This Lullaby

Author Sarah Dessen's ability to write novels that are both crowd pleasers and literary masterpieces of YA fiction is showcased beautifully in This Lullaby. Subtle yet completely absorbing, Lullaby is peopled with breathtakingly believable, three-dimensional characters, the very best of which is the bitter, broken Remy herself. An original love story about learning to love yourself first. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

Product Description
When it comes to relationships, Remy doesn t mess around. After all, she s learned all there is to know from her mother, who s currently working on husband number five. But there s something about Dexter that seems to defy all of Remy s rules. He certainly doesn t seem like Mr. Right. For some reason, however, Remy just can t seem to shake him. Could it be that Remy s starting to understand what those love songs are all about? From acclaimed author Sarah Dessen, this is a captivating novel about a tough-as-nails girl and the unexpectedly charming boy who s determined to soften her up.

I know this makes me seem too conservative, and I'm not really. I just think there is too much emphasis on sex (and maybe drinking) and it actually detracts from the main points of the book. Remy is a very interesting character and so is Dexter. She is cold and calculating; he is goofy and impulsive. They are hardly a match, yet they are really good for each other.

Recommended, with some reservations. Sorry, Ms. Dessen.


Dessen shines!   August 26, 2002
Traci D. Haley (Prineville, OR USA)
30 out of 32 found this review helpful

This Lullaby is about Remy, daughter of an eccentric, romance writer mother who has been married five times and a dead, musician father whose only legacy is a song called "This Lullaby." Remy, having seen her mother go through husbands like kleenex, is jaded about love and relationships; every time she gets close to a guy, she dumps him.

Then along comes Dexter, who not only breaks her "no musicians" rule (he's in a band that sings - among other things - "The Potato Song"), he's also everything that drives her crazy.

Sarah Dessen's talent for character development shines through in this tale of first love. Her characters are flawed, dysfunctional, and so realistic that reading this book is like visiting with old friends. The topics tackled in This Lullaby are written both believably and in an utterly unique way, so that an old problem - "What do you do when someone doesn't like you back?" - becomes a fresh, new story with an ending that will satisfy both romantics and cynics alike.


Another winner from Sarah Dessen   June 15, 2002
RadTachel (Utah USA)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

Sarah Dessen quickly became one of my favorite authors after I read her books "Dreamland" and "Someone Like You". I was super excited when I found her new book, "This Lullaby", and settled down to read it right away.

I was not disappointed. This book is amazing! It made me laugh out loud in some parts (Dessen has remarkable prose, and just her word choice and descriptions make for a humorous time), gave me butterflies in others, and had me feeling pretty sorry for the characters during certain scenes.

Remy has got the guy thing figured out -- once the first heady, romantic feelings start to fizzle and "cracks" begin to appear in the guy's personality, Remy's out of there. Remy has plenty of experience -- her father left before she was born, leaving her with his sappy one-hit-wonder, "This Lullaby". Not a great gift, considering the lyrics "I will let you down." Plus, Remy's mother, a romance author, is now on her fifth marriage -- "This time it will work, Remy." But Remy doesn't share her mother's hopeful outlook on love.

Then she bumps into Dexter, quite literally. She avoids him as much as she can, but he manages to pop up everywhere, and just where she needs him the most. He's the exact opposite of her usual guy -- messy, clumsy, and, of all things, a musician like her father. She runs away from him until he crashes through her bedroom window, and she finally decides to take a risk with this guy.

They're a couple from then on. But Remy's done this before -- have a fun time with a guy through the summer, move on in September. Remy wants to head to Stanford in the fall leaving nothing messy behind her -- but Dexter might make this hard.

The Dexter/Remy romance is just perfect. Dexter is far from being the perfect guy, but that enhances it. The ending is not picture-perfect, but we are left with plenty of hope for our couple's future.

Dessen has scored another winner with this book. I recommend it wholeheartedly. :)


Dessen Does It Again!   June 22, 2002
9 out of 11 found this review helpful

If you haven't read any of Sarah Dessen's previous novels then you're in for a real treat. In "This Lullaby" the main character, Remy, has completely given up on love and all of its aspects. She even has a formula, if you will, that she uses to dump her boyfriends.
The novel starts with Remy planning her famous mother's fifth wedding. Her mother, Barbara Starr, romance novelist extraordinaire, hasn't been able to get any of her previous marriages to work but has high hopes for this one to Don, owner of a local Toyota dealership. And Remy introduces "This Lullaby", the popular song written for her by her biological father, which is still played by local musicians today.
Remy has just graduated from high school and is going to attend Stanford in the fall. In order to leave "without any attachments", Remy carefully plans to dump her current boyfriend, Jonothan, so she can accomplish her goals this summer-leaving her home and starting a new life on the west coast with no ties to her past.
Her friends, Chloe, Lissa, and Jess, support her and her pessimism about love until she encounters one boy that throws off her carefully structured world.

Sarah Dessen is brilliant in her newest novel. Her witty style and sense of humor are prominent once again. This is a great summer read for anyone who enjoys a good laugh and a great story full of twists and turns with a stunning conclusion.


For those who still believe this world is a nice place . . . look elsewhere   November 15, 2005
S. Burton (Orem, UT USA)
8 out of 23 found this review helpful

I realize this will be an unpopular review, but I wish someone had written one like it before I bought the book.

I could only stomach the first 100 pages, which is quite an investment and a worthy attempt to give the book a chance.

I'm not a teenager.

This book is filled with foul language--the really bad kind.

I am mostly likely out of touch with what is cool.

This book doesn't seem to represent a teen viewpoint to me. I hope this is not what teenagers are like.

The main character's educational situation is unbelievable. Remy (how do you pronounce that?) is an AP scholar (apparently through all four years of high school) who has worked full-time since the summer before her junior year, but has been a combination dipsomaniac/nymphomaniac since her sophomore year. I find that a trifle hard to believe. (What an asset she will be at Stanford University!)

What a surprise, Remy meets a guy (Dexter) on the day she is breaking up with her lousy boyfriend. Dexter and Remy end up together. It was so inevitable that it wasn't even interesting.

The characters weren't very likeable. They live in emotional squallor and chaos. And they can't communicate without cursing at each other. What a depressing story.

The back flap tells you that the author is an instructor of creative writing, and she is creative in her use of the truth. There is at least one glaring misrepresentation of it. Too bad.