Thursday, March 1, 2012

Book Review: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

You know, I'm really starting to enjoy Sarah Dessen. So much so, that I think I'm going to go back and read her entire collection. My favorite thing about her books is how she takes one person's crisis and and shows how everyone around that person is experiencing something similar. This is exactly the case in Just Listen. For those of you who haven't read it yet, here is a short summary that I got from goodreads:
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.
Here are three things I loved about the book:
  1. Annabel wasn't perfect. While I was reading about how Sophia and Annabel became friends, I questioned some of the things Annabel did to win her good graces. Even though these things weren't necessarily "right", it made sense. Like a lot of teens, Annabel just wants to fit in, be popular, and not be left in the dust. Sometimes those ambitions can really cloud your judgement.
  2. Even though she did these bad things, I felt terrible during Annabel's shunning. Deep down, I knew Annabel meant well. By the end I was rooting for her so hard.
  3. The secondary plots. The relationship between Annabel and her sisters was interesting to explore. On the one hand you have bubbly Kirsten, and in miserable, brooding Whitney, the complete opposite.

Overall, this was an excellent story that I could see myself re-reading. If you've read other Sarah Dessen books and liked them, this one will not disappoint.

Have you read this book? Tell me what you thought!

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11 comments:

  1. This was a great book! I really like Sarah Dessen's books. A lot!

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  2. This was the 2nd Sarah Dessen book I read, and it's the one that solidified my love for her.

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  3. She writes such wonderful stories, doesn't she? I love all of her books, especially this one.

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  4. I haven't read this book yet, but Sarah Dessen is my hero and my favourite author. Ever since reading my first Sarah Dessen book (The Truth About Forever), I was addidted to her books! Can't wait to read this one!

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