Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

From the Publisher

when Annabel, the youngest of three beautiful sisters, has a bitter falling out with her best friend—the popular and exciting Sophie—she suddenly finds herself isolated and friendless. but then she meets owen—a loner, passionate about music and his weekly radio show, and always determined to tell the truth. And when they develop a friendship, Annabel is not only introduced to new music but is encouraged to listen to her own inner voice. with owen's help, can Annabel find the courage to speak out about what exactly happened the night her friendship with Sophie came to a screeching halt?

Publishers Weekly

Annabel Greene, who narrates, lives with her gorgeous sisters in a glass house designed by their architect father, in Dessen's (This Lullaby) familiar suburb of Lakeview. Predictably, the surface perfection masks trouble. Oldest sister Kirsten, "the family powder keg," has left for New York. When middle sister Whitney follows to pursue a modeling career, the two clash, and Whitney returns home with a full-blown eating disorder. Their mother, Grace, operates in what Annabel wryly calls the "default Greene family mode," pretending everything is just fine. Annabel, who inherited this trait, nevertheless begins her junior year as a pariah. Flashbacks reveal that her unwanted status is the result of something that happened with the boyfriend of her ex-best friend, a vicious girl who believes "everyone had a place and it was her job to make sure you knew yours." What moves this story beyond problem novel fare is Dessen's nuanced characters, especially hulking Owen, another outcast who, in befriending Annabel, reminds her not to judge by appearances, while steeping her in his eclectic musical tastes. Annabel sharply observes everyone's blinders, including most of her own-with one disturbing exception. The heroine paints her problem as social ostracism, when really the situation is much more serious. But since Annabel "[doesn't] do confrontations," she swallows the truth until her attacker victimizes someone else. Comparisons to Melinda, the heroine of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, are inevitable. Dessen packs a lot into this novel, perhaps too much; but Annabel and Owen's finely limned connection alone gives this novel staying power. Ages 12-up (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Deborah Taylor - Children's Literature

Annabel Green is a girl that seems to have it all: looks, an afterschool modeling job, a loving family. Nevertheless, an ugly accusation by her former best friend and her older sister's eating disorder threaten to unravel her "perfect worlds" at school and at home. Sarah Dessen has crafted a compelling look at the two most important units in the lives of teen girls: school and families. The interplay of parents who want so desperately for everything to be fine that they turn a blind eye to all the signs is richly realized. The difficult dance of the sisters is also realistically portrayed. Once again, Owen, one of the central characters is a sweet, sensitive male with a love for music that that he uses to help Annabel connect with her authentic self. Dessen manages to create characters that feel as if they could step off the page and into real life. 2006, Viking/Penguin, Ages 14 up.

Ed Goldberg - VOYA

High school junior and part-time model Annabel hides her loneliness behind her beautiful face. Her friendship with manipulative, vengeful, but popular Sophie caused a rift with her best friend, Clarke. Now Sophie will not speak to her. What Sophie thought happened between Annabel and Will, Sophie's boyfriend, at last June's end-of-school party was not what really took place, but Annabel feels that she cannot tell anyone the truth. Her sister's anorexia is enough for her family to deal with. Sophie will not listen, and Clarke avoids her. On the first day of school, Annabel sits alone during lunch on the courtyard wall near outcast Owen, who was arrested for beating someone up. Obliviously listening to music every day, Owen soon becomes her friend. He sees past Annabel's fatade, finding the real Annabel and expecting her to live up to her true self. When Sophie's friend Emily, also a model, is accosted by Will, she files charges. Will it force Annabel to come to grips with her past and her present? Dessen's books are engrossing, each one better than its predecessor, and her prose is smooth. Teens will relate to this story about a girl feeling isolated from family and friends. The characters are real-some quirky, some manipulative, some weak, some strong. Annabel's family dynamics will strike a familiar chord with many readers. Music is a major and welcome element in many of this author's works. Dessen weaves a sometimes funny, mostly emotional, and very satisfying story. VOYA CODES: 5Q 5P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2006, Viking, 384p., Ages 12 to 18.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Annabel Greene seemingly had everything: cool friends, close family, good grades, and a part-time modeling career in town. But it all came crashing down, and Annabel has spent the summer in shaky, self-imposed exile. She finds herself dreading the new school term and facing, well, everyone again. The last thing she wants to do is revisit old friendships-while the losses are painful, the secrets behind the rifts are almost unbearable. Her solid family seems fragile, too. What happened to cause the stiff silences and palpable resentments between her two older sisters? Why is no one in her loving but determinedly cheerful family talking about her middle sister's eating disorder? Annabel's devastating secret is revealed in bits and snatches, as readers see her go to amazing lengths to avoid confrontation. Caught between wanting to protect her family and her own struggles to face a devastating experience, Annabel finds comfort in an unlikely friendship with the school's most notorious loner. Owen has his own issues with anger, but has learned to control it and helps her realize the dangers of holding in her emotions. Dessen explores the interior and exterior lives of her characters and shows their flaws, humanity, struggles, and incremental successes. This is young adult fiction at its best, delving into the minds of complex, believable teens, bringing them to life, and making readers want to know more about them with each turn of the page.-Roxanne Myers Spencer, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

