Parents' Guide to

Just Listen

By Matt Berman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Teen girl struggles following trauma in riveting novel.

Book Sarah Dessen Contemporary Fiction 2006
Just Listen Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

See all
age 14+

Based on 5 parent reviews

victorianmermaid
victorianmermaid Adult
August 6, 2015
age 14+

Great book

This is a great book for the very mature young lady. It deals with subject such as rape, underage drinking and smoking. Definitely not for everyone. I personally really enjoyed this book but I didn't read it til my junior year of high school. Read with caution.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
write on track
write on track Adult
June 3, 2010
age 14+

A good real life example of eting disorders...

I really like how Dessen portrayed anorexia through a different point of view, and how it can affect the lives of family members and others that really care about you.

This title has:

Too much consumerism
Great messages
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Annabel's life looks pretty good. She has a loving family, lives in a beautiful home, and is a successful teen model. But her junior year of high school is looking to be the worst year of her life. Her mother has been fragile and depressed since the death of her own mother. Her sisters are fighting all the time, and one of them is hostile and dangerously anorexic. Annabel wants to quit modeling but is afraid to tell her mother. And she has lost all of her friends because of something that happened at the beginning of the summer that she is unable to talk about, and that her classmates and former friends have drastically misunderstood. The only person who will talk to her is Owen, a loner with a juvenile record, anger management issues, and strange taste in music. But there's one thing he knows all about: how to be honest.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (70 ):

This angst-filled, moving novel is so engrossing it's truly difficult to put down. Thanks to author Sara Dessen's exquisite attention to detail, each moment in Just Listen is rendered so clearly and vividly that readers can easily enter Annabel's world: her misery at school and home, her inability to deal forthrightly with any of her problems, and her developing relationship with troubled outcast Owen. The characters are equally vivid, especially menacing Owen, with his bizarre musical tastes, theories, and unusual life outside school. He's a real original. And all of the main and secondary characters have an intriguing emotional complexity usually missing in teen problem novels.

Though Dessen doesn't reveal the pivotal event until near the end, most readers will have figured it out almost from the beginning. Still, it's a testament to her skill that despite the fact that for large stretches not much happens, this is a real page-turner.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk abut the importance of consent and how sexual assault is portrayed and dealt with in Just Listen. Why would someone feel she had to keep such an experience a secret?

  • Just Listen has been a best-seller since it came out. Why do you think it continues to be so popular?

  • Compare Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak with Just Listen. How are they similar? Are they both realistic?

Book Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended book lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate