[.ca] Just Listen (ISBN 0142410977)

wow, words cant even describe this book:
Can I say WOW, and absolutely amazing, words can't even describe this book. But that really doesn't come as a surprise, there isn't a single Dessen book I've read and haven't liked. She is an absolutely phenomenal writer. I loved this book. I hardly ever re read books, but this book had me re reading passages, and reading them out loud to my sister, who listened which she rarely ever does. The character's passion for music matched mine, and their emotions were so real that touched my heart. If I could rate this any higher, I would. Five stars don't even suffice how truly wonderful and inspiring this novel really is. Bravo Ms. Dessen, it's not often a reader like me can read a novel and be so entranced that they stay up half the night reading it. I absolutely loved it, and I urge other teens and adults alike to read it. It truly is a wonderful book. The book is about Owen Armstrong and Annabelle Greene and their very odd yet deep relationship. Annabelle was part of a very popular clique where everybody wanted to be like her and she didn't associate with people like Owen. Owen was an outcast, oblivious to everything other than his music. It was very rare for anyone to see him without his headphones and Annabelle never figured that she would know him better than his own family. The summer before senior year destroyed Annabelle's carefully cultivated world. She wouldn't tell anybody her secret, and her best friend Sophie would dessert her and leave her on her own. Annabelle has been through a lot. Her sisters and she have been modeling since they were in diapers and all have been quite successful. Modeling took a toll on all Annabelle as well as her sisters, but it took the most on Whitney. I won't get too much into that story line, the only thing I will say is that it will bring tears to your eyes, and help you discover those hidden ambitions that you thought you had buried. Owen is a troubled child, not saying that he's into drugs or anything. He has his issues with anger. His anger forced him over the edge, and music was his anchor to this world. He made one policy while trying to get his rage under control, never hold anything in and never to lie. Only his policy became the thing that separated Owen from the rest. When Annabelle came back from the summer from hell, she discovered that she no longer had any friends. She didn't mind so much, and then she began sitting against the "forbidden" wall and met Owen, a guy unlike the others. In a moment of doing a good deed, and an impulsive ride home to a virutal stranger, Owen unlocked secrets to Annabelle's heart, and she admitted to lying. But that one conversation turns into many, and Annabelle finds herself entranced by Owen, his honesty, his devotion to his music and his undying curosity for music and inspiration. That one ride turns into many, and through those discussions of music, Annabelle and Owen find themselves looking deeper into the world and music while they discover each other, and their own passion for the truth... Read as this unlikely pair finds friendship in the most unlikely source, and where Annabelle shares her secret with Owen this these words: "Don't Think, Don't Judge, Just Listen". Read as this pair finds love and acceptance and truly learn who they are, and Owen heals Annabelle's torn heart and helps her fall in love with music, and let it heal her as it once healed him! Honestly, the best book I have ever read. I could quote you it word for word, but I won't. It is the most amazing piece of literature ever. It talks about music, reputation, first impressions and first love. I absolutely loved it. This review doesn't even do the book justice. It is the most amazing book I have read, and I would like to share it with the world. Let Just Listen inspire you as it did for me. Allow it to let you fall in love with music, and find those thoughts you would never voice out loud. Let it allow you to tell the truth, bitter but always real. READ IT. I GUARANTEE YOU WON'T BE DISAPOINTED!!!! THANK YOU SARAH DESSEN FOR GIVING MY GENERATION A BOOK THAT SHOWS TRUE APPRECIATION OF WHAT LITERATURE SHOULD BE LIKE, REAL AND ALWAYS TRULY INSPIRING...another beautiful novel by Ms. Dessen, I look forward to many more!!!

Just listen:
This was a really good book. It has different plots to it, with the narrator's sister having anorexia and what happened to her over the summer. You could understand where the main characters were coming from...overall its just a good read.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too:
Up until now, THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER has always been my favorite Sarah Dessen book. Now that I've read JUST LISTEN, however, I think there's a tie! 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 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. I loved JUST LISTEN. Owen is a character that will immediately grab your interest, especially with lines like "...for me, not saying how I feel when I feel it is a bad move. 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." As for Annabel, the things she's holding inside are tearing her apart, and, in the end, it's the strength of her sisters that gets her to ask for help. 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: "...this is what happens when you try to run from the past. 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." Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

love it!!!:
I really think this book helped me think about whats really important. I would reccomend this book. It is definitley a page turning book.