Just Listen audiobook

"The best way out is always through." This book kept me thinking...How many times did you answer to the question "how are you" with just "fine", or "I’m ok"?How many times did you feel like your heart was breaking but you couldn't make it right?How many of your dark, inside secrets have made your heart break a little bit more every day?How many times did you need help but you didn't know how to ask for it?How many people tried to be part of your life, but you kept them in dark?How many times when someone got too close to you, did you push that person away?How many times did you have so much to tell, but didn’t find the words?How many times silence got so loud that you couldn't bear to listen to it any longer?Someone said that the mp3 players were made for the people that can’t handle their own thoughts… So tell me, how many times did you get yourself lost in music, not wanting to hear the rhythm of your own heartbeat?Too many times to count.There are secrets that we keep safe in our heart, there are things that could hurt the people we love if we let them out, there are friendships lost between the layers of time, and there are people that get to know us better than anyone because they know how to look into our heart..For all these, there is this book – about broken hearts, and lost dreams, about loneliness, and silent cries, about being too late and second chances, about love in every form we can find it.And for all those people we need to do one thing: just listen. In this story we meet Annabel - a girl that has lost her old friends, her old life and eventually, herself.She doesn’t know what to do with her life, she doesn’t know how to be part of her family that seems to be falling apart, she doesn’t know how to say “I’m sorry”, she doesn’t know how to say what’s wrong with her, and she doesn’t know what to do with all the bad things that happened to her and she didn’t say a word to no one about.When one boy from school, Owen, starts hanging with her and challenging her to put into words her real feelings as they are, the chaos that her life has become seems to get bigger, and the only way for her to make things right is to start being honest with the people around her (her mother, her friends, even Owen), and more than that, to be honest with herself. "Plus there's the fact that music is a total constant. That's why we have such a strong visceral connection to it, you know? Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in you or the world, that one song stays the same, just like that moment." You would think that telling the truth is as easy as breathing, but is it? Who decides if a lie is big or small; if a lie can make us happy or sad? And if we say the truth, will it make a difference? And how do you know, whom you can trust with your secrets? And how do you know if they will believe the truth or they will think that it’s another lie?How do you say what you want, when you don’t even know it, and how will you face the truth when you’re trying to run away from it?Yes, we live in a world full of lies – some of them are meant to make us feel better, some are meant to make us cry; some of us can make the difference between a dark secret and a light lie, but most of us are starting to forget what being honest really is: not to say all that you think, but to think all that you say!So, the next time your heart is telling you its truth.. just listen! Yeah. Don't think, or judge. Just Listen. This review can also be found at ReadingAfterMidnight.com____________________________________________Blog (EN) | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Bloglovin' | Blog (RO)____________________________________________

if theres one thing i know for certain, its that i wish i had sarah dessen novels in my teens. this book came out when i was in high school, so it makes me a little regretful that its taken me nearly a decade to read it. there is just something about her stories that i know teenage me would have greatly valued. this story in particular deals with a much heavier topic than im used to from SD, but im glad for it. (view spoiler)[rape and sexual assault (hide spoiler)] are things that need to be openly talked about so that girls (especially teenage girls) are aware and can know that their voices are important. and i loved how the heart of this book is listening to your own voice, because sometimes thats the hardest one to acknowledge.heaviness aside, this is still a classic SD story. its the same old formulaic structure with interchangeable characters and predictable endings. however, i have come to rely on these things over time. its sort of become a comfort to know exactly what i am going to get when i pick up one of her books. and this was no exception. ↠ 3.5 stars

