Just Listen

Just Listen
SARAH DESSEN

After being caught with her best friend's Sophie's boyfriend at a summer party, Annabel Greene is starting her junior year alone and cut off by all her friends who are disgusted by her behaviour. But its not what it seems, Annabel was almost raped by Sophie's boyfriend. Annabel hasn't and will not tell anyone about the incident (reminding me of speak) . 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? She finds an unlikely friendship with the schools loner, Owen, a DJ at the community radio station who is never without music to drown out the silence. He will be her key to unlocking her voice, and letting people hear the sometimes painful but always true things that she needs to say.

This books is fantastic. I read it about a year ago and I just re read it earlier this month and I fell even more in love with the story. This is a story about a lot of things, from complex family relationships, to the world of modeling to the importance of music, but mostly it's the story of one girl finding her voice.
Annabel has a clear and precise voice in the novel and draws emotion from you easily. I found myself crying at the most random moments- I swear I cried about 5 different times during the novel.If you were a fan of 'Speak' you will absolutely love this book.

Sarah Dessen is the same author who wrote 'Lock and Key'.
Websites of interest:
Amazon
Sarah Dessen's Website

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