Book Review: Just Listen

Title: Just Listen
Sequel? No
Author: Sarah Dessen
Genres: Hard topics, Romance, Realistic Fiction 
Age Level: YA (12-18)
Summary: Annabel Greene has done everything in her life to avoid conflict. She stays with modeling to make her mother happy, stays friends with the meanest girl in school so she won't be next to get hurt by her. Annabel is used to keeping everything in, to being nice, to telling little white lies so no one gets hurt.
But something happened last spring. Something that caused her to lose her friends. Something that everyone thinks they know what happened, when it reality, they've got it all wrong. But she doesn't tell anyone, because it would only create more conflict... and she's not sure if people will believe her.
Owen Armstrong has been in and out of jail, has gotten into fights, and has had to go through anger management and his parents' messy divorce. To get through it, he's turned to music, even starting his own radio show. He has made an oath to never lie, always tell the truth, no matter how it hurts.
Can Annabel learn to trust Owen enough to talk to him, to tell him what really happened that spring? Does Owen have the ability to listen?
Rating:

A Pinch of This (would make it better)

Review: Let me tell you, I love Sarah Dessen. Her novel This Lullaby ranks among my favorite novels of all time. This is the fifth book of hers I have read, and for some reason... it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. 

I don't know why. Maybe I've just grown to expect much more of her than she's actually delivering. But if you want to read good Sarah Dessen, I would not recommend this novel. It was harder to get into than the others, and I didn't feel the characters nearly as much as I have in the past.