Just Listen

Sarah Dessen. 2006. New York: Penguin. 400 pages. 400 pages. ISBN 978-0-14-241097-4.

Plot Summary:It’s the beginning of the school year and Annabel, who has always been a popular girl, finds herself cut off from all her friends. How this happened, and how it comes to be resolved is the plot of this book. From the outside, it looks as if Annabel has the perfect teen life and family. But seen from the inside her life is in turmoil. And Annabel has never learn to express herself Through her budding relationship with the school’s loner Owen, she learns that anger does not need to mean that people go away forever, and she learns to listen to and express her self.

Critical Evaluation:Just Listen is a coming-of-age story where Annabel learns that anger is not necessarily a feeling to run away from, but that it can have a resolution. She learns to be honest to herself about her feelings and to express them. In Just Listen, Dessen gives voice to the inner life of teen girls in a true and beautiful way. Just Listen delves deeply into relationships and the feelings behind them but is never maudlin. It deals with serious issues such as bullying, eating disorders, and rape but is hopeful rather than depressing or overwhelming. All the characters have learned something about themselves by the end of the book.

Reader's Annotaton: Why is Annabel’s best friend ostracizing her now? What is the secret that Sarah is not telling?


About the author: Sarah Dessen is the author of over ten books for young adults. She grew up in Chapel Hill, NC where her parents both taught at the university. She started writing as a child, and her parents set up a typewriter for her in the corner of then den. Dessen now teaches writing, and is married with one child. She states that she enjoys teaching because she can show people how writing can change both themselves and the world. In her autobiography, she states that it is the books that she read as a teenager that have stuck with her the most, and that the best thing to which a writer can aspire is to write books that say just what the reader is feeling. Her books have won numerous awards. You can visit her website at http://www.sarahdessen.com/.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Curriculum ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: People are not what they first seem to be. Annabel’s life is not as perfect as it may look, and Owen is not the loser he may appear to be.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 9 and up.

Challenge Issues: N/A

Why Chosen: I picked this book because it was a YALSA Top Ten for 2007, and a VOYA "Perfect Ten."