Just Listen

Reader reviewed by safia

At first glance you may take Annabel as the perfect girl--pretty, good grades, a loving family, and even a modeling career. When you see the ads and commercials she's been in, it seems like she's a girl who has everything.

But if you get to know Annabel better, you'll find that she's currently an outcast at school, is struggling to deal with her sister's eating disorder, has wrecked friendships with two of her closest friends, and dislikes her modeling career so much that she wants to quit but can't seem to break the news to her fragile mother.

This is an exquisite novel from Sarah Dessen, my favorite author. It is excellently written and will be sure to capture readers.

Reader reviewed by sara

Last year Annabel Greene was "the girl who had everything" Now, Annabel is the girl who has nothing. no best friend, no lunch group, no happy family.all because her sister became anorexic. The only thing she has is the weight of an enormous secret. Dealing with why she has no best friend. Read it and find out what the secret is.

Reader reviewed by Alexandra

Last year Annabel Greene was "the girl who had everything" -- or at least her character in a department store back-to-school commercial was. Now, Annabel considers herself the girl who has nothing. She has no best friend, no lunch table group, no happy family since her sister became anorexic, nothing. Nothing except the weight of an enormous secret as to exactly why she has no best friend, about what happened the night she went from the girl who had everything to the girl who had nothing. Then she meets Owen Armstrong, a tall, dark, imposing force who sits on her wall at lunch. Owen is a reformed bad boy who is music-obsessed and who always tells the truth. Annabel needs a friend, and Owen could be the perfect person to make her less afraid of herself, the world, and what really happened that night. This novel from renown author Sarah Dessen is impossible to put down, and has moments of both fluff and heaviness-- the perfect combination.

Reader reviewed by Fiona Flamingo

Annabel Greene used to be the girl who had everything. Just like her two older sisters, Annabel is a gorgeous girl who models for local commercials and print advertisements, and she has the clothes to match. She and her best friend Sophie are invited to all the parties. But then, at a party on the last day of school, Sophie sees (or thinks she sees) Annabel messing around with Sophie's boyfriend. Suddenly, Annabel is the girl who has nothing --- no friends, no reputation. She doesn't even have her sisters to rely on; Kirsten is off in New York City, while Whitney, who suffers from an eating disorder, has grown sullen and shut out her entire family.

After a difficult summer, Annabel starts the new school year alone. During her lonely lunch hours, she becomes acquainted with Owen Armstrong, a loner who listens constantly to his MP3 player. Kicked out of school the previous year for getting into fights, Owen is back from his anger management classes with a new dedication to honesty. Accustomed to holding back her true feelings instead of risking hurting herself or others, Annabel is at first taken aback when Owen points out the ways she uses language to evade or avoid expressing her true feelings. As Owen pushes Annabel outside her comfort zone, she slowly begins to change, to discover her authentic identity, to maybe gain the courage to confront what really happened that awful night at the party.

Reader reviewed by sydney

I have just finnished reading this book, and I must say that i really, really enjoyed it. I have already read all of Sarah Dessen's other books, but this one is a little bit different. If you have read more a few of her books you can see that sometimes the books cross-over, mentioning a place that she's used before, etc. But this book really crosses over in bring back places, memories and even some of my personal favourite characters.

I highly recomend this book to anyone who loves a romantic comedy, is a sarah dessen fan or just wants to read a great book.
-sydney

Reader reviewed by Ria

Annabel Greene, a model, starred in one commercial as a girl who has everything. The irony is that she is, in fact, a loner. Annabel was once best friends with Sophie, the most popular girl in school. But something happened that caused them to separate. But Annabel doesn't like to think about that night.

That's not the only problem she has to deal with. Her sister, Whitney, has an eating disorder and that fact is what started a fight between Kirsten, her oldest sister, and Whitney. Her mother tends to be unstable in dealing with problems. And Annabel wants to quit modeling but doesn't know how to tell her mother.

When Annabel meets Owen, she gets a whole new outlook on life. Through music, he helps her deal with her problems and shows her how to confront them.

I thought this book was even better than previous Darah Dessen books. I could not put this book down until the very last sentence. I think that every girl can relate to this book in some way. She really was able to take serious issues and put them together to make a novel that wasn't too heavy, yet got it's point across. The hints of romance were nice to break up the seriousness of the novel. I highly recommend this novel and I will be looking forward to Sarah Dessen's next book!