this lullaby
by
Sarah Dessen
Created by: Sarah Jackson

Remy finds out from one of
Dexter’s band members that he is
still pursuing to get her to like
him. Remy is very independent
and keeps to herself while Dexter
is bold and outgoing. This was a
conflict for Remy because she
didn’t like Dexter and didn’t
want someone constantly trying
to always be with her. Now that
Dexter is not giving up, Remy’s
summer isn’t going to go as she
planned her last summer before
she goes to college would be.

Remy is sitting at a bar,
looking at herself in the
mirror and notices that she
is drifting back into her old
bad habits. This reveals a
part of Remy’s past that she
has kept hidden.

At this point in the novel Remy is
breaking up with Dexter and he doesn’t
think they should. Remy still does not
believe in love while Dexter does. This
causes a big conflict in the story
because Remy was starting to question
what she has always thought could
never happen. Dexter was making her
see that love is possible and suddenly
they break up with little of the novel
left.

Remy faces an internal
conflict when her friend,
Lissa, makes her question her
beliefs towards love. Remy
answers firmly which shows
that she wants to keep up
the strong, tough and
unemotional appearance she
has always had towards guys.
This leads Remy into
rethinking her relationship
with Dexter which she
wouldn’t have done without
Lissa’s comment.

The setting is a local bar
that Remy and her friends
visit frequently. This is
important because the
author uses descriptive
words to give the readers a
mental picture of Bendo,
where Remy and her
friends spend most of their
free time. This reveals
what the characters like to
do for fun.
 This
setting uses imagery
to gives readers a good
visual of the area where
Remy works. This is
important because Remy
spends much of her time
here as well.

In this setting of the story,
Dexter’s bedroom, Sarah
Dessen uses common imagery
so that we can relate to the
unclean room. This lets
readers know that Remy is
unlike Dexter since she made
a comment of his room being
a mess. She wouldn’t think
this if her own room was a
mess.

The narrator is first person and
uses language like the words
and phrases “glamorous”,
“small and wiry”, “full of
energy”, and “swishy outfits in
bright colors” to show her
attitude toward what her
mother is like.

The narrator is first person
and she reveals her
attitude towards what she
looks for in a guy by stating
all the qualities she prefers
such as “Good-looking” and
“…no annoying personal
habits”.

The narrator is first person
and this text is revealing
that Remy feels strongly
about her mother. When
her mom’s husband
cheated on her, Remy
comforted her mother as
shown in the quote above.



One example Remy finds of love is in
her relationship with Dexter even with
conflicts caused by others they end up
together by the end of the novel.
A second example is Remy’s
relationship with her mother and the
support she provides for her through
the difficult time of her most recent
marriage.
A third example that love exists is
with Remy’s brother, Chris. Chris had
had problems with his behavior until
he met Jennifer Anne who he was
willing to change for. By the end of
the novel Chris and Jennifer were
engaged.