Previous Next. Annabel Greene Annabel, our narrator , is definitely in a tough place. Somewhere Gray Annabel is the kind of girl who doesn't know what her place in the world is yet.
She explains: As for me, I fell somewhere between my sisters and their strong personalities, the very personification of the vast gray area that separated them.
Sophie has enough personality and opinionated views for the both of them, so when they're together Annabel doesn't really have to make her own decisions—she just stands by idly as Sophie decides what to do and who to torment: There was a karmic aspect to this, although I didn't like to think about it. People Pleaser One of Annabel's main traits is that she just wants to make other people happy. She would rather keep things in than hurt people, which is at least partially a response to what she's gone through with her mother's depression: What I did get was that it was paramount that we protect my mom from anything that might upset her, even if I wasn't sure what those things were.
When he asks her how she liked his radio show, she hesitates and then responds with something noncommittal: Honesty in principle was one thing. In someone's face, another. Stronger Than You Think Annabel doesn't seem like a strong person at the beginning. When she gets to school, she has no idea how she's going to deal with Sophie's rejection and ire: My face was flushed, and I could feel people staring. She doesn't believe in herself, but Owen sees her inner strength and tells her that he knows she can do it: "But I'm scared.
I don't know if I can do it. Greene Mr. What's Up With the Ending? Setting What's Up With the Epigraph? Tired of ads? So, the next time your heart is telling you its truth.. Don't think, or judge. Just Listen. This review can also be found at ReadingAfterMidnight.
View all 57 comments. Am I the only person who is tired of Sarah Dessen? I loved the first book of hers I read, Someone Like You, but unfortunately it seems like the more books of hers I read, the more formulaic her writing becomes.
It seems like every novel she writes follows this structure: 1 Girl with very uncommon name is unhappy about something in her life 2 Girl with very uncommon name meets Boy with very uncommon name 3 Girl and Boy decide to date 4 Big major conflict in story happens that causes girl and boy Am I the only person who is tired of Sarah Dessen?
It seems like every novel she writes follows this structure: 1 Girl with very uncommon name is unhappy about something in her life 2 Girl with very uncommon name meets Boy with very uncommon name 3 Girl and Boy decide to date 4 Big major conflict in story happens that causes girl and boy to doubt each other, and they have a huge fight and then breakup 5 In some versions of the story, the boy and the girl get back together, but in some they don't.
Either way, the relationship that occurred causes the girl to realize something really profound about herself, or her life, or blah blah blah.
Why is this author suggesting to our teenagers that they can't overcome the obstacles in life without a boy to help them through it? And she's even a teacher in creative writing! I might be the only person who's not looking forward to her new book. Imagine my initial confusion Did she read my review and wants to reprimand me?
Is she distraught over its content? Does she want to discuss how I arrived at my conclusions? She claims that the story means a lot to her, and that she hopes it will mean a lot to me too. In this case, however, me simply refers to everyone this blanket book suggestion was sent to. Such disappointment I have with today's marketing generalizations View all comments. Jan 07, Cara rated it it was amazing Recommended to Cara by: Ash. Shelves: favorites , , books-i-own , siblings , realistic-fiction.
This is going to sound stupid but I'm hyperventilating writing this review. I hardly ever buy books but I bought this one as a present for my sister she introduced me to Dessen and of course I just happened to read it too. I've read this book four times the most I've re-read any book and I know it inside and out, but I don't think know I won't be able to do it justice. Here goes nothing First of all I could probably write a whole dissertation on Owen.
He's is just so Annabel Greene is your typical beautiful middle class girl but we all know that the surface isn't always what it seems. She is hiding a terrible secret that she won't even admit to even herself.
It only takes one night to change everything. Everything from Annabel's relationships to the description of the glass house is pitch perfect. The storyline hits so many things. Eating disorders, modeling, music huge in this story , anger, high school dynamics, family relationships, and so many other relevant topics but it never feels like it's being stuffed.
It's told with the right amount of realism and the pacing is right on. The one thing among many others that struck me the most was Owen's policy of always saying the truth. After reading this I always feel a little more conscious of what exactly I'm saying. Everytime I read this book I still laugh at the same parts, still anticipate certain scenes, and still cringe at the heavy moments.
Annabel comes to know that she really was never alone as she felt because in reality she was always only a hand reach away from people that are willing to just listen. When this song plays I always remember this book. View all 41 comments.
View all 4 comments. So you'd better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you'll never understand what it's saying. After the disappointment that was Saint Anything I wasn't motivated to try another Sarah Dessen novel for a while. However I was looking for a nice summer read and Just Listen popped into my head. Many of my friends told me that it was their favourite Dessen book mine is The Truth About Forever "There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart.
