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jenny_hedberg's review against another edition
4.0
BOOK REVIEW ON JUST LISTEN BY [a:SARAH DESSEN|2987|Sarah Dessen|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1208460253p2/2987.jpg]
Having recently read two other books by Sarah Dessen ([b:This Lullaby|22205|This Lullaby|Sarah Dessen|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1319403077s/22205.jpg|132402] and [b:What Happened to Goodbye|8492856|What Happened to Goodbye|Sarah Dessen|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347810788s/8492856.jpg|13014066]) I decided to read Just Listen, a novel about speaking the truth, no matter how hurtful it might be. The two previous books, most of all This lullaby, had been a bit of a disappointment so in the beginning, Just Listen had a rough time getting to me.
Annabel Greene seems to have everything, the perfect family and the perfect life, but everything is not as it seems. When Annabel's grandmother died, her mother became depressed and in the end it was Annabel and her siblings' modeling that "saved" her. Now, Annabel is the only one of her siblings still modeling and she is reluctant to tell her mother that she wants to quit. She fears that if she do, her mother will fall into depression again. In addition to this, one of Annabel's older sisters, Whitney, has an eating disorder creating a lot of drama in the family and Annabel's friendship with Sophie ended badly. In school, Annabel now spends her lunches alone, apart from the music-loving Owen who never says a word until one day in school Annabel has a confrontation with Sophie with Annabel ending up on the grass barfing. After this Annabel and Owen form a differnent kind of friendship. Owen is deeply obsessed with music; he calls himself enlightened. He runs a radioshow each sunday morning and Annabel ends up listening to it, commenting on the music. Annabel finds that she can be more honest with Owen than she can with other people. Owen is determined to speak nothing but the truth and he wants Annabel to do the same. Annabel finds this hard, she has kept so much to herself these past years, not wanting to trouble anyone.
In the end, I really liked this novel. For me, what usually makes a book good is that you get to know the characters. Well, you certainly get to know both Annabel and Owen, together with both of their families. This novel is highly recommended. Give it a chance even though it seems a bit messy in the beginning, it's worth it!
Having recently read two other books by Sarah Dessen ([b:This Lullaby|22205|This Lullaby|Sarah Dessen|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1319403077s/22205.jpg|132402] and [b:What Happened to Goodbye|8492856|What Happened to Goodbye|Sarah Dessen|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347810788s/8492856.jpg|13014066]) I decided to read Just Listen, a novel about speaking the truth, no matter how hurtful it might be. The two previous books, most of all This lullaby, had been a bit of a disappointment so in the beginning, Just Listen had a rough time getting to me.
Annabel Greene seems to have everything, the perfect family and the perfect life, but everything is not as it seems. When Annabel's grandmother died, her mother became depressed and in the end it was Annabel and her siblings' modeling that "saved" her. Now, Annabel is the only one of her siblings still modeling and she is reluctant to tell her mother that she wants to quit. She fears that if she do, her mother will fall into depression again. In addition to this, one of Annabel's older sisters, Whitney, has an eating disorder creating a lot of drama in the family and Annabel's friendship with Sophie ended badly. In school, Annabel now spends her lunches alone, apart from the music-loving Owen who never says a word until one day in school Annabel has a confrontation with Sophie with Annabel ending up on the grass barfing. After this Annabel and Owen form a differnent kind of friendship. Owen is deeply obsessed with music; he calls himself enlightened. He runs a radioshow each sunday morning and Annabel ends up listening to it, commenting on the music. Annabel finds that she can be more honest with Owen than she can with other people. Owen is determined to speak nothing but the truth and he wants Annabel to do the same. Annabel finds this hard, she has kept so much to herself these past years, not wanting to trouble anyone.
In the end, I really liked this novel. For me, what usually makes a book good is that you get to know the characters. Well, you certainly get to know both Annabel and Owen, together with both of their families. This novel is highly recommended. Give it a chance even though it seems a bit messy in the beginning, it's worth it!
protoman21's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it...it touched on some tough issues without being preachy...it felt real.
freadomlibrary's review
5.0
Disclaimer: It's been three years since I read this, I'm sharing my notes from that time.
TW: eating disorders, sexual assault
Critically
Plot - 4 out of 5 stars
slow, day to day life of our main character, intense, powerful, realistic
Writing Style - 4 out of 5 stars
powerful, heartfelt, honest, real, sensitive, personal, emotional
Characters - 5 out of 5 stars
Annabel: passive, keeping the peace, honest, open
Owen: honest, brave, open, unique, walks to his own beat
Supporting characters are amazing, powerful
Emotionally
The plot was emotional. We meet Annabel after a big falling out with her best friend and she's now isolated and friendless. She meets Owen and he opens her eyes to music and how to be true to yourself. I find contemporary plots hard to explain because they tend to depict real life and this one is saturated with that kind of plot. We see the life of a family during tough times, of a girl who doesn't know where or who to turn to. This book deals with an eating disorder, rape, friendship, family, what it means to be truly honest and why it's important to speak up. Honestly, this book means a lot to me.
