Anabel Sure Has Changed In Just Listen By Sarah Dessen

“‘Man,’ Whitney said staring at me. ‘Anabel sure has changed a lot in the past few months hasn't she?’ (p. 354) This is a quote from the book, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. Whitney is Anabel Greene’s sister and when she said this she had just witnessed Anabel standing up for herself to Sophie Barker who was her friend at the beginning but then they weren't around the middle and she was now standing up for herself in front of her actual friends. Anabel was standing up for herself because Sophie was convinced that she raped her boyfriend, Will Cash even though he knows full well that that isn't the case. In the book she changed from being a shy, manipulated person to a confident and standing up for herself. There are many instances/events that

When people look at Cash, they think he looks like that he’s just a normal teenager who happens to be a multimillionaire. But what they don’t know is he’s a real snake. Not literally but he has a serpent type personality. Cash is a rich boy who attends the local private school. He's attractive and kind of alternative—a lot of girls like him, which means Sophie is absolutely thrilled when he becomes her boyfriend. As a rich popular kid, he throws a lot of parties and lives a life of excess. On the outside he seems like a dreamboat—but there's something about him that always makes Annabel uncomfortable. One time at one of his parties he told the others that he was going to go get a bottle of water from upstairs. His friends believed him. Even Sophie. When he was up there however he didn't get a bottle of water. Instead he decided to just hide there in the dark. About fifteen minutes later, Anabel came up to see what was taking so long and he raped her. At first she thought he was Nick but then Sophie entered the scene and she asked what was going on. “‘I don't know. She just..’ Will’s voice trailed off.”

When Annabel first meets Owen, she's a little afraid of him—after all, the rumor is that he's a pretty volatile and violent guy. As she gets to know him though, she finds out that some of these rumors are true—he's gotten in trouble for fights in the past and is in an anger management program. But that doesn't define everything about who he is, because Owen is actively working on becoming a better person. In fact Owen is one of the more patient and considerate people that Annabel knows. He is always there for her and encourages her to let go of some of her negative emotions too, so she doesn't keep everything so pent-up inside. As she gets to know him she realizes that he's not some kind of unpredictable monster—nope, he's a really good guy who's just trying to manage his feelings and improve as a person. According to Owen, it's better to be honest. "Look," he said, "like I said, for me, not saying how I feel when I feel it is a bad move. So I don't do it. Look at it this way: I might be saying you're fat, but at least I'm not punching you in the face."