Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Published Date: April 22, 2008
Source: Library
What's the Story?:
From Goodreads.com: "After her mom vanished in a stench of drugs and alcohol, Ruby continued to live in the family house alone. Finally found out, the introspective teenager is sent to the luxurious home of her older sister, Cora, whom she hadn't seen in ten years. Everything there seems unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and supremely weird: her fancy new room; her lavish new wardrobe; the exclusive private school where she never quite fits in. Most mysterious of all is Nate, the friendly boy next door who seems to have a deep secret of his own. Another subtle character-driven teen novel by Sarah Dessen, the author of Just Listen and That Summer."
My Two Cents:
One of the reasons that I got into book blogging for myself is all of the wonderful book blogs that I came across. Before getting into book blogging, I didn't really read YA at all but reading so many book blogs touting the wonderful stories in the YA books that they were reading. Without book blogging, I may have never heard of Sarah Dessen's books. So thank you, fellow book bloggers!
Ruby has to go live with her sister and her husband after Ruby's mom disappears leaving Ruby alone in a dilapidated house. Ruby's sister, Cora, married well and now lives in a luxury that Ruby could have only dreamed about. Even with all of the new good things in her life, Ruby finds herself getting stuck in the old days. Where did her mother go? Why didn't Cora try to step in before? Ruby is fighting her own demons when she meets Nate, the boy next door, who may be fighting demons of his own.
I liked Lock and Key a lot. Ruby is a relatable character and you can really see how much she's gone through and why she is the way that she is. I definitely felt bad for her and for Nate, who is also not in a very good situation. The story is good but I think what I like most is the style. I thought that Dessen did a great job capturing how teens think and why they do what they do. Realism is always very impressive to me.
What I didn't like about this book is how sudden it seemed to end. Without giving too much away, I kind of wondered what happened to Nate once he left. Was life better? Why did he stay in the situation that he was in for so long?
My Review:
3.5 out of 5 stars
I usually don't read a lot of YA either, but sometimes one comes along that I really enjoy. I haven't read anyting by Sarah Dessen yet, I might have check one out.
ReplyDeleteNot really my genra, but thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete@Anne I've heard very good things about her other books too!
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