Just Listen Review

Title:  Just Listen

Author: Sarah Dessen

Publication Date:  2006

Summary of the book:

I’m Annabel,

I’m the girl who has it all.

Model looks, confidence, a great social life. I’m one of the lucky ones aren’t I?

My ‘best friend’ is spreading rumours about me. My family is slowly falling apart. It’s turning into a long, lonely summer, full of secrets and silence.

But I’ve met this guy who won’t let me hide away. He’s one of those intense types, obsessed with music; he’s determined to make me listen. And he’s determined to make me smile. But can he help me forget what happened the night everything changed?

Thoughts: This book is amazing. It’s definitely one of my favourites.  I think the reason why I like this story so much is because I could relate to the protagonist; Annabel, (like Annabel I don’t like confrontations either!) The great thing about this book is that all the characters make mistakes which make the story more realistic, one of my pet peeves is when a character in a story is perfect. I also really liked reading about Owen (the boy who befriends Annabel) and the other characters such as Kirsten, Whitney and even Mallory.

The storyline is really great, we (or at least I was) easily drawn into the trap that Annabel had a perfect life after all she has a modelling job, a social life and is part of the ‘popular crowd’ what didn’t she have? But in this story it shows that her life is anything but perfect despite what others might think. One of my complaints about this story is that like other Sarah Dessen characters Annabel is quiet and somewhat reserved.

All I can say is that I’m really glad I read this book; it seems crazy to think that I had some reservations about buying this book! This is definitely one of my favourite Sarah Dessen books and I would recommend it to anyone who’s looking for something new to read.

Reviews:

“A compelling story and beautifully written,” -Time Out.

“Unputdownable,” –Mizz.

“A poignant coming of age story.” –The Big Issue.

Film Adaptation: There is currently no film adaptation of this book but I can only hope that one day there will be one,  so if there is going to be a film adaptation make sure you read the book first, after all the books are always better than the film.

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