Just Listen ~ Book number 1 on my summer reading list

Like I mentioned before, this summer I want to do a summer reading list of some of my favorite summer reads. It's taken me forever to start this, because I'm always afraid once I make the list, I'll find more that I want to add. So I'm doing it this way... Book reviews! For every book that I think would make a good summer read, I'll write a review on it, that way I can just keep adding to the list when I find another book that's 'summer reading worthy.' So... here's the first book on my list, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen!


Just Listen is a novel written by Sarah Dessen. It's the story of Annabel Greene, the girl who has everything. Or she was. Now she's the girl that has nothing. Dealing with losing her best friend, her anorexic sister, and a chaotic home is a lot for Annabel to handle. Then she meets Owen Armstrong. Owen is tall, dark and handsome, and totally obsessed with music. He's also addicted to telling the truth. And maybe, with Owen's help, Annabel can face the truth of what happened that night when She and Sophie stopped being friends.
The main characters of this book would be Annabel herself, Owen, Sophie, Annabel's ex-best friend, and Whitney, one of Annabel's sisters.
The minor characters include Kristen, Annabel's other sister, Grace, Annabel's mom, Mallory, Owen's sister, Emily, Sophie's best friend after Annabel, Clarke, Annabel's ex best friend, Rolly, the guy who works on the radio show with Owen, and Will, Sophie's boyfriend.
As always, in Sarah Dessen's book, there is a little bit of mild language. It's nothing bad, and I barely even noticed it as I got wrapped up in Annabel's story. (Just in case any of you were wondering.)
It's hard to pick my favorite character from this book, because there were so many and each character was special and unique.
It's also really hard to pick my favorite scene in the book, but I think it would have to be the one where Annabel shows up at Owen's radio show REALLY early one morning, and then she tells him "Don't think or judge, just listen." Either that or the scene at the court house where Owen beats up this one guy for... Well, I can't tell you that. I know it's going to sound wierd, but that scene was so sweet.
I can't say a lot about this book without giving it away, but it's a really good book, and Sarah Dessen hit's the nail on the head again with this one, with her insight into the life of teen girls. I think you'll find yourself relating to some of the characters in this book, just like I did. I would rate this book a 4.3 out of 5. (I know, they are all rated so high, but they are all SO good!) This was a very real book. It made me think, and by the end I didn't want the story to be over. So if you're trying to find a book for a summer read, maybe consider Just Listen by Sarah Dessen.