Review for Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Just Listen

Author: Sarah Dessen

Publisher: Viking Juvenille

Source: Public Library

Challenges: For the Love of YA, 350 page, Library

371 pages

"Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything"—at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store.This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help,maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends."-Goodreads

  Sarah Dessen is a wonderful writer. All her books leave you feeling profoundly changed becaue there is a message underneath each story. And the beautiful thing is that that message can differ from person to person.

I really enjoyed this book. Annabel the main character, has everything, well actually that's only true in the commercial she was in. In reality Annabel is struggling. Her mom is fighting depression, her sister has an eating disorder, her best friend (which I hate for good reason) isn't talking with her, and she has to bottle up all her feelings for fear of disappointing her family. Well, at lest until she meets Owen who is always honest (seriously). I really liked his character. Everyone thinks of him as a bad boy, mysterious, freak. But really he's a kind and caring guy who does have his own struggles. And for Annabel he's her escape, she can tell him how she really feels. He turns out to be a great friend for her (and more in the end--of course). All the characters were believable and real. The plot and setting was excellent too!

The only problem I had was that the reader was almost constantly getting sent back to events of Annabel's past life. It was hard to keep track of the present because sometimes the accounts would go on for almost a whole chapter. Also, there was the teeny issue of swearing. Sophie was terrible. Gosh, that girl was so cruel, I couldn't help but dislike her (but I think that was the point). Other than that I really enjoyed this read. I do suggest trying it out because the writing is great, the plot is good, and Sarah Dessen always leaves you feeling 'filled' so to speak.

Excerpt:

   One open, one closed. It was no wonder that the first image that came to mind when I thought of either of my sisters was a door. With Kirsten, it was the front one to our house, through which she was always coming in or out, usually in mid-sentence, a gaggle of friends trailing behind her. Whitney’s was the one to her bedroom, which she preferred to keep shut between her and the rest of us, always. As for me, I fell somewhere between my sisters and their strong personalities, the very personification of the vast gray area that separated them. I was not bold and outspoken, or silent and calculating. I had no idea how anyone would describe me, or what would come to mind at the sound of my name. I was just Annabel.