Review: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Last word first: NOT your typical teen romance! This story has substance. (5/5)

Would Joe like this? Haha.

Description: When it comes to relationships, Remy doesn’t mess around. After all, she’s learned all there is to know from her mother, a romance novelist who’s currently working on husband number five. But everything changes when Remy meets rock-band member Dexter. 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?

My thoughts: I came at this book with the wrong expectations. Reading the description, I was expecting a typically silly (I mean that in a good way) teen romance. But This Lullaby is less a romance than it is a novel about love. Let me explain. Remy's mother's experience has unintentionally taught Remy to believe that love cannot last, and therefore, it is not worthwhile. Remy has a timeline for her boyfriends, and as soon as the first rush of pure lust is over, she dumps them. That's all she allows herself to believe in, and she's not looking for anything more.

When Remy meets Dexter, she's forced to reconsider her position. As far as I'm concerned, this novel is really about whether love exists, and if so, whether it's worth the risk. It sounds heavy, right? It really doesn't feel that way as you're reading. There's lots of comic relief to be found in Dexter's band members (reminds me a bit of the movie That Thing You Do - which I love.) Their big original song is called "The Potato Song." Ah, love in the produce aisle. Remy's friends and their antics also keep Remy's self-reflection from feeling too intense.

Dessen truly has a gift for transporting the reader into the life and emotions of a character. Even though Remy and I are extremely different people, I felt myself getting deeply involved in her story. I love when a book gives me that sense of getting outside myself!

This is only my second Dessen book (my first was The Truth About Forever), and I'm struck by the way they both explore slightly dysfunctional mother-daughter relationships. In The Truth About Forever, Macy and her mom are stuck in their grief over Macy's father's death. In This Lullaby, Remy's mother's life history has given Remy some very messed-up ideas about life and ways of relating to people. I have Along For the Ride waiting on my shelf, so I'm curious to see if there's a similar theme there.

I really liked this book. I read it in one feel swoop, ending at 2am (which, for me, is practically an all-nighter... I'm a mom.) I definitely recommend it.

Question: Would you ever want to date a rock star? I don't think I would.

Sarah Dessen in her own words: "I was the kind of kid that people always sighed over and said, "She has such a wild imagination," which usually meant "I wish Sarah would try to stick to the truth." I have a tendency to embellish: I think it's just a weakness of fiction writers. Once you learn how to make a story better, it's hard not to do it all the time." -from the bio on her website.