Review: Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Lock and Key

By Sarah Dessen

Published: May 14, 2009

Publisher: Speak

Paperback, 422 Pages

"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.--Goodreads 

5 Stars

Review 

I am a HUGE Sarah Dessen fan. I can not tell you how much I enjoy reading her books, but I can try. Lock and Key was actually the first Sarah Dessen novel I had ever read. I received a box set of three Sarah Dessen novels for my birthday two years ago, since then I have been hooked on Sarah Dessen books.

Ruby is a really independent person and everything she wanted, she got it herself without any help. Ever since her older sister, Cora, left Ruby with her alcoholic mother to go to college, Ruby has done everything for herself. But then Ruby has to go live with her sister after the landlords find out that Ruby's mom left her. On the first night at Cora's Ruby tries to run away, but the neighbor Nate sees her and convinces her to stick around for awhile. The hard feelings were still there between Ruby and Cora and that just made their whole relationship awkward, but Jamie was always there trying to help them. 

Nate, the love interest of Ruby's, helps Ruby with her problems and is an overall good friend to Ruby. What I really like about Sarah Dessen novels is that the guy/love interest helps our protagonist with her issues, but our protagonist is the one that actually sorts out her issues.

Nate also had problems of his own, he lives with an abusive father. When Ruby found out about this, she tried to help Nate, which is really awesome because that just strengthen their bond and it shows that it doesn't always have to be the guy helping the girl, the girl can help the guy as well!

Nate and his dad have a business together in whih they do things for other people that they-the customers- don't have time to do, such as buying groceries or taking out the trash. Ruby sometimes helps Nate with work and this leds Ruby to meeting a woman who owns a jewelry shop at the mall and Ruby getting her own job helping her with her work. The jewelry business was slow, but when a person asks if they sell Ruby's key necklace, Ruby ends up bringing in a lot of business with her key necklace idea and thus helping her boss. The key Ruby always wears is her old house's key, the house that her and her mom lived in last; the key symbolizes her past.

Lock and Key is one of my all-time favorite Sarah Dessen book, I've read it at least three or four times now and I hope you will like it too! Oh and in all of the Sarah Dessen novels, a lot of the things and people in the books will be mentioned in the other novels, which I think is super cool. I love to read a book and then think hey wasn't that the same blank from blank? Well maybe it's just me, but yeah you should read this book if you love contemporary novels.

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