Review for Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

"Lock and Key"

Author: Sarah Dessen

Publisher: Speak

Source: Personal Copy

Challenge: 350 page, For the Love of YA, I'd Wish I'd Read That

422 pages

"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." -Summary from Goodreads

   So, what to say for this book. Hmm. First off, lets zoom in on characters. Ruby, well, sometimes I just didn't like her. I couldn't understand why she would do stuff. But the thing I enjoyed about her is how much she grows in this story. There's a total transformation . . . which is awesome considering the plot. Cora and Jamie were good. Cora I didn't like at first (to be expected) by the end though I loved her, and I always loved Jamie. Now, Nate. I really liked him. But when his 'secret' comes out and Ruby actually tries to help, he bugged me. But in the end all characters were reasonable. The plot was ok. It sure made a story that's for sure. The ending was nice, everything was tied up. The loose end were gathered up so to speak and I was satisfied. Lock and Key is a good book, lots of emotions, relationships and situations that open your eyes. Overall, I was glad I read it . . . I just didn't love it. It didn't leave me thinking about it afterward (like books that I love). I do suggest reading it. Give it a try :) Sarah Dessen is a great author!

Excerpt:

   “And finally,” Jamie said as he pushed the door open, “we come to the main event. Your room.”

I was braced for pink. Ruffles or quilting, or maybe even appliqué. Which was

probably kind of unfair, but then again, I didn’t know my sister anymore, much less her decorating style. With total strangers, it had always been my policy to expect the worst. Usually they—and those that you knew best, for that matter—did not disappoint. Instead, the first thing I saw was green. A large, high window, on the other side of which were tall trees, separating the huge backyard from that of the house that backed up to it. Everything was big about where my sister and her husband, Jamie, lived—from the homes to the cars to the stone fence you saw first thing when you pulled into the neighborhood itself, made up of boulders that looked too enormous to ever be moved. It was like Stonehenge, but suburban. So weird.