This Lullaby by Sarah DessenBook 73 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge
Awards: VOYA: The Perfect Tens; Publishers Weekly Best Book; NY Public Library Best Books for the Teen Age; YALSA Best Books for YA
rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Remy's mom is marrying her fifth husband, and growing up, Remy has seen first-hand that love never lasts. The great irony is that Remy's mom is a romance novelist and her characters always find perfect happiness at the end. Remy is tired of putting on weddings for her mother, and as a consequence of her upbringing, Remy has never had a boyfriend for longer than about six weeks. She gets out before things have a chance to get too personal and complicated.
But right before Remy leaves for college she meets Dexter. For some reason, none of her normal rules seem to apply to him. He should just be her regular summer love, but something about him is different. He's in a band for starters. (Remy has a "no band" rule because her father was a musician, and he was the first man to leave her.) Dexter is also clumsy and unkempt, two things Remy cannot stand. She's compulsively clean and orderly, controlling her life in the only way she knows how.
This is a book about developing faith in love and accepting that true love, even if it causes heartache and pain, is better than no love at all. I did like the overall message and I enjoyed watching Remy's character grow, although I wish I had seen that process continue on further. However, the real star for me was Dexter. He's confident and he doesn't apologize for being himself. Remy was only so-so for me and I honestly wasn't totally sure why Dexter liked her.
This book seemed to have a lot more swearing than the other Dessen books I've read. Teen drinking, sex, and smoking are also kind of seen as a given. These detractors make me hesitant to recommend this one wholesale. But I did really enjoy the story and I find Dessen's books to be delightfully readable.
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5 comments:
I loved This Lullaby..Its a good read. Ya I agree it is to recommended for certain age group because of the topics dealt , yet it's enjoyable.
I haven't read any of Dessen's work, but I know a lot of people enjoy it. This is probably not the one I should start with.
I liked Just Listen... but I am sure this is NOT the one i will start with :)
I think I'll skip this one. There's so many good stories that don't contain all the teen drinking, etc.
Well, since this is the only one I've read, it's good to know they aren't all like this :) I should try another I think.
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