So like The Truth About Forever, my last book, Just Listen has a lot going on. Instead, I begin with one idea, which morphs into another, and then another, like a picture that grows past its frame to show everything else that’s happening you can’t see at first. It is always my intention to write a simple, streamlined novel, short and sweet.
And just like that, Annabel’s story, which had been hovering in my head in bits and pieces, began to come together.
I started to wonder what it would be like to be one of those girls, with everyone so quick to judge, and just how wrong they might be. After all, nobody’s life is perfect, and you can’t tell anything from just one shot, one day. Later though, when I was driving home, I kept thinking about that picture, and how quickly I’d made assumptions about it. Then someone called my name: it was time to give my talk. A great family, fabulous social life, palpable confidence, all the stuff I wished I had in high school, and beyond. It was a shot of three beautiful girls, obviously sisters, all blonde, posing together by a pool, and even at first glance all I could think was that they looked like the kind of girls who had everything. I picked it open and started to flip through it, looking at the sports shots, different classes, and finally the senior pages, which were filled with personal photos from each of the graduates. One day, I was sitting in the lobby of a private school, waiting to do a talk, when I saw a yearbook on the table beside me. I had a couple of ideas kicking around in my head, some things I knew I wanted to do, but nothing concrete just yet. It was the fall of 2004, and I was about to start a new book. Other times, though, you can trace a story’s beginning back to a specific moment. The truth is, sometimes I don’t even know: rather than just one big moment, it’s often a lot of little random thoughts, scribbled notes on scraps of paper and backs of receipts, that make up a novel.
People are always interested to learn where a story comes from, and I’m often asked where I get the ideas for my books. The finely nuanced characters she creates have life and breath, talents and flaws.
Aimed at high schoolers, it has Mom appeal too.ĭessen is a sharp observer of modern teen life. A cut above chick lit, Dessen’s tale of an It girl who only seems to have it all has sharply drawn characters, serious themes, and a page-turner of a plot.
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