Review: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Title: This Lullaby
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Speak
Pages: 345
Release date: May 27th 2002
Genre: Contemporary YA; romance
Source: Bought
Find out more: Amazon ; Goodreads

Goodreads 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?

First sentence:

The name of the song is "This Lullaby."

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I love Sarah Dessen, and This Lullaby is one of my favorites of her books. What makes this one special, in my opinion, are the characters. Remy is different from the usual Sarah Dessen narrators (not that I don't love those, too) - often, they're self-conscious and shy, but Remy is pretty much the opposite; confident and cynical. If you don't like whiny, insecure characters but want to read a Sarah Dessen novel, this one would probably be the one for you. Remy, despite her cynicism and hard shell, is a lovable character, and I loved seeing what goes on in her head. Towards the end, I got annoyed by some of Remy's decisions (during the confrontation with Dexter, especially), but they still somehow made sense. I didn't agree with her, but I still loved to read about her.

Even though I love Remy, that love is nothing compared to the love I have for Dexter. Dexter is, well, perfect. Not in the too-perfect-to-be-real way - he has lots of imperfections, but those are what make him perfect. I can't even explain his character, he's just so adorable; one of my favorite fictional characters ever. He's clumsy and crazy and has such an incredibly positive attitude. I can't make him sound as amazing as he really is - just read the book, if you haven't. I couldn't imagine anyone not loving Dexter.

The romance is great. It's just so, so realistic, one of the most realistic romances I've ever read. It really annoys me when characters in books fall in love instantly, and that's not the case in This Lullaby at all. Their love develops and grows at a realistic pace. Dexter's and Remy's relationship is so much fun to read about - the way they interact is adorable (although it might just be that I love Dexter so much that it makes me think the way he treats Remy is adorable).

I love the family dynamics in This Lullaby, and how they affected Remy. Remy's relationship with her mother and brother are interesting to read about, and the love stories between her mom and Don and between Chris (her brother) and Mary Anne added another dimension to the novel.
I could talk about the writing and all the other things I love about this book, but they're all things I love about every Sarah Dessen book, so I'm not going to repeat all of that. Just know that if you haven't read a Sarah Dessen book, you are seriously missing out.

I don't really have anything more to say. Sarah Dessen is amazing, and this is my second-favorite of her books (second to The Truth About Forever), so of course I recommend it! It's got great characters and writing, and one of the most realistic romances I've ever read. If you've never read a Dessen book, what are you waiting for?