Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Annabel Greene is alone. She’s been ostracized by her former best friend and the rest of the school has followed. Her family has some major issues that no one seems to want to address. Then Annabel meets Owen Armstrong, when they are both relegated to the fringes of the school lunch area. Owen isn’t perfect either, he’s got an anger management problem. But Owen’s unfailing honesty helps Annabel admit that she’s been lying to everyone, including herself about how to deal with the realities of her life. Although Annabel is the protagonist, I found some of the other characters to be more interesting. Annabel’s sister, Whitney, who is struggling with an eating disorder, felt more real to me. Also, despite his anger management trouble, Owen was always the voice of reason. This book deals with some important issues well and others not so well. It was worth the time spent reading it but could have been better.