Just Listen - Sarah Dessen

If you love Sarah Dessen, you will, naturally, love this book. However, this is very clearly her first time handling issues of such importance as a central theme. She calls it her version of Speak, if that’s any indication of what the underlying problem with her protagonist is, but Dessen also tackles anorexia and dysfunctional families. I felt that her initial attempt to cover the anorexia issue was a little bit shallow – a model goes out on her own and suddenly has an eating disorder, is forced to come home, and sent to the hospital/therapy. It’ s a very cliché situation, but as the story progresses she does seem to add depth, which could be because anorexia is not the main subject, but merely a sidestory of the protagonist’s older sister. On the other hand, Dessen deftly handled the molestation issues and wrote with the same talent as she always has. I would recommend it to any teenage girl.

Review by: Chelsea Grimmer

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