"There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you'd better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you'll never understand what it's saying."This was spectacular. After the disappointment that was Saint Anything I wasn't motivated to try another Sarah Dessen novel for a while. However I was looking for a nice summer read and Just Listen popped into my head. Many of my friends told me that it was their favourite Dessen book (mine is The Truth About Forever) and I decided that it was time I read it.Sarah Dessen's books are always the same: it's a typical American chick lit novel. A pretty main character who pretends everything is perfect, high school cliques, surburban moms and a cute, handsome love interest. You could narrow it down to that, but it's so much more. Sarah really managed to surprise me. Behind the facade of the typical light summer read hides a thoughtful story. Maybe that is because my expectations were so low, but I didn't think that I would love this book so much. The only things I could criticise is the rather plain main character and her father. A husband and father of three daughters shouldn't evade arguments. He shouldn't run for cover when the talk turns to menstruation or buying tampons. He should man up.There are a few things you should know before you go into this book. It deals with difficult topics, such as depression, eating disorders and rape. But in my opinion Sarah Dessen handled them extremely well and I am again surprised that she dared to bring so much heaviness and depth to this novel. That is also what impressed me the most, though.I wonder if Sarah's newest book is just as good as this one. I might just have to check it out.Find more of my books on Instagram

Annabel Green lives in a glass house - literally. But even inside of the glass house that her father built, she realizes that it is easy to hide secrets. It is easy to hide the fact that her mother has become a different person since her grandmother’s death. That her oldest sister has moved away, leaving a gaping hole in the family.It is easy to hide the fact that her other sister is suffering from an eating disorder that her parents choose to dismiss until it’s almost too late. Like her family, Annabel also has secrets to hide. It is easy to cover up the reasons why her friends no longer talk to her. But why is Annabel Green so keen on hiding from her friends and family? She seems to have the perfect life – great friends, a nice family, and a promising career as a model. At least, she did until that night last summer…The only person she seems to connect with anymore is another high school student who is a loner by choice. Owen teaches Annabel that she needs to be honest with everyone – including herself. She has been ignoring the one voice she should have been listening to all along – her own. When it comes to music, other people’s opinions, or Annabel’s inner monologue, Owen’s advice remains the same: don’t judge...just listen.

Just Listen now replaces This Lullaby as my favorite by Sarah Dessen and has earned a well deserved place among my favorite YAs of all time. This is one of the most beautifully written novels I’ve ever read and I’m still a bit sniffling as I’m writing this review. The story is mainly about Annabel, who despite her beauty and popularity just wants to keep to herself and opts to hide her true feelings and problems being the youngest daughter of three girls in her family. Seeing her parents already going through so much especially with her middle sister’s illness, she decides to unburden her own family by burying in silence her deepest, darkest trouble and attempts to live her life by simply trying to forget until she becomes friends with Owen who could be quickly described as a teenage Hulk with constant earphones and a faithful servant of honesty and straightforwardness. Together, Annabel and he are dubbed as Beauty and the Beast but I love that they both don’t care, especially Owen who has this admirable, refreshing character and personality. I learned quite a lot from him especially from his effective anger management techniques and his passionate perspective about music even if his choices are mostly eccentric. This is one of those YA contemporaries that managed to hit so many targets in just one story. It also managed to shoot me straight to the heart resulting to unavoidable waterworks even though there were so many times the characters and dialogues cracked me up too. I love that the story is rich in themes especially on family, how it portrays both the dark and bright side of every family, how every individual member sometimes goes through something so dark but that is what family is for, to be there for you no matter what. I also love the individual stories of Annabel and her sisters that put so much meaning and layers in the story contributing to this one whole meaningful theme that resonated throughout the novel. I also admire the emphasis on the power of music, its ability to heal, to connect people and to make important memories linger.JUST LISTEN. Two very short and simple words consisting of one simple sentence but these two words will now mean so much more to me and hopefully to more people out there as well because whether we admit it or not, a lot of people spend more time talking than really listening. I take back my most recent comment on Ms. Sarah Dessen’s books because she has exceeded herself in this novel. She has earned both my awe and respect for coming up with this beautiful piece that gripped, touched, inspired and most of all enlightened me and I would wholeheartedly recommend this to everyone.

