Customer Reviews
Not appropriate for young teens 
2008-09-24
My 7th grader got a hold of this book in her Advanced Language Arts class in school. Since it was the beginning of the year, I thought I'd go ahead and read it to see what kind of books the teacher had in her classroom library. Boy was I in for a shocker! This book would be a rated R film with it's language and sex alone. But what bothered me most was the flashback to a rape -- it was truly unnecessary to the story. I get that it was a catalyst for Remy's promiscuity, but a Jr. HS reader would not understand that.
Remy is really very funny in a dark, cynical way. And Dexter is a fun, lovable character. I just do not see how this scene, or the constant drinking and strong language are necessary to make this a good book. My daughter was shocked. Unfortunately, she had to learn how a girl can be hurt by sex when she is just learning what sex is and why she gets a period. It could be a good first romance without the rape scene.
She won't be reading any more of Sarah's books any time soon -- and that is what SHE said. I just happen to like her decision!
A Beautiful Story 
2008-09-06
Remy doesn't believe in love. After all, if your mom has divorced and remarried about five times, how could she? And why does her mom suddenly think this new guy is "the one?" Remy's got all her relationship rules all laid out. After she gets too close to a guy, she dumps him.
But then she meets Dexter, and something about him is different. He just won't let her push him away, and soon a real relationship develops between them. Of course, there are always the complications: Remy is only looking for a summer relationship before heading off to college, Dexter isn't.
This Lullaby follows Remy through her ups and downs in her relationships with her friends, her mom, Dexter, and the song her dead father wrote. Remy's struggles are very realistic and easy to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, like I enjoyed Sarah Dessen's other books, and I am eagerly awaiting the release of Lock and Key, another novel by Sarah Dessen. I would highly recommend this book and Sarah Dessen's other books to everyone, especially fans of Dab Caletti.
i was disappointed 2008-06-20
the synopsis of the story at first spiked my interest. however, my opinion of it got slowly lower, and lower, first with all the drinking, smoking and sex mentioned in the book. but that didn't bother me as much as how BORING it was. the story progressed so slowly, i had to put down the book at almost every chapter to occupy myself with something else more interesting. also, i kept waiting for some good substance to make up for the slow wait, but it never came and though the ending was predictable, it was extremely dissatisfying. overall, slow and boring, though i do have to say Dexter was my favorite character, i liked his personality very much.
Fantastic!! 2008-05-04
Sarah Dessen just keeps getting better and better with each novel I read by her. The characters are so gripping and wonderful that you want to find out what happens to them, but you never want the book to end. It was no different with This Lullaby.
Remy knows relationships. Each time they begin to get too serious, she gives him "the talk". And she's given that talk many times. But one day she meets Dexter, clumsy, sweet, and-not-willing-to-give-up Dexter. They soon begin to grow closer and finally they start dating. But Remy can't figure out why she doesn't feel the need to dump him. Is it possible that she's finally figuring out what love really means?
This book was impossible to put down. I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen with Remy and Dexter. What's so great about this book (and all of Sarah's books, for that matter) is that they have to do with real life. Her books are real and true, and they will leave an impression on you. If you're looking for a book about a real teenage girl's life and the happiness, heartache, sorrow, joy, and drama that goes along with it, then pick up this one. You will love it.
