Re-Read Review: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

This post is the second in my Sarah Dessen re-read weekend celebration.

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen - This Lullaby was the selected re-read for the I Eat Words Sarah Dessen Re-Read challenge in the month of March. This Lullaby has always been a favorite of mine - as of many readers.  It was the first Sarah Dessen reading I attended, and I can still hear Dessen's tone and inflection as she read aloud the plastic ware scene.  Remy is such an interesting and relatable character. I, too, like to keep the vacuum lines visible in my carpet. I like, however, how Dessen gives her a past. Remy is a bad girl gone straight-laced, but meeting Dexter will force her to confront life in all of its messy but wonderful complexity. This Lullaby, like my favorite Dessen novel, Someone Like You, has an excellent, well-drawn cast of close friends that illustrate the realistic intricacies of best girlfriends, who even if they don't agree with all your choices, and have no problem telling you, are always there for you no matter what. Reading This Lullaby after The Truth About Forever demonstrates Dessen's penchant for soft-hearted guys. Dexter, like Wes, has a streak of romance in him, but the two characters could not be more opposite. While Wes is very serious and responsible, Dexter is messy, clumsy, and just plain crazy, but what I love about Dexter is his ability to believe in love above all else. Dexter can come off as a little goofy in the beginning of the novel, always willing to make a joke but never take anything seriously, but when Remy breaks it off, we get a glimpse of the sensitive core at the heart of Dexter that takes things very personally - making him a much more believable and lovable character in my eyes.  However, one of the standout characters for me is Remy's mother, Barbara Starr (that name!!).  Like Dexter, Barbara believes in love above all else, as evidenced by her multiple marriages and her career as a romance novelist.  I love that Dessen gives us a sneak peek into a writer's creative process, and Starr's penchant for scribbling notes on anything and leaving them everywhere reminds me of my own obsessive to do list, which includes future blog post ideas!  This Lullaby is an excellent introduction to Dessen for readers who don't know where to begin to tackle her triumphant eleven book oeuvre.

Best matched with fans of boys, bands, and potatoes.