Just Listen
From the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Once and for All comes a heartfelt young adult romance that explores the importance of truth.
“This is young adult fiction at its best.”—School Library Journal
“A cut above.”—People
“Dessen weaves a sometimes funny, mostly emotional, and very satisfying story.”—VOYA
To find the truth you’ve got to be willing to hear it.
When she’s modeling, Annabel is the picture of perfection.
But her real life is far from perfect.
Fortunately, she’s got Owen. He’s intense, music-obsessed, and dedicated to always telling the truth.
And most of all, he’s determined to make Annabel happy. . .
“This is young adult fiction at its best.”—School Library Journal
“A cut above.”—People
“Dessen weaves a sometimes funny, mostly emotional, and very satisfying story.”—VOYA
To find the truth you’ve got to be willing to hear it.
When she’s modeling, Annabel is the picture of perfection.
But her real life is far from perfect.
Fortunately, she’s got Owen. He’s intense, music-obsessed, and dedicated to always telling the truth.
And most of all, he’s determined to make Annabel happy. . .
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
This is my second favorite Sarah Dessen book behind The Truth About Forever. To me, it’s about courage and sticking up for yourself.
So, I've been in a fluffy read mood. All I want is sappy romance and gooey feelings. This was not quite that, but it still did the trick.
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. I've read quite a few teen books with pictures like this on the cover, and they're not usually very riveting. Or even halfway decent. It's passable and not Twilight, so there's still usually something to be said for those types of books. I read on the back that it had won a few awards and had been on the New York Times Bestseller List. That doesn't do much for me (I don't tend to enjoy those kinds of books [I'm looking at you, Wild]), but I picked it up on a whim and decided to give it a whirl.
I enjoyed it. It had some nice ideas, did a good job of talking about how to deal with several different types of trauma, and didn't make the parents out to be idiotic cardboard cutouts. Also, as an adult, I never wanted to slap the main character and the romance scenes didn't make me want to gag. It was engaging and zipped by pretty quickly. Yes, it was easy. Yes, it wasn't great literature. Did I enjoy it? Hell yeah. Would I recommend it to a high-schooler? Yup.
I don't know if I'll read more by Sarah Dessen (who am I kidding, I'm sure I will) but I enjoyed this first foray. If you're seventeen, give this book a try.
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. I've read quite a few teen books with pictures like this on the cover, and they're not usually very riveting. Or even halfway decent. It's passable and not Twilight, so there's still usually something to be said for those types of books. I read on the back that it had won a few awards and had been on the New York Times Bestseller List. That doesn't do much for me (I don't tend to enjoy those kinds of books [I'm looking at you, Wild]), but I picked it up on a whim and decided to give it a whirl.
I enjoyed it. It had some nice ideas, did a good job of talking about how to deal with several different types of trauma, and didn't make the parents out to be idiotic cardboard cutouts. Also, as an adult, I never wanted to slap the main character and the romance scenes didn't make me want to gag. It was engaging and zipped by pretty quickly. Yes, it was easy. Yes, it wasn't great literature. Did I enjoy it? Hell yeah. Would I recommend it to a high-schooler? Yup.
I don't know if I'll read more by Sarah Dessen (who am I kidding, I'm sure I will) but I enjoyed this first foray. If you're seventeen, give this book a try.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.