer, something in social work… but I am very, very happy to have ended up being lucky enough to call myself an author!
 
4)  Give me your top 3 favorite YA books you have read. 
This list changes all the time! Off the top of my head, I’ll say: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn, and The Possibility of Fireflies by Dominique Paul.

5)  What does your workplace look like? Is it messy? Please provide pictures if possible
I have a desk set up and I keep it pretty clutter-free… looking at it right now, there’s my computer, the desk chair, two bottles of water, a candle and flashlight on the top shelf (not sure why I put them there…), a coffee mug, my copy of To Kill A Mockingbird, a copy of Speechless, my Moonbeam Award gold medal I received for Saving June hanging off the side of the desk, and a sign that says “I’ve Stopped Listening, Why Haven’t You Stopped Talking?” tacked up over a little shelf door.

6)  How did you come up with the idea of Saving June and Speechless?
Saving June was an idea I’d come up with while I was in high school. Part of it was inspired by my own experiences, part of it was inspired by the idea of a cross-country road trip… it was a mish-mash of things! As for Speechless, I just had the random idea of someone taking a voluntary oath of silence, and from there the story fell into place.
 
7) What do you do in your free time?
I’m a pop culture junkie, I watch a lot of television, and I love watching films too. I play a little guitar and enjoy it. I have a lot of pets, and they end up taking up a fair amount of my time since they’re always demanding my attention!

8) What was the last movie you watched?
Like I said, I watch a lot of movies! Today I watched two: Capote, which I’ve seen multiple times before but really love. Philip Seymour Hoffman is one of the greatest actors alive, and it’s just a really compelling film. I also watched a movie I hadn’t seen before, The Five Year Engagement with Jason Segel and Emily Blunt—it was very funny and sweet, I definitely recommend it!
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Thanks so much Hannah Harrington for having an interview with MajiBookshelf! Hope everyone enjoyed this as much as we did!

15 comments:

  1. I really want to read Speechless soon, it's interesting that some of Saving June was based on her own experiences :) Great interview!

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  2. I love Saving June and Speechless so it's really great to learn something about the brain behind them. Fantastic interview Farah!

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  3. I LOVED LOVED Saving June and Speechless!!! I have too many animals too which are becoming a huge expense and they do take a lot of time too. I don't really collect anything other than book either. I love watching TV although reading is taking up more of my television time lately. I really enjoyed The Give Year Engagement. It was funny! Thanks for the interview!

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  4. Hannah is definitely one of my favorite authors! I LOVED Saving June and Speechless and I've been recommending it to everyone I meet :P This was a great interview. Thanks so much for sharing! I'm really looking forward to more books by Hannah.
    Hira

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  5. This is the reply to the comment Juhina posted on my Manga Crush post:
    You definitely should! Kaichou wa Maid-sama is really amazing!
    I haven't read Ouran, but I have watched the anime (half of it). I didn't like it that much. But yeah, there are a few similarities like Haruhi and Misaki are both tom-boy-ish. But the story line is totally different!
    When you do read this one, do let me know what you think about it! :D
    Hira

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  6. Great post!! I haven't read any of her books yet, but I have Speechless and plan to get to it soon! I need to buy Saving June too because it just sounds amazing!

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  7. I haven't read any of her books yet, but I'm planning to give Saving June a try soon! Great interview :D Thanks for sharing!

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  8. I haven't read any of Hannah's favorite books, but I think I'm going to check them out - Stargirl sounds like a great-read! And wow, a clutter-free workspace? That's just awesome!! Thanks for the interview :)

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  9. I really liked Saving June - I still need to pick up Speechless but I'm pretty sure it's just as good as SJ was. :) Thanks for this fab interview, girls!

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  10. Great post girl, Im hoping to read one of her books soon. I actually got Speechless and Saving June here, just need time to do so. xxx

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  11. I LOVE this interview, ladies! It's so entertaining and informative. Saving June was relatively good, although I didn't love it because of some personal reservations I had, but Speechless on the other hand.. *faints* I ADORED it. Certainly one of my favourite novels of the year, hands down. :)
    Thank you for sharing this wonderful post!

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  12. Great interview, you guys! I learned more about Hannah Harrington. I've also read Speechless and it's fantastic but I've yet to read Saving June. Guess who's looking for a copy right now? Heh. :p

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  13. Aww this is a brilliant review ladies! I love it! I adored Harrington's Speechless and Saving June so loved getting to know about where her ideas came about. Thanks for sharing this interview with us! :)

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  14. Brilliant interview! I have yet to read both books, but I am looking forward to starting them. I have Saving June so I think it will be really interesting when I read it knowing it is related to the author's experiences in some way. And a woman after my own heart....I watch TV on my free time too! LOL ;p Great minds "act" like! :)

    Thanks for sharing a fantabulous post! :D

    ~ Maida @ Literary Love Affair

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  15. I really want to read both Saving June and Speechless :) They both look awesome! And nice interview.

    Janina @ Synchronized Reading

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