1. Hong Nguyen Just Listen by Sarah Dessen Viking Juvenile 2006

2. Introduction
Annabel Greene, the girl who has everything, or so it would seem, struggles her senior year in high school trying to find herself. Over the summer, Sophie, her former best friend, severed ties between them, rudely ignoring her at school. Annabel becomes isolated from the “in” crowd. As she spends lunch together with Owen everyday, they develop a friendly relationship between them, no longer being lonely anymore. He teaches her how to be herself and to confront her fears.

3. Protagonist
Annabel was born in a modeling family with her two older sisters leading the way. She’s unsure of herself and fears confrontation of any sort. After her friendship ends with Sophie, Annabel learns to be independent and grow with the help of Owen. As she spends more time with Owen, music becomes more embedded in her life, hence the title Just Listen.

4. Antagonist
Will Cash is Sophie’s boyfriend who goes to another school. He’s known as the handsome and popular guy. Sophie becomes jealous because of the girls constantly flirting around him. At the end of the story, it’s revealed that Will had a shady past.

5. Conflict
Throughout the novel, Annabel deals mostly with internal conflicts of her fears.
However, at a block party celebrating the end of the school year, Annabel’s life changes forever on that one night as she deals with the climatic conflict.
This is her ultimate external conflict.

6. Minor Characters
At first, Sophie went after Annabel’s sister, Whitney, hoping to become her friends with her, but then settled for Annabel. Sophie is a cruel, annoying, and bossy girl who wishes to control not only her friends, but also her boyfriend. During summer vacation, Sophie accuses Annabel of being a whore without listening to the whole story. At the end of without a boyfriend
the book, her role is the lonely

7. Minor Characters (cont.)
Clarke was Annabel’s best friend prior to Sophie. Unlike Annabel, Clarke does not succumb to Sophie’s whims and bossiness, unafraid to be herself, which ended up causing her not to be friends with Annabel or Sophie anymore. However, at the end of the story, she becomes a support for Annabel and her decisions.
Whitney is Annabel’s oldest sister who becomes anorexic from the pressure to stay thin in the modeling industry. Her disease comes to affect everyone in the family. She plays a major part in Annabel’s insecurity and discomfort around the family.
Whitney
Clarke

8. What Critics Said
The article’s author finds this piece of literature realistic and easy to relate to. Dessan “breathes life into the characters”, making them seem so real, especially Sophie’s downfall of grace listen/
“Just Listen is a very good book, like all the books I have read by Sarah Dessen. I'd recommend it to anyone.”
j According the Alessandro, Just Listen is a book worth picking up twice, as she did. just-listen.html

9. What I Say!
In my opinion, Just Listen is an excellent choice of reading while relaxing on a hammock or at the beach. You can literally imagine the characters as if they were really nonfiction people. Even with the foreshadowing, the climax caught me by surprise with my mouth gasped open. Dessen is a great young adult writer, so GO READ HER BOOKS!