Hide this

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
Loading...

This Lullaby (2002)

by Sarah Dessen

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2,883651,855 (4.12)56
(8) bands (12) chick lit (24) college (8) contemporary (11) dating (21) divorce (18) ebook (8) family (25) fiction (109) friends (8) friendship (20) high school (17) love (44) marriage (14) mothers and daughters (11) music (40) musicians (14) own (12) read (26) realistic fiction (35) relationships (16) romance (96) Sarah Dessen (16) summer (12) teen (42) teen fiction (9) to-read (22) young adult (215) young adult fiction (17)

None.

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

English (63)  Spanish (2)  All languages (65)
Showing 1-5 of 63 (next | show all)
This Lullaby was the very first one I read by Sarah Dessen and I was so pleased I went out and bought all of her other books. When I have a free moment I will review her other novels, but for now let me start with my favorite.

The main character is Remy Starr and she's not your typical young adult romance heroine She smokes, drinks, cusses and she has sex. With a strict "no musicians" rule, she knows what she wants and how to get it. Her mother is a romance writer working on her fifth marriage. I can relate to Remy because my mom is a serial dater as well. Remy however, doesn't believe in love because well, she's never seen it up close and personal.

The story starts with Dexter physically crashing into her. As soon as he crosses the page I fell in love with him. He's deeply flawed, clumsy, and passionate. Add to the fact that he loves his dog and, in one scene with the dog almost at me in tears it was so heart warming, you've got a guy that rivals Mr. Darcy for me. While Dexter and his gang are in a band, the story doesn't revolve around Remy being a groupie. As someone who's been friend with indie bands, I can't tell you how annoying it is to read books based on groupies.

The supporting cast were well rounded and complimented the growth of the main characters. Besides Dexter my heart lies with John Miller, because who doesn't live a red headed drummer? One of the things that bugged me was Remy's friends. While they were suited to be supporting characters, I don't feel as though they were fleshed out enough to be relatable.

As the story unfolds despite trying to avoid Dexter, Remy finally gives in. With a time limit on her relationship she doesn't expect much from it. While the ending was predictable, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I felt like Remy stayed true to herself and sometimes you need just a little "push" in the right direction.

“But holding people away from you, and denying yourself love, that doesn't make you strong. If anything it makes you weaker, because you're doing it out of fear.” - This Lullaby
  Jennifer.McClelland | Jun 10, 2013 |
Remy lives her life by a very particular set of rules. If her mother's five marriages have taught her anything, it's that you don't make yourself vulnerable when it comes to realtionships. Then she meets Dexter, who seems to break all her rules, and she has to decide whether to stay with him or not.

It's the details that got this book to three stars: The entire houseful of musicians that only own one fork between them. The fact that Dexter takes it as a declaration of love when Remy buys them plastic silverware, and that really pisses her off so she chases him around threatening him. ( )
  rin.wilson | Apr 20, 2013 |
This book is a solid three...but I gave it the extra star for Dexter;-) ( )
  FlanneryAC | Mar 31, 2013 |
This Lullaby is a beautiful book. The characters are all wonderful, and the storyline is captivating. Dessen's writing is gorgeous in this, and the words seem to just flow so well. I adored this one. ( )
  nicola26 | Mar 30, 2013 |
After organizing her romance writer mother's fourth remarriage, recent high school graduate Remy Starr knows there is no such thing as love. Then she meets the quirky musician Dexter.

Sarah Dessen's characterizations are brilliant and accurate. Readers will empathize for Remy despite her cynical view on love. And Dexter is a gem, a gentleman, sweetheart, and comedian rolled into one. THIS LULLABY will touch your heart and never let go.
This review has been flagged by multiple users as abuse of the terms of service and is no longer displayed (show).
  tauruseducation | Mar 14, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 63 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Series (with order)
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Awards and honors
Epigraph
In the depth of winter,

I finally learned that

within me there lay

an invincible summer.

-- Camus
She'll be back soon. She's just writing.
-- Caroline
Dedication
First words
The name of the song is "This Lullaby."
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Publisher series

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Book description
Haiku summary

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0142501557, Paperback)

"I had no illusions about love... It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever, regardless of what the songs say." Remy doesn't believe in love. And why should she? Her romance novelist mother is working on her fifth marriage, and her father, a '70s hippie singer, left her with only a one-hit wonder song to remember him by. Every time Remy hears "This Lullaby," it feels like "a bruise that never quite healed right." "Wherever you may go / I will let you down / But this lullaby plays on..." Never without a boyfriend, Remy is a compulsive dater, but before a guy can go all "Ken" on her (as in "ultra boyfriend behavior") she cuts him off, without ever getting close or getting hurt. That's why she's stunned when klutzy, quirky, alterna-band boy Dexter inserts himself into her life and refuses to leave. Remy's been accepted to Stanford, and she plans on having her usual summer fling before tying up the loose ends of her pre-college life and heading for the coast. Except Dexter's not following Remy's tried-and-true rules of break-up protocol. And for the first time, Remy's questioning whether or not she wants him to.

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

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Apr 2011 03:58:22 -0400)

(see all 3 descriptions)

Raised by a mother who's had five husbands, eighteen-year-old Remy believes in short-term, no-commitment relationships until she meets Dexter, a rock band musician.

» see all 3 descriptions

Quick Links

Swap Ebooks Audio
31 avail.
354 wanted
7 pay4 pay

Popular covers

Rating

Average: (4.12)
0.5 2
1 3
1.5 2
2 26
2.5 11
3 107
3.5 36
4 214
4.5 40
5 278

Audible.com

Two editions of this book were published by Audible.com.

See editions

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

Help/FAQs | About | Privacy/Terms | Blog | Contact | LibraryThing.com | APIs | WikiThing | Common Knowledge | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | 82,547,140 books!