An easily digestible tale about a 17-year-old model who, despite her recent back-to-school clothing commercial, isn't really "[t]he girl who has everything." Annabel secretly wants to quit modeling; one of her sisters has an eating disorder; and their mother's past depression makes expressing any unhappiness feel risky. Underneath Annabel's silence is a secret from the previous spring, a secret that astute readers will decode early on. It's the reason she's a social outcast and it makes her cling extra hard to fake cheerfulness. Oddball schoolmate Owen cracks her shield with candor and music, and Annabel learns to speak her own truth. Readers may be disappointed that after so much buildup to the moments of truth-telling (one to her family, one to Owen), we're not privy to the scenes. Despite dark issues, the overall tone is mild. Dessen's characterizations are glib, each metaphor and major point made explicit. Not deep, but absorbing and enjoyable. (Fiction. YA)

Product Details

• Interviews & Essays

Interviews & Essays

I've always loved music, although I can't say I'm anywhere near as knowledgeable---or obsessive---as Owen is in the book. I have to say, though, that when I got an iPod a few years back, it did change the way I thought about, and experienced, music. It wasn't just a car or radio thing anymore: you could take it anywhere, and so easily, and have a soundtrack to just about everything. A lot of this book grew out of that.

Annabel feels like an outcast in her school. Did you ever feel this way in high school?

I did. I think it's pretty normal, actually, to feel out of place at times. It happens to everyone, even the people you think have the "perfect" life, with all the friends and boyfriends you don't. That's what was so interesting to me about Annabel. She was the kind of girl---beautiful, popular, successful---that I would have thought had it made in high school. But even the girl who seems perfect has problems, and Annabel is no exception.

What would you like readers to learn from Annabel? What about Owen?

The quote at the beginning of the book is "The best way out is always through," and to me, that's the main theme of the story, for both Annabel and Owen. Owen, of course, already knows this is true, but Annabel has to learn it, and it's not easy. In high school, and even now, I have a tendency to back off from things that make me nervous, or uncomfortable, or downright scared. But if you avoid, the problem only gets bigger and harder to deal with: sometimes, it's best to just take a deep breath and push on through. It might not be easy, but at least it will be over, eventually.

Even if you attended high school post-1970s there is at least one Zeppelin song that will trigger a few high school memories. What is it about Led Zeppelin and high school?

Isn't that crazy? I totally associate Led Zeppelin with high school. Maybe it's because when you're younger, you just don't have that much contact with their music: I mean, it's not usually the sort of thing you hear at the doctor's office or in elevators. For me, Led Zeppelin is an adolescent rite of passage, like prom and your first real relationship. You've just got to have it to make it all count.

Owen has a very eclectic taste in music. What kind of music do you listen to? Do you have a favorite song?

I listen to all kinds of music. I'm famous for making mix CDs that jump from ABBA to Tom Waits with no time to adjust in between. I used to actually be more self conscious about the music I liked, because so many of my friends were into more alternative stuff. They'd come over for parties and pick through my collection, saying, "Oh, my God, is this the SPICE GIRLS?" And I'd just die. But over time, I've come to realize that's the great thing about music: there is no right or wrong. You love what you love, and you don't have to explain or justify it to anyone.

As far as a favorite song, it would be impossible to pick: it changes almost daily. But if forced to choose, I'd say "Blind Love," by Tom Waits, although by the time I finish writing this sentence I'll probably have thought of another one.

What is the one book that has most influenced you most throughout your life?

Again, it's so hard to pick just one! I will say that when I was about twelve, my mom gave me a book called Coming Attractions by Fannie Flagg. I read about twenty pages into it and thought, 'I want to write a book like this some day." I had never had that thought before, but I never forgot it. It was the first time I ever realized I wanted to be a writer. I still have the book, this dog-eared paperback, on my shelf.

What adjectives would you use to describe Just Listen?

I guess the first word that comes to my mind is complex. When I started the book, I had this one idea, that I wanted to write about a girl who appeared perfect but was keeping a secret. It seemed simple...at first. But then, once I got going, I realized there was a lot more to it: not just her story, but her family's, and this boy she met, and how they all tied back to the things she thought she couldn't say. I like to think the book is hopeful, as well, and maybe even a bit funny, in places. Right now, though, the main adjective to me is done, because it is. Now it's up to the rest of the world to decide what it means to them.