Just Listen

The book I read was called 'Just Listen' By Sarah Dessen. It was amazing. I loved it. It's about this teenage girl, Annabel Greene. She's a model and has been since she was 3. She has 2 other sisters. One of her sisters, Whitney, almost dies from anorexia. Meanwhile, that summer her ex-best friend, Sophie, accuses her of sleeping with her boyfriend at a party; but really, he tries raping her. Sophie gets the whole school against her, or as Annabel thinks, with all the rumors being said. She thinks life can't get much worse. She hates her modeling carer, but she doesn't have the heart to tell her mother. After her mother's mother died, she was depressed as is.

Annabel goes to lunch and always sits against the brick wall, alone. Till she sees this one guy, Owen. He's tall, strong and really scary looking. He always has his headphones in. One day, Annabel got in sort of a mash-up with Sophie at the end of the day and Owen comes over and asks her if she's OK, gives her a tissue, and brings her home. Since that day, they become the best of friends. She tells him things about her life that are very secretive, without knowing what she's doing. They talk about music, and she listens to his radio show every morning at 7:00 am. She goes to his radio show one morning and tells him what happened at the party, for the first time ever telling someone. He convinces her to go to trial about it. After testifying, things get better for Annabel, and for her family, too. Her sister is healing just as quick, also.

I loved this book so much. Not because it's pretty much like a chick-flick, but it's just really moving and awesome. I honestly did not hate anything about this book. I could not put it down. I would recommend this book to someone who likes drama, chick-flicks, and girly-emotional stuff. It's not a series, and it was really quick to read because it was just so good, and couldn't put it down. The book is only about 300 and something pages. Not too long. The book was not unusual, it's about the real world. These things happen.

Quotations

"I was beginning to see, though, that the unknown wasn't always the greatest thing to fear. The people who know you best can be riskier, because the words they say and things they think have the potential to be not only scary but true, as well.

"There's a real bonding in someone beating the crap out of you. -Rolly"

"What are you like then, Annabel. A lier like you told me that first day? Come on. That was the biggest lie of all."

"Silence is freakin' loud!"

"If you could just be nice, then you wouldn't have to worry about arguments at all. But being nice wasn't as easy as it seemed, especially when the rest of the world could be so mean."

Letter About Speak

To Whom This May Concern,

I do not believe that the book, “Speak” shouldn't be banned. It is very moving and should be taught in all schools. She was raped, and went through so much pain and it was not her fault. She thought it was her fault. Andy Evans (The guy that raped her) put her school life through so much pain. She wanted to tell people, just let it out! But she couldn’t, people hated her and no one would listen even if she told. 

The whole point of this book is not to be “soft pornography”, it’s to tell whoever is reading it that no matter what, there is always a chance. That you need to tell someone, just let it out. Get help. Kids who are raped or sexually assaulted may think they have to kill themselves to get through the pain. It just teaches you that there is always hope. After reading this book, there is no way that it’s anywhere close to “soft pornography”. The scene where she is brutally raped just says, “he hurt me, he hurt me, then sat up and zipped his pants.” It doesn’t say anything pornographic, not one bit. 

One fact about sexual assault/rape is that, there are different reasons why a person might not resist a sexual assault. Since almost 70%* of assaults are conducted by a person that is trusted by the victim, he/she may have been manipulated, coerced, or drugged by the perpetrator. The perpetrator may threaten the victims life if he/she puts up a fight, so they become too scared to scream or struggle. This is what happened to the main character of the book, Melinda. She was manipulated by the perpetrator, Andy Evans, by making her believe he liked her and wanted to date her. She was scared to scream, to say no, to struggle. Once he raped her, she called the cops when she was at the party. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t say anything. She was scared, in a state of shock.

That rape changed her life. Not just her regular home life, but school life as well. To see his face almost everyday must kill. Also, to think that if she told anyone they wouldn’t believe her and think she’s even more nuts as is; since she called the cops at that party, and not gave a reason. Many people all over the world, and people you may see everyday, may have had this happen to them as well. Not exactly like Melinda’s, or as tough as her school life was, but the same feeling inside. The feeling of being little, weak, violated, non important. To have no meaning in life anymore. 

This book will show that you can tell someone. It’s not the end of the world. Nothing bad will happen, you will feel safe and feel better about yourself. You will not carry that burden of feeling horrible, knowing you didn’t tell anyone. Melinda was popular after she told. She felt alive again. She wasn’t hated, she was smiled upon. Plus, more people spoke up. She gave them hope. Gave them something to look up to. This book is all about telling, speaking up. Getting help. It gives people a push to tell. There is nothing wrong about this book. Just tell, let it all out!

Sincerely,

Freshman Student.