Review- This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Summary-

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?

Release date: March 8th, 2004

Published by: Speak

Page numbers: 345

Review-

I have only read one book by Sarah Dessen till date and that didn't go so well for me. But I didn't want to give up on her because so many people have raved about her. That is the reason I decided to pick up This Lullaby which is one of her older books. I do understand now why people love Sarah Dessen so much but I know that I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read it a few years earlier.

This Lullaby is Remy's story. Remy hasn't had an easy life. With her mother's fifth marriage, Remy doesn't believe that relationships can actually last. All she wants to do is get out the small town she is living in and finally start living life to the fullest. Remy was a cynical person but it was easy to see why. There were so many things changing in her life and she was just trying to catch up.

But Remy doesn't expect to meet Dexter. Dexter is messy and impulsive and pretty much the opposite of Remy. But he pursues Remy hard and Remy, thinking it will just be a summer fling agrees to go out with him. But things get messy real soon when Remy is in danger of really falling in love with him. I liked Dexter. Though we don't get his point of view, you can see he is smitten with Remy. 

The book is not just about romance though. I liked Remy and Dexter's relationship but what I loved more was Remy's friendship with her best friends. The girls were pretty awesome sticking by each other through thick and thin. I also found Dexter's band mates to be quite funny with their potato songs.

This Lullaby is Remy's journey of trying to figure things out in life while believing that love can last. Like I said before, I would have enjoyed this book even more if I had read it a few years back but I still appreciate it. Sarah Dessen has an engaging writing style and I enjoyed This Lullaby.

Review- The Moon And More by Sarah Dessen

Goodreads Summary:

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

REVIEW:

This was a bit of a disappointment. Being my first ever Sarah Dessen read, I was pretty excited to get to The Moon And More. But once I began reading it, I was super bored within a few pages. Although the book did pick up speed once I crossed the halfway mark, getting to that mark in itself was torturous. The book was so slow with nothing happening at all. It was more like reading day to day journal entries of the MC's summer. 

Emaline works at her family's business and this is the last summer she will be spending at Colby before moving out for college. She did not seem like an eighteen year old to me. She seemed way older than that. 
Emaline's boyfriend Luke was such a jock and even though he turned out to be a nice guy, I didn't like him so much. I had high expectations from the other love interest, Theo, but he turned out to be really weird and a jerk up to a certain extent.
Emaline's family life was good to see with all of them interacting a lot with each other. But her relationship with her mom was a bit confusing. I would have loved to see more interaction between her and her dad as opposed to her constant thoughts about her father. 
The best characters for me were Emaline's best friends Daisy and Morris. Daisy was a fab character and Morris was so much of fun to have around. I found myself laughing at him and his dialogues many times. I also loved Emaline's half brother Benji who was a total darling and such a sweet boy. 
It's not like I hated this book, because honestly, I didn't. It was a good, light and breezy summer read. 

What had me turned off was the slow beginning and the inactivity. And I didn't quite get the whole coming of age of an eighteen year old thing. And for a romance read, there was very little romance. 

Honestly, I don't even know what to expect from a Sarah Dessen book since I haven't read any of the author's works. But I surely expected more than what I got in The Moon And More. 

I've heard that the author's previous books are really good, but I won't be giving them a try anytime soon. 

RATING: