Just lists
Just Listen is a novel by Sarah Dessen that was published by dtv in April 2008 in Germany and was translated by Gabriele Kosack .
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Annabel Greene seems to be the girl who has it all - at least that's what she portrays a girl in a commercial: a girl with great friends who goes to parties and is popular everywhere. But in reality none of this applies: An ugly rumor is making the rounds throughout the school, spread by Annabel's best friend Sophie. Annabel is silent about this rumor. Allegedly, she is said to have raped Sophie's friend, Will Cash, but nobody knows that he almost raped her.
Annabel is used to being silent and avoiding confrontations. Her family always pretends that everything is okay, and her two sisters, Kirsten and Whitney, also have great worries, which, however, only come true late. Eventually Annabel meets Owen, who is eyed suspiciously by everyone.
But she has been able to talk to Owen for a long time, he is obsessed with music and above all: he always tells the truth. Annabel quickly realizes that since she's dating Owen, she's been able to pronounce what she's thinking much better, and it gets better every day. In fact, she even confides in him that she wants to quit modeling, a job she grew up doing and her mom is very proud of. She learns to speak her mind again, even if only with music.
But then suddenly the whole past comes up again, so suddenly that Annabel isolates herself from Owen. He demands an explanation, but when she is silent so as not to lie, both avoid each other. Owen can't believe that Annabel - always honest in his eyes - is suddenly hiding something.
In the two months that Annabel reminds of the lonely, disturbed time before Owen, she tries to process what she had pushed aside all along: what happened to Will Cash that night, how she had spent a lonely summer, recalls of everything, although she shrinks from it. The music helps her above all: because a long time ago Owen burned her several CDs, which she listened to one after the other until she got to the last CD, which was labeled “Just Listen”. To Annabel's amazement, it is empty. But of all things this CD gives her the final breakthrough to make the decision to tell Owen everything. Through Annabel's honesty, the argument is forgotten, but Annabel also confesses everything to her family, including that she wants to stop modeling.
In the end, Will Cash is arrested. Annabel wasn't the first girl he'd molested and Emily, one of his victims, had filed a complaint against him. With the support of Owen and her family, Annabel manages to testify against him in court.
useful information
The book title Just Listen has several reasons for its name:
- Annabel finally needs someone who will just listen to her, both for her opinion and her problems. So Owen is the perfect listener in this book.
- The CD that Annabel was given by Owen is also called “Just Listen”, although it is much more about giving the music on this CD a chance by simply listening to the end.