Many of my friends told me that it was their favourite Dessen book mine is The Truth About Forever and I decided that it was time I read it. Sarah Dessen's books are always the same: it's a typical American chick lit novel.
A pretty main character who pretends everything is perfect, high school cliques, surburban moms and a cute, handsome love interest. You could narrow it down to that, but it's so much more. Sarah really managed to surprise me.
Behind the facade of the typical light summer read hides a thoughtful story. Maybe that is because my expectations were so low, but I didn't think that I would love this book so much. The only things I could criticise is the rather plain main character and her father. A husband and father of three daughters shouldn't evade arguments.
He shouldn't run for cover when the talk turns to menstruation or buying tampons. He should man up. There are a few things you should know before you go into this book. It deals with difficult topics, such as depression, eating disorders and rape. But in my opinion Sarah Dessen handled them extremely well and I am again surprised that she dared to bring so much heaviness and depth to this novel.
That is also what impressed me the most, though. I wonder if Sarah's newest book is just as good as this one. I might just have to check it out. Find more of my books on Instagram View all 11 comments. Jan 13, Jessica rated it it was amazing. I definitely feel for Annabel and her family I loved how big a part music had in this story as well as friendship.
This book shows the importance of family and friends, speaking up for yourself, and of course listening to those around you. This was my first Sarah Dessen book and I'd definitely love to read another!
View 2 comments. Jun 28, Erin rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Fans of "Speak". Annabel Green lives in a glass house - literally. But even inside of the glass house that her father built, she realizes that it is easy to hide secrets. That her oldest sister has moved away, leaving a gaping hole in the family. Like her family, Annabel Green lives in a glass house - literally.
Like her family, Annabel also has secrets to hide. It is easy to cover up the reasons why her friends no longer talk to her. But why is Annabel Green so keen on hiding from her friends and family? She seems to have the perfect life — great friends, a nice family, and a promising career as a model. At least, she did until that night last summer… The only person she seems to connect with anymore is another high school student who is a loner by choice.
Owen teaches Annabel that she needs to be honest with everyone — including herself. She has been ignoring the one voice she should have been listening to all along — her own. View all 7 comments. Just Listen now replaces This Lullaby as my favorite by Sarah Dessen and has earned a well deserved place among my favorite YAs of all time. The story is mainly about Annabel, who despite her beauty and popularity just wants to keep to herself and opts to hide her true feelings and problems being the youngest daughter of three girls in her family.
Seeing her parents already Just Listen now replaces This Lullaby as my favorite by Sarah Dessen and has earned a well deserved place among my favorite YAs of all time. I learned quite a lot from him especially from his effective anger management techniques and his passionate perspective about music even if his choices are mostly eccentric.
This is one of those YA contemporaries that managed to hit so many targets in just one story. It also managed to shoot me straight to the heart resulting to unavoidable waterworks even though there were so many times the characters and dialogues cracked me up too. I love that the story is rich in themes especially on family, how it portrays both the dark and bright side of every family, how every individual member sometimes goes through something so dark but that is what family is for, to be there for you no matter what.
I also love the individual stories of Annabel and her sisters that put so much meaning and layers in the story contributing to this one whole meaningful theme that resonated throughout the novel. I also admire the emphasis on the power of music, its ability to heal, to connect people and to make important memories linger. Two very short and simple words consisting of one simple sentence but these two words will now mean so much more to me and hopefully to more people out there as well because whether we admit it or not, a lot of people spend more time talking than really listening.
I take back my most recent comment on Ms. She has earned both my awe and respect for coming up with this beautiful piece that gripped, touched, inspired and most of all enlightened me and I would wholeheartedly recommend this to everyone.
View all 17 comments. May 06, Jennifer Wardrip rated it it was amazing Shelves: read-personally-by-moi , trt-posted-reviews , trt-gold-star-award-winner. Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo. The characters of this latest release are so honestly real, their dialogue perfectly placed, that you can't help but be pulled into the life and times of Annabel Greene.
Of course everyone thinks that Annabel has the perfect life. She's a model who has been in television commercials, in print ads, and in fashion sh Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.
She's a model who has been in television commercials, in print ads, and in fashion shows at the local mall. She's popular at school, even if it is mostly because she's best friends with Sophie, the high school girl who demands attention. Her father is an architect who designed their house of glass; her mother lives for Annabel's modeling; she has two older sisters, Kirsten and Whitney, who are both former models themselves.
Under all of that perfection, of course, lies the real Annabel. The one who suffered from something so horrible at the end of the last school year that she's lost not only her best friend, but her self-respect.
Her family is so consumed with Whitney's eating disorder, with Kirsten's college life far away in New York, with keeping everything under control that Annabel doesn't tell them what's happened--the things that are still happening every day she goes to school just dreading the day.