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.comUp until now, THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER has always been my favorite Sarah Dessen book. Now that I've read JUST LISTEN, however, I think there's a tie! The characters of this latest release are so honestly real, their dialogue perfectly placed, that you can't help but be pulled into the life and times of Annabel Greene. Of course everyone thinks that Annabel has the perfect life. She's a model who has been in television commercials, in print ads, and in fashion shows at the local mall. She's popular at school, even if it is mostly because she's best friends with Sophie, the high school girl who demands attention. Her father is an architect who designed their house of glass; her mother lives for Annabel's modeling; she has two older sisters, Kirsten and Whitney, who are both former models themselves. Under all of that perfection, of course, lies the real Annabel. The one who suffered from something so horrible at the end of the last school year that she's lost not only her best friend, but her self-respect. Her family is so consumed with Whitney's eating disorder, with Kirsten's college life far away in New York, with keeping everything under control that Annabel doesn't tell them what's happened--the things that are still happening every day she goes to school just dreading the day. She doesn't want to add more problems to the mix; in fact, she lies by omission, simply avoiding the truth rather than shattering her family's illusions. But then Annabel meets Owen Armstrong, a boy she once watched punch out another student, then calmly walk away. Owen keeps to himself, never seems to be without his iPod, and doesn't appear to need any friends. But after he reaches out a hand to her, literally, after she's sick outside of school one day, a budding relationship of friendship begins to build between the guy who never lies, no matter what--and the girl who lies to protect other's feelings, namely her own. I loved JUST LISTEN. Owen is a character that will immediately grab your interest, especially with lines like "...for me, not saying how I feel when I feel it is a bad move. So I don't do it. Look at it this way: I might be saying you're fat, but at least I'm not punching you in the face." As for Annabel, the things she's holding inside are tearing her apart, and, in the end, it's the strength of her sisters that gets her to ask for help. The characters of Kirsten and Whitney are complicated and complex, and I have to admit that there's a part near the end of the book in which the sisters come together that had me crying like a baby. As for Annabel, it's not all about telling the truth, but about listening, not just to others, but mostly to that voice inside of her: "...this is what happens when you try to run from the past. It doesn't just catch up: it overtakes, blotting out the future, the landscape, the very sky, until there is no path left except that which leads through it, the only one that can ever get you home."

I'd seen so much about Sarah Dessen and her books but I never got around to reading one of her books until a friend gave me Just Listen. I started it right away and finished it within a couple days. It's save to say I'll be read another Sarah Dessen book soon.This book is so well written and emotional. I quickly became invested in not just Annabel but her whole family has well. Just Listen deals with many difficult issues and I felt like everything was handled in a very powerful way. I love how Just Listen focused a lot on family. Not a lot of YA books include family has a main theme but Just Listen did. And it was consistently a main focus though out the whole book. There was so much character development in this book! I love development in teenage characters and Sarah Dessen is amazing at it with this book.Owen was such an amazingly well written character. He's so honest and I loved how he was able to teach his honesty to Annabel. I wish more male characters were like Owen.Overall, I loved this book so much. It was so heartfelt and powerful. I'm basically at a loss for words because my love for this book cannot be expressed with words. I highly recommend picking this book up.

