Lock and Key

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

"'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."

                                                -Cover Description 

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen is a unique, intriguing novel. It centers around a seventeen year-old girl, Ruby Cooper, and the complicated relationships she has with her mother and her older sister Cora. After social services gets wind of the fact that Ruby is alone with no parent at home, she is sent to live with her older sister and until she turns eighteen years of age. Everything is brand new, shiny and alien to Ruby, and she regards it all with wary eyes. However, Ruby starts to learn that maybe, you have to save someone else in order to save yourself.

A simple yet powerful novel, Sarah Dessen provides thought-provoking views on love, abuse, and, most of all, family. A question that will be in the reader's mind throughout the entire novel is something that is also running through Ruby's head as well: what makes a family? If you are looking for a good read, I would recommend this book.