She doesn't want to add more problems to the mix; in fact, she lies by omission, simply avoiding the truth rather than shattering her family's illusions. But then Annabel meets Owen Armstrong, a boy she once watched punch out another student, then calmly walk away. Owen keeps to himself, never seems to be without his iPod, and doesn't appear to need any friends.
But after he reaches out a hand to her, literally, after she's sick outside of school one day, a budding relationship of friendship begins to build between the guy who never lies, no matter what--and the girl who lies to protect other's feelings, namely her own. Owen is a character that will immediately grab your interest, especially with lines like " So I don't do it. Look at it this way: I might be saying you're fat, but at least I'm not punching you in the face.
The characters of Kirsten and Whitney are complicated and complex, and I have to admit that there's a part near the end of the book in which the sisters come together that had me crying like a baby. As for Annabel, it's not all about telling the truth, but about listening, not just to others, but mostly to that voice inside of her: " It doesn't just catch up: it overtakes, blotting out the future, the landscape, the very sky, until there is no path left except that which leads through it, the only one that can ever get you home.
View all 9 comments. Aug 27, Glass rated it it was amazing Shelves: girl-power , realistic-fiction. Half way trough this book, I realized that I was scared. Scared because it took me back to the place in my mind which I don't have any dessire to go back - ever again! I used to have a "friend" like Sophie, I had a eating disorder when I was senior, there was "owen" who helped me to wake up but, he was just a friend.
It took me two years to recover completely and it was awful. I used to stop eating when things in my life were out of my control and it gave me false sense of some kind od meaning Half way trough this book, I realized that I was scared. I used to stop eating when things in my life were out of my control and it gave me false sense of some kind od meaning, stability. When everything else was out of my reach, my body was one thing I controled.
And don't for one second think that now I don't have moments when I feel tempted to slip back. It follows you, always, and you have to fight with yourself all the time. So, girls, read this book! And don't be afraid to look for a help! View all 18 comments. The project has actually mostly been a success; it turns out I had pretty good taste as a kid. Go figure, right? I guess that's why I became a blogger or whatever. Sarah Dessen was basically the Colleen Hoover of the early s, okay? She brought the angst and the bad boys and the tortured teenage girl drama, and us millennials at that shit up on silver spoons.
I can guarantee you that practically every girl who read books in my middle school and high school years probably had at least one copy of something by this author languishing on their shelves next to LOVELY BONES.
I'm honestly surprised none of her stuff ever became movies. Like Melinda, Annabel's life is disrupted by a sexual assault: and like Melinda, she is bullied and shamed for it, and all of her old friends turn against her because they blame her and not the boy.
Unlike Melinda, Annabel has other stuff going on. Her older middle sister is struggling with an eating disorder, she's a model but getting sick of it , and she's basically learned to deal with all of her problems by running away.
The title of the book comes into play on multiple levels. The guy in Annabel's life, Owen, does indie radio, and attempts to get her involved in underground media. But Annabel also learns to listen to her own internal voice, as well as to her sisters and the people she considered her friends: people who care about her who she pushed away when things got hard.
Sometimes Sarah Dessen's books can feel kind of slow-paced, but I felt like there was tons of action packed into this one. I'm giving it four stars instead of five for several reasons. The first reason is that the narrative feels clunky. There's a ton of info dumping because the author made the creative decision to do these cutaway asides diving into Annabel's past instead of dual timelines, and I kind of feel like a dual timeline might have made these transitions easier.
The second reason is Owen. He's not a bad love interest but I found him really annoying. He's kind of a manic pixie dreamboy and he is really obnoxious about music. Which is realistic for teens, who tend to define themselves by shit like that ask me what my thoughts were about metal at seventeen , but I rolled my eyes at his spiels a lot. Overall, though, this book holds up super well.
View all 20 comments. I'd seen so much about Sarah Dessen and her books but I never got around to reading one of her books until a friend gave me Just Listen. I started it right away and finished it within a couple days. The lesson that was learned in the novel was true love. Love was presented in many ways such as unrequited love, love that wasn't real and true. Annabel Greene is the main character and is returning to school after a long dramatic summer.
Annabel is a timid, blue-eyed, blonde-haired teenager. She is always eager to please and is very protective of others feelings, but does this by keeping the truth away from them. I kept going back, rewriting, not trusting that I was doing it justice.
It was only once it was finished that I was able to see that all along, I should have been taking my own advice. Not over thinking, backtracking, or obsessing, but instead simply letting Annabel have her say.
I just needed to listen. I hope you will, too". Sarah Dessen Book Wiki Explore. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account?
Just Listen.
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