just listen by sarah dessen

genre: teen lit

recap: {back cover} annabel greene is the girl who has everything. at least, that's what she portrays in her modeling shoots. but annabel's life is far from perfect. her friendship with sophie ended bitterly, and her older sister's eating disorder is weighing down the entire family. isolated and ostracized at school and at home, annabel retreats into silent acceptance. then she meets owen - intense, music-obsessed, and determined to always tell the truth. and with his guidance, annabel learns to just listen to herself and gains the courage to speak honestly. but will she be able to tell everyone what eally happened the night she and sophie stopped being friends?

review: sarah dessen books always have some sort of big scary issue happening, and this one had two: the anorexia, and the rape. what wasn't really talked about, and i wish had been covered or even addressed at all, was how abusive and horrible sophie was, and why she continued to be the way she was and nobody stood up to her. even after all the talk about "just listening" and "telling the truth" and "being honest with herself", annabel still never really stood up to anyone except will cash, and even then it wasn't face to face. i wanted some good revenge, some telling people off. but i guess in a book aimed toward teenage girls, who never confront anything and are so self-absorbed, it was more true to real life. like all sarah dessen books, this was good. i've read several and i'm sure i'll read more.