Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

NYIA teen book reviewer is in the house!!!! Give her a warm welcome!



Book Blurb Booklist:

Ruby hasn’t had much success with family. Her father left; her protective older sister, Cora, left; and her boozing mother finally leaves, too. Ruby is alone until Cora learns of her situation and swoops in. Suddenly, Ruby finds herself living with Cora and her wealthy brother-in-law, attending private school, and wondering just where she fits in. As in previous books, Dessen takes on a central theme—here the meaning of family—and spins many plots and subplots around it. Most prominent yet least successful is the thread about Cora’s relationship with boy-next-door Nate, who rescues her when she needs it, but has difficulty accepting Ruby’s help, tentative at first, when she discovers he’s being physically abused. Nate seems too good to be true (as does Cora’s husband), while his father is a caricature. And one of the most important elements, the issue of the girls’ mother lying to them, gets lost. Despite the uneven narrative, Dessen’s writing can be beautiful, and her story is involving.

NYIA's REVIEW:

I give this book a 4 out of 5 hearts, mostly because the story was very interesting and had major drama, but it had too much back story so I snatched away a heart. The main character,Ruby, was very likable and grew throughout the story. The side love story was so touching and showed true dedication. I liked that the love story grew throughout the book and was well developed. Like I said before, the back-stories were overkill at times. They answered a lot of questions formed in the book, but there was so much back-story that I wished she made the beginning of the book sooner. The book overall was a great read and the ending was sweet and sad at the same time. I can honestly say that I had no unanswered questions at the end of this book, except the usual one left with the whole love interest thing.