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ccath's review against another edition
4.0
Second book on the row reading Sarah Dessen. Liked this book as well. The author can really make us suffer with the story and to be honest that's one of the things why I love reading. To live the book in a way that I also feel the character's pain.
One quote that really stood out, which totally reflects me:
"The only thing I can't stand more than seeing something done wrong is seeing it done slowly"
One quote that really stood out, which totally reflects me:
"The only thing I can't stand more than seeing something done wrong is seeing it done slowly"
readingforever26's review against another edition
2.0
I hate sarah dessen. Haters do hate when they want to hate.
sionna's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly, of the now three Sarah Dessen books I've read, this is at the bottom of the list. The romantic lead really irked me. I just disliked the couple and everything going on with them.
I also thought there was going to be an abusive element to the parental relationship, but that was never truly addressed.
It was still interesting and there were so good important elements. I will read more Dessen in the future, I look forward to finding another good one.
I also thought there was going to be an abusive element to the parental relationship, but that was never truly addressed.
It was still interesting and there were so good important elements. I will read more Dessen in the future, I look forward to finding another good one.
jazmin's review against another edition
3.0
“I am coming to terms with the fact that loving someone requires a leap of faith, and that a soft landing is never guaranteed.”
Book two in my Sarah Dessen binge-read unfortunately didn’t go as well as book one. I think that going into This Lullaby I had been comparing it too heavily to The Truth About Forever and was therefore let down by the fact that this book wasn’t able to make me feel the same was that one did.
⇢The Plot
One of my more significant reasons for not enjoying this book as much as I could have was the lack of a solid plot. The story essentially followed Remy’s growth (concerning her perspectives on love and relationships) over the course of a single summer which I guess in and of itself isn’t an uninteresting concept, but wasn’t one I really enjoyed because rarely felt relatable and met of the time I was just wondering why Remy was so stubborn.
The setup with Remy’s mother being the reason she had so little faith in love made sense, but it just wasn’t enough to convince me that we needed EIGHTEEN CHAPTERS of Remy refusing to open up, especially considering that Dexter had gone through a similar experience and come out unscathed.
I would have appreciated the book a lot more if there had been some other message or moral or conflict, but there wasn’t really, and my lack of investment in Remy’s decision meant that I wasn’t invested in any part of the plot.
⇢Remy and Dexter
I’m lukewarm about this couple. On the one hand, they weren’t nearly as well written as Wes and Macy, but on the other hand, they were basically the best part of the book. I enjoyed their relationship but once again, I think that Sarah Dessen doesn’t develop the romance in her novels enough for me to really be satisfied with the way the romance ends up. It was a bit different this time considering Remy and Dexter broke up and got back together but I still wanted more closure for them at the end of the book rather than that open-ended chapter.
“Some things don't last forever, but some things do. Like a good song, or a good book, or a good memory you can take out and unfold in your darkest times, pressing down on the corners and peering in close, hoping you still recognize the person you see there.”
As characters, Remy and Dexter were both good. Not fantastic, but still compelling and interesting. Remy was actually a pretty great protagonist, and even if I didn’t relate to many of her struggles I was able to appreciate how strong she was in the face of adversity and the way she dealt with the cards she was given. On the other hand, her pure stubbornness annoyed me basically every other page to the point where I didn’t even care about her arc happening slowly and just wanted her to wake up and realize how dumb she was acting. Overall: a good character, though.
Moving onto Dexter. First of all, WHY did Sarah Dessen name him Dexter of all things? Not that it’s a bad name or anything, but I don’t think it suited him one bit. Obviously I’m not gonna judge his character over his name but it just weirded me out.
Anyway, he wasn’t a bad character but I think he wasn’t developed as well as he should have been. In The Truth About Forever (I’m sorry I need to keep comparing this book to that one because it’s the only reference point I have) Wes was supposed to be mysterious and detached but that wasn’t the direction Dexter’s character was going in and I think we as readers could have benefitted fro getting to know him a little bit better. As much as I wanted Remy to wake up and believe in relationships, did I really care about her waking up for the purpose of dating Dexter? Eh. Because I was never convinced that they would make that great of a couple, BECAUSE I BARELY KNEW DEXTER?? EVEN NOW?? Now I’m just working myself up more so I’m gonna stop writing, but I just think Dexter’s character was a missed opportunity.
⇢The Side Characters
Honestly, not much to say about the side characters in this book, because they weren’t as solid as I had wanted them to be, so I can’t rave about them like I did last time. The band members were fun and all but just like Dexter we didn’t learn enough about them, and even Remy’s friends needed more screen time. The only side characters I think really added to the story were Remy’s family members, and I was actually pretty invested in all of them, which was nice.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ❦ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
MY LINKTREE ❦
krystalanddogs's review against another edition
Y'know for a book I read as a teenager it could have been a lot worse. Still red flags but less than early 2000s usually have 😵💫
hivictoria's review against another edition
4.0
I thought it was a really cute book, like always Sarah Dessen knows how to touch on real-world problems without sounding ungenuine
wanderer_one's review against another edition
5.0
Another Reread.
still my favourite book written by her.
still my favourite book written by her.
brittaka's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nicolesbookcorner's review against another edition
4.0
Sarah Dessen has done it again, she has written a fantastic novel with realistic characters and realistic problems. She has warmed our hearts with this story and broke them too. Remy sometimes came across as a cold hearted bitch but she has reasons too, she didn't want to get hurt like every other girl out there, she constructed her heart to be bullet proof but then Dexter came into the picture and shook everything up. This Lullaby is a perfect novel for someone who has been through many heartbreaks, how even if it seems impossible, love can happen and can be wonderful.