This Lullaby

Scientists graph the pollution the air. Remy graphs the love in the air. In This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen, Remy knows everything there is to know about love. She even has a whole set of rules to prove it: From which boys with what profession not to date; to how long until you need to break up with them. Not one boy has ever gone too far off what Remy has predicted. Until Dexter crashes into her and her life. Dexter doesn’t follow the rules at all, and Remy is no longer in control over the situation. Remy is an interesting character who has many layers.

Although Remy, as a teenage girl, should be the one being supported by her family, it’s the total opposite. Her mother, Barbara Starr, has been supported by Remy for a long time. Barbara has been married four times, marrying as if she were changing her clothes. This is one of the reasons why Remy feels that there have to be rules in love. She has witnessed so many stepfathers come and go, she believes love can never last. But if it isn’t going to, it’s at least better to be the one in control. “I’d always prided myself on having the upper hand.” Remy is also not the strong, down-to-earth and confident girl she appears to be. She is afraid of love, afraid of being hurt, afraid that someone will break her heart. So she built a wall made of rules about love. That is why Remy feels uncomfortable when she meets Dexter, because he’s different than the rest of the boys she’s used to dealing with, which scares her. In other words, Remy doesn’t trust love, much less others.

Remy shares her rules with her friends:Chloe, Jess and Lissa. Remy is like the leader of her group of friends, always reinforcing the rules by following them. However, her friends notice a change in Remy’s behavior after meeting Dexter. Chloe notices this when she helps Remy give Monkey, Dexter’s dog, a bath. “‘I still can’ believe how low you’ve stooped,’ she said. ... ‘This is total girlfriend behavior.’ ... ‘No,’ I said, steering Monkey away from the grass before Chloe had a chance to freak out. ‘This is a humanitarian act. He was miserable.’ ... ‘I thought you weren’t getting attached,’ she said as I pulled the clippers out of my pocket and sat the dog down again. ‘I’m not,’ I told her. ‘It’s just for the summer. I told you that.’ ... ‘And anyway, what happened to our wild and carefree summer? Once you dumped Jonathan I thought we’d just date our way to August. No worries. Remember?’ (This is Chloe speaking.) ‘I’m not worried,’ I said.”

Dexter is unpredictable, which means Remy can’t take control of the situation. This means that she is vulnerable to anything and everything Dexter does, which scares Remy. She also hates admitting that she has truly become Dexter’s girlfriend. “‘If you must know,” I said, as if it was absolutely no big deal whatsoever, ‘it’s just this plastic ware I got at Linens Etc.” He thought about this. ‘Plastic ware.’ ‘Yes. It was on sale.’...‘Plastic ware,’ he said slowly, ‘like knives and forks and spoons?’ I brushed a but of dirt off the back of the car―was that a scratch?―and said casually, ‘Yeah, I guess. Just the basics, you know.’ ‘Did you need plastic ware?’ he asked. I shrugged. ‘Because,’ he went on, and I fought the urge to squirm, ‘it’s so funny, because I need plastic ware. Badly.’ ‘Can we go inside, please?’ I asked, slamming the trunk shut. ‘It’s hot out here.’ He looked at the bag again, then at me, And then, slowly, the smile I knew and dreaded crept across his face, ‘You bought me plastic ware,’ he said. ‘Didn’t you?’ ‘No,’ I growled, picking at my license plate.” In this scene, Remy denies buying Dexter plastic ware because she considers it girlfriend behavior, and she of afraid of opening up to someone.

Remy was a very intriguing character, who had more than one facet to her, which made her all the more interesting. It was also interesting how she developed and changed. Overall, I enjoyed both reading this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about teen love.