“No matter how much time has passed, these things still affect us and the world we live in. If you don't pay attention to the past, you'll never understand the future. It's all linked together.” I'm so in my feelings about finally writing a review for this book! This has been my favorite Sarah Dessen title since the first time I picked it up, waaaay back in 2006. Her books introduced me to the YA contemporary genre, and this one has been dear to my heart for so long that I was a little bit afraid to reread it. This was probably my 12th reread, but it had been a while, so I'm happy to say that I still enjoyed every moment of it. ❤PLOT ➳➳Annabel used to have it all. She was a successful teen model, she hung out with the coolest girls in school, she went to all the best parties... everything was fine, until her sister developed anorexia and had to go to treatment; until modeling became less of a joy and more of a nightmare; until a party went wrong and her former best friend managed to convince everyone who mattered that Annabel was a relationship wrecker.CHARACTERS ➳➳This book is full of characters that feel really authentic and genuine:• There’s Annabel, whose biggest flaw is that she’s dishonest, because she hates confrontations and saying what she really feels. The entire plot of the book really wouldn’t even exist without her refusal to just speak up and say what’s on her mind, but we get to follow her as she grows and learns how to be honest and listen to her heart.• Owen, the love interest, seems at first like your typical “bad boy”: he’s big and tall and brooding and a little bit scary because he has anger issues. Rumors abound that say he’s done hard time, he’s violent, etc. We learn pretty quickly that he’s not only a bit of a teddy bear, but he’s also really freaking geeky when it comes to music. Completely obsessed, and not with the death metal and rock that we’re led to expect, but with… chants? And techno? He’s an odd character in the best way and he’s easily my favorite part of the book, because his banter is so damn cute and he’s got a heart of gold.• Whitney, Annabel’s middle sister, suffers with an eating disorder that manages to never feel like a prop, despite it being present only in a side character (instead of the narrator, as we usually see in YA). I was enthralled by how much effort Sarah puts into fleshing her out beyond just her disorder.• Sophie, the former best friend, is one of my favorite portrayals of the “mean girl” trope, because she feels genuine. She’s got a troubled past to explain her behavior, and Annabel even relates stories from their friendship that offer insight into how Sophie’s behavior hurt her with just as many people as it helped her with - rather than just showing her as some sort of goddess that everyone in the school is unable to resist, which is a trope that I HATE in YA contemporaries.There isn’t really anything to say on anyone else, but I do always love the fact that Sarah throws in a few characters from her other books here and there (I won’t tell you who cameos in this one – you’ll have to read it and see!).CATALYSTS ➳➳There are a few different catalysts for action in this book (like Whitney's ED, or Owen's anger management issues, or Annabel's modeling), but the most important and primary one is the trauma that happened to Annabel. We learn early on that Sophie hates Annabel over something that happened at the end of the previous school year, and with the way she constantly calls Annabel a "slut" or a "whore", coupled with Annabel's obvious symptoms of PTSD when she sees a certain male individual, it's not hard to put two and two together.In case you didn't guess it early on, though, Sarah does take us through Annabel's thought processes as she slowly comes to terms with what happened, and it climaxes in a chaotic memory of a party that she regretted ever going to. There's a big scene that I wouldn't call graphic, but will say it could be potentially triggering for abuse survivors.That said, Sarah writes the entire plot arc beautifully. Annabel's feelings felt so genuine and real and I related well enough to some of the things that she said and did, that I found myself wondering if Sarah writes from experience. I hope not, but we all know the statistics. On a happier note, we get to watch Annabel slowly heal, with the amazing support system she has in place.FINAL VERDICT ➳➳This may be partially nostalgia speaking here, but I love this book so much and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA contemporaries, especially if you've been considering trying out one of Sarah's many well-acclaimed works and just don't know where to start in her bibliography.Content warnings: this book includes scenes of sexual assault, eating disorders, violence, and slut-shaming (from side characters).

this was - when i used to read a lot of sarah dessen - my favorite sarah dessen book. to the best of my recollection. (even the best of my recollection is not a very good recollection.)anyway. that's why it seemed a good place to start on the Massive Sarah Dessen-Centered Reread Bonanza of 2018. which was supposed to happen in 2017. but life, you know? i do not keep my promises.this was exactly what i wanted, and also a lot more than i'd bargained for??? i am the worst ever, so i'd forgotten that sarah dessen delivers a hell of a lot more than sweet, fluffy love stories. (although, sometimes that.)this book covers eating disorders, rape, victim-shaming, the sh*ttiness of high school, a dash of bullying, a nearly-book-boyfriend-a-ble love interest, family drama, sisterhood, music, a sprinkle of anxiety, and character development like the world has NEVER SEEN. your fave could never.so even though it wasn't perfect (long, v dramatic, semi-flat characters, fairly f*cking repetitive)........it was pretty damn good.bottom line: DESSEN REREAD OFF TO A GOOD START. (but not a perfect one.)

