Review Detail

4.5 52

Just Listen

Young Adult Fiction 317

Finding truth through music and friendship

August 09, 2009

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

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Characters

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Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

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Reader reviewed by Adriana

This is my second Dessen book, and I will definitely be reading more. Annabel is the youngest of three sisters who are all or were teen models. But now Annabel is dealing with one of her sister's eating disorders, and the other sister being away in New York pursuing a film making career. But what is really eating Annabel up inside is something that happened at an end-of-the-year party that led to her best friend Sophie hating her. The beginning of the book shows how her and Sophie's friendship evolved, and frankly I was glad that Annabel was rid of her. Sophie is shown as one of those girls who takes on friends that are convenient to her and pretty much thinks only of herself. Along the way of their friendship, Annabel loses a couple more friends because of how Sophie treated them. Once Annabel returns to school she pretty much has no one, until she meets Owen who is the loner that wears his earphones all the time. But behind his quiet exterior, Annabel finds the truth and she finds music. All this leads to her dealing with everything from her own personal trauma, to her sister's anorexia, to her desire to leave modeling behind. The title definitely resonates with the themes in the novel, the language is very authentic, and the problems are unfortunately issues that many teens and families have to deal with. Great read.

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