Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Genre: Romance

Paperback: 383 Pages

Published: April 6, 2006

Series: None

Rating: ★★★★

GoodReads:

     Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything" — at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store.
This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong.
Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owens help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

My Review:

            Until now, The Truth About Forever has been my FAVORITE Sarah Dessen book. However, after reading Just Listen I have to say it's a tie breaker! The characters that Sarah has created in this book are so refreshingly real, their interactions are perfectly matched and you can't help but fall in love with Annabel Greene.

            Anyone who sees her thinks that she has the perfect like. She's models in television commercials, print ads, and even fashion shows. What could be more cooler than that? Annabel is popular in school because she's best friends with Sophie, a girl who craves attention. Annabel's mother adores her modeling, her father is an architect who designed there house from glass (how awesome is that!) and she has two older sisters; Kristen and Whitney, who used to model.   

            If you peel away all the layers of perfection you see the real Annabel. She has suffered a lot at school and lost her best friend in the possess as well as her self-respect. Her sister Whitney suffers from an eating disorder and Annabel tries to keep her life under control by lying. She avoids the truth at ALL COSTS! Well that is until she meets "tall, dark, music-obsessed" Owen Armstrong. Owen is something of an enigma for Annabel. She once watched him punch someone and calmly walk away. He likes to keep to him self and always carries his iPod. I love the character of Owen simply because he is the total opposite of Annabel. Where Annabel lies to protect her feelings, Owen doesn't seem to have a lying bone in his body. I mean he tells the truth NO MATTER WHAT. Here's one of his lines, "...for me not saying how I feel when I feel it is a bad move. Look at it this way: I might be sating you're fat, but at least I'm not punching you in the face." The character of Owen, to me is very open and honest. That's why Annabel finds her self in a new friendship with him.