If you’ve read any others of hers, feel free to recommend which one I should try next. I will likely seek out another Sarah Dessen book in the future. I could easily picture most of them as the protagonists of their own interesting story. Dessen’s minor and background character feel like they’ve been ‘in motion’ all along and we are just catching pieces of their trajectory as they cross Annabel’s story. The background actors wait until Truman (unaware that he is the star of a reality show) wanders into their part of the set and then they snap into motion. Sometimes novels are like the fake town Sea Haven in the movie The Truman Show. I know that I fall into that trap myself, casting a bland pall over my conversations and missing opportunities for real interaction.Īnd bravo to Dessen for the fleshed-out characterizations in Just Listen! I was particularly impressed with her handling of minor characters.

She says what is nice, but not what is true. Annabel has been used to holding back and telling people what she thinks they want to hear, as opposed to giving her honest opinion. Owen is committed to always telling the truth, and pushes Annabel to tell him what she really thinks. Much better!Īlthough I am in my late twenties, I definitely identified with one of the main themes of Just Listen. So, to save the book from unfair detriment, I put a hold on the ‘regular’ book version and finished out my reading in that format. Also, the reader seemed to give unnecessarily poetic emphasis to solid, but workaday sentences and this seemed silly to my ears. The reader’s interpretation of Mallory, Owen’s fashion-crazy little sister, was hilarious but I disliked her voicing of Owen.

I actually checked out the audio-book format first. However, bloggers have consistently praised Sarah Dessen’s books and a review from Ana at Things Mean A Lot finally pushed Just Listen onto my to-read list. Usually my forays into young adult literature stick to fantasy and dystopian novels.

It doesn’t help that Annabel’s family has had a rough couple of years with her mother’s depression, her sister Whitney’s depression, and Annabel’s increasing reluctance to continue her part-time modeling work.Ī burgeoning friendship with fellow outcast and avid music lover Owen Armstrong promises to shake up Annabel’s outlook on her life, if only she will let herself open up to it. Recommendation from: Ana from Things Mean A LotĪnnabel used to be friends with popular Sophie, but the beginning of a new school year finds Annabel a scorned outcast for reasons kept a mystery until later in the book.

Just listen by sarah dessen