Just Listen by Sarah Dessen Book Review

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Learn more here.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen Book Review

I read my first Sarah Dessen Book when I was a teenager. I was going to music camp in Minnesota and my mom took me to Wal Mart to buy travel sized toiletries for the plane ride. We stopped by the book section and she told me I could pick out a book for the plane ride. I had never heard of Sarah Dessen’s books, although by that point (it must have been 2008) she had published quite a few.

My selection was This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. I read a little bit of it on the plane and when I got to music camp, I showed it to my roommates, Yoon and Sarah. They immediately began gushing about The Truth About Forever, another one of Sarah Dessen’s books. One of them had packed a copy and said I could borrow it.

From there, I was hooked. Book by book I worked my way through Sarah Dessen’s back catalog of books. And every two years when she published another new book, I would immediately preorder it for my kindle. Just Listen holds a special place in my memory because it’s a story about music and self expression and standing up for oneself.

A couple of months ago I found a copy of Just Listen at a secondhand book store and picked it up for nostalgia purposes. Will it stand up to my memories? Well, the only way to find out is to keep reading for my full book review.

About Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen is a prolific author and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen works, which include full length novels and novellas. Her genre of choice is contemporary young adult fiction where she writes about teens and their everyday lives.

Her novels often explore themes such as coming of age, family relationships, and the challenges faced by teenagers as they navigate the complexities of growing up.  Some of these topics my include deal with popular girls, working through a traumatic experience, dealing with difficult family situations, and more. She’s known for writing characters that teens can relate to. Her books are known for their realistic portrayals of the emotions and experiences of young adults.

I feel like that’s why I loved Sarah’s books so much when I was in high school and college. She put so much care and thought into crafting stories with interesting characters and backstories. While I couldn’t relate to everything her characters were going through, I could empathize with their problems and situations.

About Just Listen

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen is a YA novel that delves into the life of high school student Annabel Greene. Although her like may seem pretty great, she has a lot going on behind the scenes. Annabel is known for being a local model in a television commercial and successful student, but beneath her facade, she struggles with family issues and a traumatic event that has left her isolated from her friends. Her former best friend Sophie is doing everything she can to make Annabel’s life miserable.

Things change when she befriends Owen Armstrong at school. He’s a bit of a loner, but he helps her out when she needs a ride home from school one day. Even though they may seem to not have much in common, Annabel has a lot to learn from Owen.

He’s intense. He’s honest. And he encourages Annabel to open up and share how she really feels. He’s in anger management for his anger management issues and has learned a lot about the importance of open and honest communication. As their friendship develops, Annabel begins to confront her own fears, insecurities, and the complexities of her relationships with family and friends.

A big part of Just Listen is self discovery. With the help of Owen and his influence, Annabel learns who she is and what she wants. Just Listen also touches on issues such as body image, peer pressure, and the challenges of navigating high school social dynamics. Through Annabel’s journey, the book encourages readers to reflect on the importance of authenticity, understanding, and finding one’s voice in the midst of life’s challenges.

The Power of Music

After Owen and Annabel first meet, he offers her a ride home from school. She just received word from her Mom that her sister would be unable to pick her up from school and that she would have to find her own way home.

Annabel wasn’t sure who she was going to ask at first, but Owen came to her rescue. And when Annabel steps into Owen’s car, that’s when she first finds out about the power of music. Owen works at the local radio station and keeps stacks and stacks of mix cds in his car. He researches and listens to them in an attempt to cultivate the perfect sound for his show. It’s a little overwhelming to Annabel, who has never really put that much thought into music before.

At first Owen seems a little judgmental of Annabel, because he isn’t sure what kind of music she listens to. Fair, I guess. But they both wind up teaching each other new things and maybe it’s the power of music? Or maybe it’s the power of friendship. But the bond they form is very special.

Who Is This Book For?

Sarah Dessen has such a knack for writing meaningful stories that are relatable to everyone. Her books are classified as young adult fiction so of course her books are read by young adults, but I think adults can get a lot out of them too. For example, I’m currently 31 as I’m writing this book review. This is my second time reading Just Listen and I think I may be getting even more out of it than I did the first time because I’m an adult, and I’m analyzing Annabel’s social and family problems from a completely different angle.

Themes in Just Listen

Like all Sarah Dessen novels, Just Listen is a realistic story that covers some difficult topics. Some of themes in this novel include:

Bullying

Annabel is routinely bullied by a former best friend, and as readers we don’t know why. The story is explained little by little, as we learn the backstory between the two girls. Bullying is an unfortunate event that occurs in the lives of many teens and young adults. Sarah handles the topic delicately and I think that this storyline will help young adults feel less alone. Sophie’s behavior is horrible, but honestly… it tracks. Girls can be very mean.

Eating Disorders

Annabel’s older sister Whitney suffers from an eating disorder and while she tries to recover, it causes a lot of stress for Annabel’s family. This is a situation that many teens and their families go through. For me, it was eye opening to read. Annabel and her sisters all have a background in modeling and attempting to have a modeling career, so that puts a lot of pressure on them to look a certain way.

Sexual assault

This is another unfortunate situation that many, many people go through. But in Sarah Dessen’s Just Listen she handles this issue with respect and grace. High school is never easy and Annabel’s struggle is something that teens will be able to relate to. A lot can go on at a high school party, and not all of it is good.

My Thoughts

Honesty. I love Owen Armstrong as a character because as a way to deal with his anger issues he’s honest, but he always has good intentions with his honesty. I struggle with being honest and true to myself just like Annabel does, and so this storyline felt especially relevant to me. There’s a scene where Annabel is testing Owen, and she asks him if he would tell her if she looked bad if she asked him. And he was like, yeah of course. But then he explained that he would be tactful about it but that if someone asked him.

Owen is also a bit of a surprise, and he might be my favorite Sarah Dessen love interest. Annabel is surprised when they first start talking because there are so many things about him she doesn’t know, including his passion for music and his community radio station that airs at 7 A.M. every Sunday.

Annabel may be a successful teen model with a loving family, but her life is far from perfect. Her Dad is an architect and built their family the glass house that they live in. Annabel often reflects about how although people an see them from the street, her family doesn’t have the perfect life that everyone assumes. Things can be tense and Annabel is constantly dropping little white lies in order to keep the peace and keep everyone happy. The only person who sees Annabel for who she really is, is Owen.

He teaches her that honesty is really the best way to live. She knows that, but it’s hard. As he teaches her more about his way of living, we’re introduced to more secondary characters. There’s Rolly, who is Owen’s friend and cohost of his radio show. And then there’s Owen’s sister Mallory, his younger sister who admires Annabel and her modeling career. She things there’s nothing cooler than being a model for Kopf’s department store.

With Owen’s help Annabel is exposed to a new way of living, and a better way to deal with her family’s complicated family dynamics with her parents, and Annabel’s sisters. It is a difficult story to read at times because of the traumatic experience that Annabel has gone through, but she learns so much throughout the story about how to work through her feelings and go after what she really wants.

In Closing

Just Listen may be my favorite Sarah Dessen novel, so I hope you enjoyed this book review. I forgot how much I love certain young adult authors. I’m planning to read some more ya books and book for young readers in the future and review them here, so make sure you visit my blog again in the future for more book reviews!

xo Marian

But wait, there’s more!

If you enjoyed today’s book review, here are some other blog posts that you may enjoy:

Similar Posts