Don't think or judge, just listen.These words are screaming in my head right now and lord, are they inspiring. Annabel, just your average girl used to be popular, had one really popular friend and had everything right. She keeps to herself about what happened during summer, where everything turned upside down. The story starts off with her and gets even better once she meets Owen. He is most definitely music obsessed, always telling the truth and has anger management issues.I loved Owen! He takes his music so seriously, it's laughable! If he was real and saw that comment, he'd kill me. No joke. But that's what I love about him as do others in this book. He's completely honest and won't think twice about lying to others. Annabel, however, refuses to tell the truth of what caused her life to come to this.Oh, I could dedicate this whole review just to Owen, but I won't.I promise!They way Annabel and Owen developed was really interesting, it wasn't insta-love and it wasn't like they were destined to be with each other. But how these two were like forced together, two loners at high school, was so intense to read. It is talent when you make the reader (someone like me), love your characters with all my heart and the romance, ohhhhh~~~ the romance *swoons* I think I died reading it. I must say there was a lot of reflecting back to the past in this book, but I think Sarah Dessen did a awesome job at it. It's not like info dumping, where it just gets ridiculous and boring. All of it was necessary and showed so much depth. I really think Just Listen puts your mind into perspective of Annabel's life, there's drama of all sorts; eating problems, romance, friendship, family, modelling. This contemporary novel is one of a kind.Her story is so remarkable; you want to read all the secrets yourself. No review can some up the words for this genuine novel.All the unscrambled situations will work itself out in the end.Sarah Dessen will not disappoint the young teen readers.Once you start you won’t be able to stop. That’s a promise.Simply adored the book for the way the story is told. Loved the R and R's, the two rings that Owen wears and the World of Waffles!PS: If you're not too convinced with this review, let it go to hell and read the book anyway, cause it's worth it!

Friend: How was your day?Me: Fine.Friend: What did you do?Me: Nothing.That's kinda how I felt about this book. It was "fine". I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. And, for most of it, I felt like "nothing" was going on. And I really don't feel like talking about the banality."Why this book?" you might be asking. Well, I chose this book to fulfill a challenge—read a book tagged "family" at least 10 times. This one was tagged 63 times as family and it was by the Sarah Dessen. I was feeling good about my choice.BUT... While this book is a work of fiction, you truly had to suspend all disbelief in order to accept the premise that Annabel, a beautiful high school girl who has been modeling her whole life, who has two older sisters who were also models, and who comes from an affluent family, would be shunned by her entire school after a supposed incident with her best friend's boyfriend. Really? Everyone is so afraid of Sophie (the so-called best friend) that no one will talk to Annabel anymore? No one asks her what really happened? And she's so afraid of confrontation that she never shares her true feelings with anyone?I get that the point of the story was that things are often much different than they appear to be on the surface, but Annabel was written in such a way as to appear pretty much flawless. From the beginning, I felt disconnected from her and her social plight. Once her sister's "illness" (anorexia) was introduced, and Annabel struck up an unlikely friendship with Owen, a reformed bad boy (and giant teddy bear) with a commitment to truth-telling, the story got more interesting. Still... (btw, this word was used in this way so often that I wished I had kept count).It wasn't until about two-thirds of the way through that I actually started liking Just Listen. I was sure I was only going to rate it 3-stars, partly because of the disconnect and partly because I was frustrated with Annabel's reticence to do the right thing out of fear of confrontation. But, by around the 70% mark, we finally see the beginning of a healthy relationship between Annabel and Owen; we are finally made to understand why Whitney (the sister with anorexia) is the bitch that she is and you really feel for her and want her to succeed; we finally see the growth of Kirsten (the eldest sister) from self-absorbed nonstop chatterer to introspective college student and it is all good.A word about Owen... awesome! He was the gentle giant who always had his earbuds in and didn't bother anyone. He loved all kinds of music (except pop) obsessively and had his own show, Anger Management, on the local radio station at 7am on Sunday morning. He was a good listener. A good friend. And a good match for Annabel, outward appearances to the contrary.I have to also mention a couple of characters whom I really liked. Mallory, Owen's fashion-obsessed little sister, who stages fashion shoots at her house with her friends and makes Owen take the pictures. She's adorable in her exuberance! Also, Rolly, Owen's best friend and radio station co-worker who falls madly in love with a girl who punched him during a martial arts exhibit, but is waiting for the perfect moment to strike up a conversation with her. Great supplementary characters. By the way, I'm not going to say anything about Sophie because she was horrible.Bottom Line: I like Sarah Dessen's writing style, but this book wasn't great. I know 4 stars means "really liked it", but I think of the stars as letter grades. A-Excellent, B-Good, C-Fair, D-Poor, F-Fail. So this is probably a B-, but I always round up. 😉 Favorite Quotes:"Maybe it was a stupid exercise and you couldn't grow things in winter. But there was something I liked about the idea of those seeds, buried so deep, having at least a chance to emerge. Even if you couldn't see it beneath the surface, molecules were bonding, energy pushing up slowly, as something worked so hard all alone to grow.""I was beginning to understand, though, that there were no such things as absolutes. Not in life or in people. Like Owen said, it was day by day if not moment by moment. All you could do was take on as much weight as you can bear and, if you're lucky, there's someone close enough by to shoulder the rest.""Don't think or judge. Just listen."

