An Old Favorite

Title: Just Listen
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking
Date published: 2006
Type of book: Teen fiction (romance, eating disorders, music, rape)

I received this book from/at: Walden Books
My interest in this book is: plot, author

Ideas expressed/message/plot: From book jacket: “Annabel Greene is the girl who has everything. At least that’s who she plays in the commercial for Kopf’s Department Store: top student, popular cheerleader, dazzling prom queen surrounded by friends. In real life, though, Annabel is the girl who has nothing: no best friend since her friendship with mean-but-exciting Sophie ended with malicious rumors flying, no peace at home while her older sister’s eating disorder occupies the family, and no ability to tell anyone what’s on her mind.
And then she meets Owen Armstrong - intense, obsessed with music, and determined to always tell the truth, no matter what the consequences.
Can a girl who hates confrontation find a way to connect with a guy who thrives on it? And can Annabel find the courage to tell what really happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends?”

Favorite characters, quotes/lines: Annabel: I could identify with her inability to say what she really thought or was feeling – I think that is a pressure that many people feel; Owen: I thought he was an interesting character… it isn’t often that people, in books and in reality, are honest and straightforward, he was good for Annabel; Whitney and Kirsten: I really understood their relationship with one another… it reminded me of me and my younger sister in ways

When I finished this book I felt: Sarah Dessen, once again, doesn’t fail. I really related to this book, even though I haven’t experienced many of the issues in the book (like rape/assault). The emotions and thoughts of the characters are what readers can relate to.

Other books to read by this author: This Lullaby, The Truth About Forever, Dreamland, Someone Like You, Lock and Key, Keeping the Moon, Along for the Ride (out in June)

I would recommend this book to: all young adult readers!