Just Listen is my second attempt at a Sarah Dessen book. (Read my review for This Lullaby) I liked This Lullaby okay, but wasn't wowed by it the way so many people seemed to be. But, I did enjoy it.
Just Listen was better. I felt more of a connection with these characters, and I can most definitely see myself reading more by Sarah Dessen in the near future.
Owen was a great character. The boy has got a lot of bottled up anger, but he's got a huge capacity for love as well. Watching him open up was wonderful. I think he was my favorite character in this story.
Annabel was also a great character, and it was painful watching her struggle. You have a pretty good idea the whole time why she's struggling so much, but that doesn't make it any easier to read about. She is hurting, and distrusting, but she slowly begins to open up to Owen, and allow him a place in her life. I thought they were great together, and I really wanted for things to work out.
This book really reminded me of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and I think that is a weakness of this story. Not because Just Listen isn't powerful or important, but because I believe Speak to be more so, and I read it first. That being said, I do honestly believe that Just Listen is an important story, one that needed to be told, and one that will touch just as many people as Speak has. Speak is powerful in its simplicity and sparseness, but Just Listen offers us a deeper look into the characters and their relationships with each other, not just focusing on the main character.
Music plays a hugely important role in Owen's life, and as they grow closer, it begins to change Annabel as well. This is a story that will reach certain people and that makes me truly happy, because people need to know that life gets better, that there can be an end to pain, that sometimes, all you have to do is be willing to listen.