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Dessen, Sarah - Just Listen
I think this is now officially my favorite Dessen, which is saying something. Of course, YMMV, especially because it's my favorite because it hits some of my personal buttons and issues, and I can see a lot of high school me in Annabel.
Annabel Greene is touted as the girl with the perfect life in the ads she models in, but in real life, her sister has anorexia, her best friend recently decided she hated her due to a certain incident, and now the entire school ostracizes her. She ends up somehow befriending Owen Armstrong, known largely for punching someone out.
I loved this book. Even though the title is about listening, the book is about speaking out, about honesty to yourself and to others, about the release in the act in speaking out, even if it sparks conflict and anger. Annabel is someone who keeps everything inside, afraid to upset the fragile balance in her family, afraid to confront people at school. And it's not just personal things, she was the silent bystander when her former best friend Sophie used to humiliate people or tease them, and she's been silent about other injustices as well.
But while Owen has problems with his anger (he takes Anger Management), he is always honest, and gradually, Annabel finds a voice. But it's not just Annabel. Her sister Whitney, who is struggling with anorexia, learns to deal as well, as does her other sister Kirsten, as does her family. And, oh, I just cried buckets while reading this, even though it's not actually a sad book. It just reminds me so much of my own experiences (vaguely, obviously), because I was silent about so many things that I shouldn't have been silent about, and when I finally learned to speak out (and am still learning), it was so freeing and frightening.
My descriptions of course make it sound like one of those good-for-you, after-school-special books, yet it's anything but that. It's not slow at all, even though the action is largely internal, and it just feels so real, like almost all of Dessen's books. But I particularly love this one for the bits on speaking out, because that is something I had to learn, and I love the parallels between Annabel and Emily, the relationship with Annabel and her sisters, Annabel and her friends. Obviously, her relationship with Owen is very important as well, and I loved it, but I love even more that Dessen gives Annabel so many other female characters to interact with.
Annabel Greene is touted as the girl with the perfect life in the ads she models in, but in real life, her sister has anorexia, her best friend recently decided she hated her due to a certain incident, and now the entire school ostracizes her. She ends up somehow befriending Owen Armstrong, known largely for punching someone out.
I loved this book. Even though the title is about listening, the book is about speaking out, about honesty to yourself and to others, about the release in the act in speaking out, even if it sparks conflict and anger. Annabel is someone who keeps everything inside, afraid to upset the fragile balance in her family, afraid to confront people at school. And it's not just personal things, she was the silent bystander when her former best friend Sophie used to humiliate people or tease them, and she's been silent about other injustices as well.
But while Owen has problems with his anger (he takes Anger Management), he is always honest, and gradually, Annabel finds a voice. But it's not just Annabel. Her sister Whitney, who is struggling with anorexia, learns to deal as well, as does her other sister Kirsten, as does her family. And, oh, I just cried buckets while reading this, even though it's not actually a sad book. It just reminds me so much of my own experiences (vaguely, obviously), because I was silent about so many things that I shouldn't have been silent about, and when I finally learned to speak out (and am still learning), it was so freeing and frightening.
My descriptions of course make it sound like one of those good-for-you, after-school-special books, yet it's anything but that. It's not slow at all, even though the action is largely internal, and it just feels so real, like almost all of Dessen's books. But I particularly love this one for the bits on speaking out, because that is something I had to learn, and I love the parallels between Annabel and Emily, the relationship with Annabel and her sisters, Annabel and her friends. Obviously, her relationship with Owen is very important as well, and I loved it, but I love even more that Dessen gives Annabel so many other female characters to interact with.