Payton's Book Reveiw 
2008-05-01
Payton's Book Reveiw
This Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen, is about a girl named Remy and her life after high school graduation. It begins by Remy's mother getting married to a guy named Don. Remy forgot to tell Don something about the wedding, so she goes back to tell him, but she has to wait because he is busy trying to sell a car. While Remy is waiting in the waiting room at the car dealer shop, a guy comes over and starts saying that she is going to be the next girlfriend he will have. She already has a boyfriend, so she tries to get away, but he grabs her by the hand and writes his phone number and his name, then runs off. The next week Remy and her friends (Jess, Lissa and Chloe) are going to a party, but Lissa is going to see her boyfriend first, so she is going to catch up. Apparently someone at the party invited the guy (Dexter, from the car dealer shop), because he is in a band to play at the party. Remy grabs her friend and tries to get away from him, but she losses her breath, and because of it he catch's up to her. Her friends are wondering what is going on, so Dexter tells them how they met. After Dexter left, Remy's boyfriend (Jonathan) comes up and grabs her by the waist with his arm. He has to go to his trailer and Remy goes along with him. While she is waiting for him Remy finds something that doesn't belong to him or her, and because of it she breaks up with him, but she was going to break up with him anyway, so it didn't matter. When Remy finds her friends Jess said, "We have a problem." When they get to the car, Remy finds Lissa curled up crying. Apparently Lissa's Boyfriend broke up with her. The next chapter is the wedding day. Lissa is better, but she got easily drunk. Chloe also got drunk, but not as bad as Lissa. Jess came late which wasn't like her. Usually Chloe was the one who is late trying to get ready. Dexter is the music person singing for Don and Remy's mother dance song together that Remy didn't know about, so she goes outside and smoked (she was also trying to stop smoking).
This book has a gookmeaning to it because it tells how maybe some people life is after their graduation. It also tells how it is when you lose someone you love a long time ago, and how it feels when you have a mother that wants to have a real family. This is for people who like romance, crushes and break ups (Romantic Books). It would be apparently to a girl in middle school and up.
Yes, yes, and yes! 2008-05-01
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.
Love doesn't always tie its shoes... 2008-03-11
Remy has seen a lot in her young life: a father who proclaimed he'd let her down in his only hit song (and lived up to it); a mother whose fifth wedding she has to plan knowing it probably won't last; a pothead brother who's turning into a self-help project for a up-and-coming girl he met at his job at Jiffy Lube...
And it doesn't end then there. On top of it all, there's her own issues, with love, with guys (she's been out of control since a date rape in ninth grade she never told anyone about), and control. Though she hardly ever is in control, Remy needs to feel like she is, mostly by breaking up with one of the many guys who are really all the same. And then a gangly musician whose shoes won't stay tied and heart is wide open calls to her in a car dealership.
In the end, she's got to find her own song and figure out if love is worth a try after all. Sometimes it's hard watching her figure it out, but as her romance writer mother and mismatched group of friends point out, something is definitely different this time and only Remy can decide how it all will end. The first Dessen for this mom and writer. Definitely not the last.
This Lullaby was fantastic! 2008-03-02
"This Lullaby" by Sarah Dessen will make you laugh out loud in some parts but also make you want to reach into the pages and slap the main character until she comes to her senses in other parts. It makes you think and stirs emotions inside you. "This Lullaby" is just... awesome. It kept me up for hours into the night, the words becoming a real lullaby, telling me a story before I finally put the book down to sleep. I love to read but after reading the "twilight" series, I found most books dull this book sparked my interest though, and I just couldn't put it down. It's a must-read!
~RaeAnn
This Lullaby 2008-01-23
It's time to give him "the speech". It's time to give Dexter long talk, about how Remy isn't into long-term relationships. How she can't stay with him, because he's a musician, just like her dead father. And most importantly, how she can't stand his messy room. So why can't Remy bring herself to do it? Maybe because of what Dexter said when they first met, "We have a natural chemistry, I think we're meant to be together". In THIS LULLABY, Sarah Dessen explores one girl's subconscious attempt at love, and the guy who's willing to start (and finish, it looks like) the journey with her. My personal opinion is that this may be the greatest, and well-written book by Sarah Dessen. It's told with a soft voice and mind, but manages to have a powerful undertone. The overall theme is the feeling of being in love. Remy is afraid of being too involved with her emotions, because of her mother's failed marriages. I believe this because once Remy realizes that she's in love with Dexter, she immediately tries to find reasons to break it off with him. THIS LULLABY is the story of a girl taking a leap of faith, and the boy that is willing to catch her if she falls.
Too vulgar for VA 
2007-12-07
This was an engrossing love story, with deep, interesting characters, but why all the bad language, sex, drugs, and drinking? It was too much. I can't believe this is recommended for children age 12 and up. The vulgarity classifies this book as adult fiction.
