Just Listen

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Just Listen is a novel written by teen-author Sarah Dessen. It is her 7th published novel, as well as her most recent novel.

[edit] Summary

Annabel Greene had what could be considered the perfect teenage life: cool friends, close family, good grades, and a part-time modeling career; at the beginning of summer it all came crashing down. Shaken by an attempted rape from her best friend's boyfriend, she doesn't try to fix the burnt bridges created when everyone turns against her. She dreads facing the world that is high school with no friends, and everyone hating her. Her solid family seems fragile, too. What happened to cause the stiff silences and palpable resentments between her two older sisters? Why is no one in her loving but determinedly cheerful family talking about her middle sister's eating disorder? Annabel's devastating secret is revealed in bits and snatches, as readers see her go to amazing lengths to avoid confrontation. Caught between wanting to protect her family and her own struggles to face a devastating experience, Annabel finds comfort in an unlikely friendship with the school's most notorious loner. Owen Armstrong has his own issues with anger, but has learned to control it and helps her realize the dangers of holding in her emotions. Through Owen's obsession with music he teaches Annabel how to listen, and helps her confront her own demons.

[edit] References

Sarah Dessen makes several references, or Easter egg (media) to characters and situations in her other novels, that only true fans would recognize.

• Owen and Annabel visit a club to see a band called The Truth Squad play. The Truth Squad was Dexter's band in Dessen's novel This Lullaby. The time is meant to overlap (Dexter's band is playing at the club in This Lullaby at the same time as Owen and Annabel visit it in Just Listen). Remy is traveling with the Truth Squad during her fall break from Stanford.
• Owen and Annabel visit a 24-hour diner in Just Listen called the World of Waffles. This is the same diner that Wes and Macy visit in The Truth About Forever. During Owen and Annabel's scene, they notice Macy and Wes, also inferring that The Truth About Forever takes place shortly before this timeframe.
• There is a reference to Boo Connell by Owen's mother when they are talking in the mall. Boo is from Sarah's novel Dreamland as Caitlin's neighbor.