Just Listen

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SPOILERS AHEAD

Like most of Dessen's heroines, Annabelle has been through some Serious Sh*t, and although her silence is frustrating at times, I don't blame her for retreating into herself and trying to pretend that hadn't happened to her. It's true that becoming labeled as "the girl who was raped" or even harsher "the girl who SAID she was raped" is something people have a hard time forgetting. There's no other way this book was going to end, though, than with Annabelle finally gathering her courage and finally telling the truth about what happened to her, and spilling all the secrets she'd been keeping for the last six months.

It made sense that Owen was a big encouragement to her finally telling the truth: she wanted to be the person he saw her as, and Owen saw Emily as strong and honest. But she also needed the others around her to finally see her: her sisters, her parents, Clarke, Emily. I was a little frustrated by Owen when he got so angry at her not telling him what was going on. No matter how close you've gotten, if it's something she still can't say to you, don't you think that maybe it's a big deal, and you could be a little more understanding?

It might seem like stories like these aren't as relevant to my life as a 30-something, but sometimes we all need to be reminded that we are loved as we are, that those we love can be trusted, and that life will go on.

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