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Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
In Just Listen, Sarah Dessen discusses what it means to listen, and more importantly, to be heard by somebody--anybody--who may be listening.
The protagonist, Ashley Greene, has enough of her own problems. She has a modeling job she wants to quit, she's an outcast in her school and on the streets and in her own home, her sister suffered from Anorexia, and she, herself, suffered from an episode that drastically changed her life....With all these problems,and more, she doesn't need something like a mysterious, possibly dangerous, boy to enter her life, but that's just what happens. The boy--Owen--teaches her that no matter who you are, no matter how people define you, if you listen and strive to be heard, you can achieve anything and everything.
Music. This book is usually associated by most people with music. It is about music, but not for the reasons most people think. Owen teaches her that within a song that is only moaning and chanting, there is something to be heard. Something, that can, in fact, be beautiful. And from that concept of listening to music, she learns how to speak and be heard in real life. Ashley realizes that there are people out there that are always listening to her. All she has to do is find her voice and somebody who will listen. Somebody who will just listen.
All in all, this was an amazing book, and should definitely be read by all teens who believe that nobody out there is listening to them. It's for all those "outcasts" who believe that nobody wants to hear them speak. Find somebody who will listen. Somebody who will just...listen.
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Favorite Quote:
"Run your fingers through my soul. For once, just once, feel exactly what I feel, believe what I believe, perceive as I perceive, look, experience, examine. and for one; just once, understand."-Anonymous