Annabel started off really shy and withdrawn. She just let other people's happiness be more important then her own. Slowly, her character grew and she realized her worth and that she matters and that being honest is vital. She opened up and shared with the people she loved and it moved me, guys. (I'm writing this two years later and it feels like just yesterday).
Owen was really sweet. I loved his character and his attitude. He just brought a lot of lightness and positivity into the book and it was definitely needed. Whitney, Annabel's sister is another one of my favorite characters. She's super strong and resilient. Kiersten was really funny and entertaining.
TW: eating disorders, sexual assault
Critically
Plot - 4 out of 5 stars
slow, day to day life of our main character, intense, powerful, realistic
Writing Style - 4 out of 5 stars
powerful, heartfelt, honest, real, sensitive, personal, emotional
Characters - 5 out of 5 stars
Annabel: passive, keeping the peace, honest, open
Owen: honest, brave, open, unique, walks to his own beat
Supporting characters are amazing, powerful
Emotionally
Spoiler
This is the first Sarah Dessen book I ever read and I loved it so much!The plot was emotional. We meet Annabel after a big falling out with her best friend and she's now isolated and friendless. She meets Owen and he opens her eyes to music and how to be true to yourself. I find contemporary plots hard to explain because they tend to depict real life and this one is saturated with that kind of plot. We see the life of a family during tough times, of a girl who doesn't know where or who to turn to. This book deals with an eating disorder, rape, friendship, family, what it means to be truly honest and why it's important to speak up. Honestly, this book means a lot to me.
Annabel started off really shy and withdrawn. She just let other people's happiness be more important then her own. Slowly, her character grew and she realized her worth and that she matters and that being honest is vital. She opened up and shared with the people she loved and it moved me, guys. (I'm writing this two years later and it feels like just yesterday).
Owen was really sweet. I loved his character and his attitude. He just brought a lot of lightness and positivity into the book and it was definitely needed. Whitney, Annabel's sister is another one of my favorite characters. She's super strong and resilient. Kiersten was really funny and entertaining.
astraia_sun's review against another edition
4.0
All in All I liked this story a LOT better than the Moon and More. I really enjoyed reading the relationship between Annabel and Owen, and I did like how her relationship with her sister Whitney grew. I would have liked to read even more about them, actually.
My big criticism is that I didn't like how the (multitudinous) flashbacks were handled. We'd open a scene in a grocery store, Annabel would think about either the night before, or years before, and then all of a sudden we'd pop back into the grocery store where I'd forgotten she'd been at the start of the chapter. It was really jarring and confusing.
I don't think this is any groundbreaking, insightful work, but it is a nice story. Owen's dogged passion for music was very amusing to me (who has a dogged passion to music). He is a bit of a music snob, which I was in high school, though I've certainly mellowed in my adulthood. It read very true to the other music snobs I knew in high school so that bit really made me smile. I wish music had been a bit more evident in Annabel's personality/character. All we really heard about her feelings on music were in her conversations with Owen and a little bit at the end. But maybe that's just because I'm a musician and it's part of my everyday life.
The plot reminded me a lot of Speak, too.
My big criticism is that I didn't like how the (multitudinous) flashbacks were handled. We'd open a scene in a grocery store, Annabel would think about either the night before, or years before, and then all of a sudden we'd pop back into the grocery store where I'd forgotten she'd been at the start of the chapter. It was really jarring and confusing.
I don't think this is any groundbreaking, insightful work, but it is a nice story. Owen's dogged passion for music was very amusing to me (who has a dogged passion to music). He is a bit of a music snob, which I was in high school, though I've certainly mellowed in my adulthood. It read very true to the other music snobs I knew in high school so that bit really made me smile. I wish music had been a bit more evident in Annabel's personality/character. All we really heard about her feelings on music were in her conversations with Owen and a little bit at the end. But maybe that's just because I'm a musician and it's part of my everyday life.
The plot reminded me a lot of Speak, too.
morgybritt's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book its one of my favorites of all time, reading this I fell in love with Owen, I might read this again very soon.
rubigp7's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
shareen17's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this author's writing style. She reminds me of Jodi Picoult for teens. I would have liked this story more if the book wasn't so much like Speak, where the character doesn't need a boyfriend to help her learn to communicate and speak up for herself.
isabella1018's review against another edition
5.0
My first Sarah dessen book, and defiantly not my last.
I love how in this book we go into previous scenes that have taken places months or even years before.
It helps to understand the characters.
I love Owen. Wow.
Such a great book, and if your looking to read Sarah dessen, this is a great start.
I love how in this book we go into previous scenes that have taken places months or even years before.
It helps to understand the characters.
I love Owen. Wow.
Such a great book, and if your looking to read Sarah dessen, this is a great start.