Change

Author's Note: "This is my character analysis piece/essay for L.A. I wrote it about a book I just finished reading and really enjoyed."

Every school has a girl who seems to have everything: perfect hair, perfect figure, perfect GPA, perfect boyfriend, perfect everything. At Greenfield High School  I was that girl, but what so many people didn’t understand was my life was definitely not perfect. My sister Whitney was trying to recover from bulimia and I was suffering from depression. It was a rough time for my family and to make matters worse I got sexually abused by my best friends boyfriend. My life started to spin out of control and that’s when people started to realize that I wasn’t the girl who had everything, I was the girl who had nothing.  The main character in Just Listen changes and influences many people throughout her story.

Annabel, the main character in this book, influences many people but no one more than Owen Armstrong. Owen is a very troubled teen, he has been to spent some time behind bars for beating up a classmate of his but is trying to move on and start a new chapter in his life. Annabel influences Owen in many ways, for example in the beginning of the book Owen was an outcast but once Annabel got to know him she told him, “You know Owen, you don’t always need to be alone. If you open yourself up to people they will see that you’re more than just that kid who beat someone up that year and went to jail.” I think that when Annabel told him that he really started to change and be more open with people and try to make more friends. Also I think that since Annabel was a good kid and didn’t usually get in trouble at school that Owen got influenced by Annabel to be better behaved in school. Overall Annabel influenced Owen in many ways.

Annabel influences Owen a lot in this book but she also changes as a person throughout the story. In  example when Owen asks Annabel if she tells the truth she responds by saying, “No I’m not. But I’m not a liar either..it’s just.. I don’t always say what I feel.” By the end of the book Annabel learns that it is important in life to use your voice and state your opinion. Also Annabel learns that you need to let your feelings out because it’s not good to keep them all bottled up. When you read the book Just Listen it’s clear that by the end of the story Annabel is a completely different person.

Annabel changes very similarly to the way Hollis Woods changes in the book Pictures of Hollis Woods. For instance, Hollis has a lot of trust issues because she grew up in the foster system and Annabel has problems trusting people,  but by the end of both of the books they learn to trust people more. Another way that they change similarly is that they both have major conflicts in their stories that they learn to overcome. As an example Hollis needs to overcome her commitment and trust issues and Annabel needs to overcome being sexually abused. In the end both characters conquered their obstacles and go on with their lives. Hollis and Annabel  change in similar ways  and become stronger by the end of the book.

Throughout the book Just Listen by Sarah Dessen the main character grows and changes but also influences others. Annabel changed dramatically over the course of the book, she has developed into a new person. Not only did Annabel change as a person, she also influenced her friends to make better decisions. While reading this book you learn to accept change and embrace the future.