Just Listen

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Average customer rating 4.5 (6 comments)

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i liked this book, Dessen never disappoints me.

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I normally don't read books in the first place, but this was good. I read Speak and two weeks ago I told my teacher that Annabel reminded me of Melinda. So when I read this synopsis today to tell a friend what the book was about, I sent her the link for this, and then I read the link, and then saw Melinda's name. I then sent the link to my teacher to show her that I have a good taste in books. I understood right away what happened to her from how she acted and compared her to Melinda. I do disagree with what they say about this having too much drama, but some families do have things like this happen to them. It might not always happen, but rest assured, it does. Anyway, this was a good book.

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I love Sarah Dessen books because they are filled with problems that normal teenagers have, but in extreme situations. This was one of my favorite Sarah Dessen books and I completely recommend it to all teenagers and also parents.

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Just Listen by Sarah Dessen is a book about what happens to a teenage girl, Annabel Greene who goes through a lot of drama in her everyday life. The main theme, is teenage drama, because of everything she goes through in the book. It all started out with the falling out with her now, ex-best friend, Sophie. She has a major family crisis, when her sister develops an eating disorder. Sophie always confronts Annabel in a very nasty way, where it always attracts a crowd at school. After one of those confrontations, she meets Owen, a music obsessed freak. "'Silence is freakin’ loud!'" is a quote from Owen, because he went through his parents getting divorced, and when his parents didn’t talk for hours, the silence was even louder than yelling. I actually agree that silence is really loud. This book was amazing, because I can actually relate to this, because I go through friend problems just like she does. The down part about this book is that sometimes, some parts just go on way too long, with details that could be taken out. But overall, I could not put this book down.

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Sarah Dessen puts together problems lots of average teenage girls have in their lives into one tragic story along with some most girls can't imagine. When Annabel gets to school one day she meets up with an old friend who made an assumption about Annabel and her own boyfriend that's not true. Along with this, she finds out her sister's anorexic and Annabel's a model, but she can't figure out how to say she doesn't want to be one. Along the line she meets a music-loving guy who she befriends and starts to crush on. Then an old friend has a similar issue Annabel did and then everything changes as Annabel is confused about what just happened.

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Just Listen is a book about a teenage girl dealing with problems that affect teenagers everywhere. Anabelle is a teenager returning to school after a severe falling out with her best friend, leaving her with no one to talk to about the problems she has at home, such as a mother who suffers from depression, a sister recovering from anorexia, and being forced to model even though she has no interest in it anymore. Watching her find friendship in an unexpected way, and eventually face the trauma she has been trying to ignore creates a heartwarming story that any teenage girl who is trying to find out who she is can relate to. Sarah Dessen writes in a style that pulls the reader in, and keeps them reading until the story is over.