4 stars!This author right here is the reason why I’ll always read YA! There’s something captivating about her stories how she focuses on the family dynamic. Because her stories are more than a love relationship it’s about dealing with serious issues. This one was one of the most intense I’ve read by her. I love the growth of the h, Annabel at the beginning of the story she was really lost not just by the fallout of her relationship with her best friend but her family as well. The author did a great job by giving us a glimpse of how Annabel seemed to lose herself. The H, Owen was so lovely I enjoyed this love of music I have to say his music taste was one of the most interesting I’ve ever read it made their banter fun. I was really glad that Annabel found her voice on her own I mean she had the support of Owen but ultimately she took the step on her own. The only thing is I wanted to happen sooner and for the relationship between Annabel and Owen to develop more. Still another profound and captivating by SD! ♥️ ”Don’t think, don’t judge, just listen”

4 stars! “Don't think or judge, just listen.” Just Listen is the story of Annabel, a high school senior going through a rough time. After something happened at a party last spring, she no longer has all her friends and has alienated herself from everyone else. Surprisingly, she becomes friends with the school outcast, Owen, and the two bond through music. “There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you'd better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you'll never understand what it's saying.” This is the kind of “sweet” book that I enjoy. I never had any intention of reading this book, but it came up on the Top 100 YA books on Goodreads so I decided to suck it up and give it a chance. I am so glad I did. I mostly devoured this book. The first five chapters I listened to on audio, but the narrator made Owen sound like a stuffed up seven-year-old and I couldn’t take it anymore! I went out and bought the paperback and from there I devoured this book in a matter of hours. I thought this was a thoughtful novel on what it’s like to be a teenage girl, the expectations and pressures involved. I loved the story of Annabel and her family, it was so wonderfully done. And I like that the reformed “bad boy” was actually a very sweet guy. More teen books need to have love interests like Owen. “There comes a time in every life when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your heart.” Follow me on ♥ Facebook ♥ Blog ♥ Instagram ♥ Twitter ♥

