A novel about a young girl who is trying to understand what real love is in comparison to what she has witnessed her whole life in her own family.
General Information:
- Age Range: 12 and up
- Price $9.89
- Grade Level: 7 – 12
- Lexile Measure: 820L
- Paperback: 345 pages
- Publisher: Speak; Reprint edition (March 8, 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0142501557
- ISBN-13: 978-0142501559
Plot:
This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen is a YA novel following the life of Remy Starr who is a recent high school graduate and getting ready to go to college in the fall. Remy’s father had written a one hit wonder (song) and then left her mother who proceeded to have failed marriage after failed marriage which takes its toll on Remy. She now feels the need to control all of her relationships and as a result has trust issues when dating boys. As a result she is known for partying a lot and sleeping around. All of this stops after she meets Dexter Jones who says he has an immediate connection with her (not to mention being two of the things she dislikes the most which is a musician and a messy person). Their relationship is not without its ups and downs as Remy ends up pretending like it was supposed to just be a summer fling causing them to break up before she realizes that she truly does love Dexter.
Reading and Interest Level:
The reading and interest level for this book according to baker and taylor is for grades 10-12th and ages 15 and up. I think this is the correct age range to market this book as it does include an older teen protagonist and it has a lot of references to partying and sexual encounters.
Evaluation:
This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen is a good novel that gets its points across in a unique way. It is written by a well known and award winning YA author in her signature writing style. This book is valuable on a libraries teen collection shelf as a piece of literature that can provide bibliotherapeutic value and an outlet for teens to answer their questions on the various dilemmas brought up by Sarah Dessen’s book.
“When all you expect is for your relationships to fail, you start to self sabotage yourself. What happens when you find someone you actually like? This is the dilemma that Remy Starr finds herself in.”
- Scott Krinninger
Bibliotherapeutic Value:
The bibliotherapeutic value of This Lullaby comes from the various issues displayed within the book and how it is an outlet for teens to view others with their same issues and make sure they know they are not alone. It touches upon growing up without a stable father figure, especially one that can show you how a real relationship is supposed to look like. Remy’s mother goes from marriage to marriage and the family is repeatedly broken up. This leads to Remy having trust issues with relationships and her jumping around from boy to boy as she parties and sleeps around with the assumption that she is in control at all times. Many teens come from broken families or may not know how to handle relationships during such a tumultuous part of their young adult lives. The value this book brings to those teens is an invaluable lesson that may not be taught be adult figures within their lives.
Issues Present:
The issues present within the book that make the book controversial and are likely to be brought up in challenges against the book include strong language, underage sex and partying (alcohol), parents shown in a poor light. All of these are quite prevalent within the books and have been used as reasons for the books to have been banned. In fact on Sarah Dessen’s website you can find a copy of a letter that was sent in regards to an order of This Lullaby being rescinded for being inappropriate for that age group.
Defending the Title:
The defense of This Lullaby starts with the confronting the issues presented within the books. Having a broken family with no father (sometimes mother) to not only raise you but also to be an example to you, what a proper relationship looks like, is a common occurrence for teens. This book is very relatable for many teens and the author Sarah Dessen writes out the novel from their perspective. Having an unstable home life and not being aware of what relationships are supposed to be leads to various things at times such as having strong language, or partying a lot and sleeping around versus committing to a stable relationship. I know that these are issues that all parents would like to avoid there child doing but it is a possibility and many times they don’t know how rough they are making their own lives. This book is a snapchat of that life to explain to them that they are not alone feeling in that way but it ultimately is a great teaching tool as well. Even Remy realizes what she is doing wrong as she regrets breaking things up with Dexter.
Book Talk Ideas:
The book talk ideas that I have for This Lullaby revolve around the concept of relationships and I the best book discussion in my mind would have the readers following and talking about the many different relationships within the book, both adult and teen. These storylines supply the backbone of the book and Remy’s intense trust issues. The relationships are scattered all throughout the book and some examples include: Pages, 4, 20, 38, 40, 78, 112, 145, 168, 209, etc.
Genre:
The genre of This Lullaby would be teen fiction with the subject matter being about teen relationships, dating, and sex.
Similar Reads:
Author’s Website:
Awards Won:
South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominees 1997-98 (And Ongoing)
New Jersey Garden State Fiction Book Award Nominees 2004 (And Ongoing)
Missouri Gateway Readers Book Award Nominees 2004-05 (And Ongoing)
Missouri Gateway Readers Book Award Winners 2003-04 (And Ongoing)
Colorado Blue Spruce Book Award Nominees 2003-04 (And Ongoing)
Professional Reviews:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sarah-dessen/this-lullaby/
http://www.yabookscentral.com/yafiction/1030-This-Lullaby
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/…lullaby-by-sarah-dessen/9780142501559/
Why I chose to read this title?
I chose to read This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen purely off of the recommendation from my sister. She is younger than me and attends the local community college and Sarah Dessen is one of her favorite authors. I told her that I was created a controversial literature blog and she handed me This Lullaby saying that it should fit the bill. In the end, however I really do like Sarah Dessen’s writing style even though the plotline isn’t necessarily my cup of tea.
Librarianship 