Tolog Review: Just Listen

Just Listen
by Sarah Dessen
reviewed by Paris Davis 

Just Listen, a novel by Sarah Dessen, tells the story of Annabel Greene, a girl who seems to have everything, but that’s only in front of the camera. When looking at Annabel’s family, all you see is a puzzle made entirely of pieces that fit perfectly, but if you look a little closer, you can see the small cracks and lines that show that the puzzle was made to appear that way. While Annabel’s family is dealing with her sister Whitney’s eating disorder, Annabel is dealing with the harsh reality of being a teenager. Annabel plays a girl in a commercial for Kopf’s Department Store who has everything, from popular cheerleader to straight “A” student, her character has it all, but Annabel doesn’t, she’s lost a friend named Sophie and at the same time can find no happiness within her own home.

In my opinion, Sarah Dessen is trying to say that there will be things in life that are not meant to work out or be perfect, but if you keep going there will be other things in life that will fill the hole of the things that ended up not going so well. Last year, I lost a friend who didn’t treat me, as a friend should. Sometimes I missed the good side of her, the one that was friendly and kind. As I moved on, I met other people and made new friends to replace the unoccupied spot of the girl I used to be friends with. Sara Dessen speaks to the readers through her book, giving messages and signs saying: things will get better.

If you ever find yourself fumbling to find a fictional romance novel, Just Listen is the way to go. While reading this book, it can often relate to times in your life because it’s about the grim reality of a teenage girl, who suffers the same things as many of us do. Although this book is somewhat long, being at a maximum of 371 pages, I would highly recommend it. While reading each page, it made me want to peek around to the next one just to see what would happen next. This novel is filled with unexpected events, leaving the reader wanting more. I’m done blabbering on about the book, so all I have now to say is to just read it!