Review posted on Fafa's Book Corner !Beware spoilers ahead!Last year I read my very first Sarah Dessen book Saint Anything. I loved it and continued to look for more book by Sarah Dessen! Out of all her books the synopsis of Just Listen appealed to me the most. Which is why I decided to read this before the rest of my Sarah Dessen books. I am happy to say that I enjoyed it!The book begins with Annabel watching a commercial she was in. She turns off the tv and mentally prepares herself for school. Annabel has been dreading going to school for months now. After the argument with Sophie and avoiding everyone in school she's not sure what she'll find when she reaches school.When Annabel reaches school she sits in her car for a few minutes just to think everything through. As she gets out of her car she and Sophie came face-to-face. Sophie swears at her and leaves. It becomes evident that there is no way to salvage their friendship and for the rest of the year Sophie will consistently pick on her.The first day goes by in a blur. As Annabel tries to make conversation with other people they don't talk to her. Last May she wanted nothing to do with other people now she's getting just what she wanted. During lunch she sits alone. Apparently Emily is choosing to sit with Sophie even though Annabel was friends with her first. Annabel's former best friend Clarke clearly wants nothing to do with her. And then there's Owen. Who seems intimidating and closed off. While she's eating lunch she sees Will Cash pass by. She freezes up and once he leaves she vomits in the bush.The next weeks continue normally. Sophie will call Annabel names when she least's expects it. Annabel eats lunch alone and keeps to herself. While Annabel is leaving school Will Cash catches her eye and talks to her. Annabel manages to get away quickly. Sophie confronts Annabel and threaten's her for talking to Will who is apparently Sophie's boyfriend. Annabel snaps and pushes Sophie. Annabel runs away and vomits in the bush again. Owen is yet again there to witness and helps Annabel. After that day the two of them become friends.Wow this was such a good book! In the beginning I thought that it would be a 3 star but as I read on I found myself really enjoying it! This book is written in first person in Annabel's point of view. There are quite a few flashbacks but it ever became overwhelming.I loved the family aspect in this book! Annabel's older sister Whitney was diagnosed with Anorexia. For the past few months it's been difficult for Whitney and her family. In the beginning Whitney didn't acknowledge that there was something wrong. That what she was doing wasn't healthy. She didn't see it that way.Their oldest sister Kiersten noticed (they lived together) but Whitney claimed that Kiersten must have been jealous of her as Whitney got more modeling opportunities than Kiersten. Once the family caught on they continued to support and be there for Whitney. The eating disorder was very well done! Whitney didn't get better in one day she took time but she got there. I liked the entire family in general. My favourite was definitely Kiersten. Annabel and Sophie's relationship was complicated. In a sense it was an abusive relationship. Unhealthy. Sophie spent most of her time bullying Annabel into what she wanted. Annabel gave in because she was scared off crossing her. Plus Sophie was the reason she was popular and gained most of her experiences from. Once they stop being friends Annabel realizes that she shouldn't have stuck around Sophie. She already lost Clarke and now she wants to make it up by being friends with Owen.While I haven't been in the same situation as Annabel I could relate and empathize with her. I understood why she was scared of Sophie and why she kept that night a secret. It didn't bother me at all. It made perfect sense and was handled well. Annabel lies quite a bit. Not because she enjoys lying but because she's afraid that if she tells the truth she'll hurt the people she cares about. It's her way of maintaining peace in her life.This all changes when Annabel meets Owen. Owen went to juvie for getting in a fight with a guy in the parking lot. Since then he has had to take Anger Management and vows to be honest in every aspect. Owen is extremely passionate about music and tries to educate Annabel in it. Owen also gets Annabel to be honest with everything she has to say. Surprisingly Annabel does so because it's easy being honest with Owen. I found Owen to be a refreshing character! I really liked reading about him! The romance is slow burn and it was done well! It was nice reading about Annabel's character development! Being around Owen has made her more confident and honest. She's actually happy with her life when she wasn't earlier. Annabel also learns so much from Whitney and admire's her strength for overcoming everything.I didn't have any problems with Just Listen. I simply didn't love it hence the rating. Note there is abuse in this book. If you are a sensitive reader you might not enjoy this book. I would suggest reading another contemporary.Overall this was a really good book! I recommend it to fans of the author and contemporary fans.