Book Nook Girl: Book Review: Hear by Jacqueline Abelson

Title: Hear
Author: Jacqueline Abelson
Publication Date: May 19th 2012
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Buy it: Amazon
Summary from Goodreads;
Lots of people can hear, but how many really listen?
At the age of 17, Charlotte Goode has issues. Serious issues. Despite countless surgeries, her parent's panic attacks, and a well-meaning oncologist, a rare genetic disorder means Charlotte must live with recurring tumors. Life isn’t supposed to be this way.
And just as Charlotte is learning to cope, she gets some devastating news: Tumors are growing on her auditory nerves. But, the necessary surgery will leave her completely deaf.
With the operation scheduled in a month, Charlotte prepares herself for a world without sound. A world without the violin she loves, without her best friend’s laugh, and even without her boss’s irksome tone. Charlotte's on a mission to take it all in, while trying to hire a band to play a benefit concert. Will it be The Bond Boys or Lennox?
Counting down the days until everything goes silent, The Bond Boys’ lead singer, Ron Cam, sweeps Charlotte off her feet. He’s pure charisma. Then there’s Matthew Lovelace of Lennox , who captures Charlotte’s attention with his music and “that” voice. What will she do?
Time is running out. Charlotte must find a way to leave the hearing world on a high note without missing a beat.
Rating:
3.0/ 5.0 stars

Thoughts:
Hear is a novel that took me by surprise, in a good way. The cover is also gorgeous and the violin and colors in the background are just perfect. Hear is a roller-coaster of both emotions and events and even though my heart broke for the poor girl, I really enjoyed reading her story.
Characters:
The characters in Hear were quite realistic, for their age and . Charlotte is a 17 year old who has in a few words, cancer. She's learned to live with the fact that she has it but then she has to deal with the fact that her new tumors will cause her to either a) die if she doesn't get surgery or b) loose her hearing and become deaf if she does get surgery. Charlotte was a strong character considering everything she had to deal with. Both Ron, the lead singer of The Bond Boys and Matthew from Lennox were both not who you'd think they'd be. The author changes some things and you're rather surprised as to who the "bad guy" is.
Romance:
The romance goes along with the characters, if you liked a certain guy then this will probably be different than what your thoughts will be. The romance in Hear was there, yes but it didn't take over the novel and I really enjoyed that.
Ending:
The ending was one of my favorite things in this novel because of how realistic it was. I was shocked and overcome with emotions after reading it and I love endings like that! Ones that make you feel as though you can reread a novel over and over again because of it.
Recommendation:
I would recommend this to anyone who's looking for a realistic and heartfelt story.
First Sentence: