Title: Lock and Key
Author: Sarah Dessen
1st Date of Publication: April 22, 2008
1st Date of Publication: April 22, 2008
ISBN: 9780142414729
# of Pages: 432
# of Pages: 432
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Age Rating: 15+ (Mild Alcohol and Drugs)
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Book Description:
Ruby, where is your mother?
Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she's been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return.
That's how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn't seen in ten years, and Cora's husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future; it's a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?
Best-selling author Sarah Dessen explores the heart of a gutsy, complex girl dealing with unforeseen circumstances and learning to trust again.
Ruby, where is your mother?
Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she's been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return.
That's how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn't seen in ten years, and Cora's husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future; it's a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?
Best-selling author Sarah Dessen explores the heart of a gutsy, complex girl dealing with unforeseen circumstances and learning to trust again.
Setting: Fictional Place in 21st century
Point of View: 3rd person- Ruby Cooper
Goodreads Rating: 4.02
My Rating: 3.75
Part of the Book that Caught My Attention: Both
View on the Cover: I liked this cover because the key is shown and it sort of looks like the girl is contemplating life.
View on Title: The title was what interested me. A lock and key seems to be a simple concept, but I like how the
View on Title: The title was what interested me. A lock and key seems to be a simple concept, but I like how the
Pros:
- Dessen does an excellent job of showing an issue with society. In this case, she writes about the issue of abandonment.
- I really enjoyed Ruby's maturity as the novel progresses. I feel that it shows how teens who react when they are forced out of a situation and into a new one.
- Nate is another character that I really enjoyed. He seems to be the person to do everything, but that's all he's ever known. His character shows how he is damaged on the inside but hides it well on the outside.
- I liked the development of the friendship between Ruby and Nate. Nate's persistence rubs off on Ruby toward the middle and end of the novel as she becomes persistent. When he needs someone like Ruby did, she returns the favor.
- I also really liked Cora, too. That's because I identify well with her since I have a sister who is 11 years younger than me and if I was in this same situation I would do the same.
Cons:
- I felt that some of the characters were unnecessary, such as Gervais and Olivia. Sure, they provided friendship toward Ruby, but I felt they lacked character development.
- I wish I got to see a little more of Jaime's family involved in welcoming Ruby into the family. I felt that that also lacked a bit since Ruby always seemed to run away whenever they were around.
Critics' Reviews:
"Ruby, 17, is taken in by her older sister and brother-in-law when her mother abandons her. Ruby and her sister haven't spoken since Cora left for college a decade earlier. She moves from a semi-heated, semi-lighted farmhouse to a McMansion in a gated community. The theme of abandonment permeates the narrative-Ruby's mother's disappearance, Cora's perceived abandonment, and all of the small abandonments around every corner throughout Ruby's life. The plot hinges luxuriously on character arc. Ruby's drama of pathological self-reliance to eventual trust plays out through thoughtful, though occasionally heavy-handed, inner monologue and metaphor. As always, Dessen's characters live and breathe. Ruby's sweet hipster brother-in-law and Nate, the freakishly affable hottie next door, are especially vivid, and Cora's change from bitter control freak to sympathetic co-protagonist is subtle and seamless. Though Ruby and Nate don't have quite the cinematic chemistry of many of Dessen's couples, their cautious friendship into romance seems that much more realistic. The author's feel for setting is as uncanny as ever, and Ruby's descriptions of the homogenous nouveau riche Anytown are sharp, clever, and honest. The dialogue, especially between Ruby and Cora, is crisp, layered, and natural. The slow unfolding adds to an anticipatory mood. What's more, secrets and situations revealed in the second half of the novel are resolved more believably by already deeply developed characters. Recommend this one to patient, sophisticated readers."—Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library
"Ruby, 17, is taken in by her older sister and brother-in-law when her mother abandons her. Ruby and her sister haven't spoken since Cora left for college a decade earlier. She moves from a semi-heated, semi-lighted farmhouse to a McMansion in a gated community. The theme of abandonment permeates the narrative-Ruby's mother's disappearance, Cora's perceived abandonment, and all of the small abandonments around every corner throughout Ruby's life. The plot hinges luxuriously on character arc. Ruby's drama of pathological self-reliance to eventual trust plays out through thoughtful, though occasionally heavy-handed, inner monologue and metaphor. As always, Dessen's characters live and breathe. Ruby's sweet hipster brother-in-law and Nate, the freakishly affable hottie next door, are especially vivid, and Cora's change from bitter control freak to sympathetic co-protagonist is subtle and seamless. Though Ruby and Nate don't have quite the cinematic chemistry of many of Dessen's couples, their cautious friendship into romance seems that much more realistic. The author's feel for setting is as uncanny as ever, and Ruby's descriptions of the homogenous nouveau riche Anytown are sharp, clever, and honest. The dialogue, especially between Ruby and Cora, is crisp, layered, and natural. The slow unfolding adds to an anticipatory mood. What's more, secrets and situations revealed in the second half of the novel are resolved more believably by already deeply developed characters. Recommend this one to patient, sophisticated readers."—Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library
Sarah Dessen's Website:
Other Recommendations:
This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen
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