Lock and Key

by Sarah Dessen (Goodreads author!)

book data

1163 ratings, 4.11 average rating, 269 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		34%
4		36%
3		23%
2		4%
1		1%

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published

April 22nd 2008 by Viking Juvenile

binding

Hardcover

isbn

067001088X (isbn13: 9780670010882)

description

"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, ...more

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Danielle rated it:

05/19/08

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: Teen Fiction Lovers

This was my first book that I've read by Sarah Dessen. I've heard quite a few good things about her so I was fairly willing to give her books a try even though I don't typically read teen fiction.

Lock and Key is about a seventeen year old girl named Ruby. Ruby's had a tough childhood: from her father and sister abandoning her at a young age (so she thinks) to her mother abandoning her at seventeen she's never really been settled in one place. For the first part of the novel Ruby's in a sort...more

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Runa added it

05/07/08

Read in April, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

That was a shock. Definitely nowhere near as good as I expected it to be. I mean, maybe Just Listen heightened my expectations, but hey, this was not even comparable to her earlier books. *sigh* Where to begin... -Ruby gets absolutely no resolution, IMO. It's great that she and Cora get along, but what about the potential Dad search? And her mother's not any better. What happens to the yellow house? -The key. You don't do that. That's not how you tie loose ends up. She needed to have kept that k...more

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Jennifer rated it:

05/20/08

bookshelves: best-of-the-best, gold-star-award, personal-read, trt-reviews

Read in May, 2008

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

It's been a quite a long time that I found myself sitting up until three in the morning, wanting desperately to finish a story. But that is exactly where I found myself the other night with LOCK AND KEY in my hands. I was so engrossed in Ruby and her story that I had to find out how it ended.

Ruby Cooper has always looked out for Number One. When Ruby was eight, her sister Cora left for university and never looked back. It was always Ruby and her mo...more Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

It's been a quite a long time that I found myself sitting up until three in the morning, wanting desperately to finish a story. But that is exactly where I found myself the other night with LOCK AND KEY in my hands. I was so engrossed in Ruby and her story that I had to find out how it ended.

Ruby Cooper has always looked out for Number One. When Ruby was eight, her sister Cora left for university and never looked back. It was always Ruby and her mother, moving from one place to another. Her mother's excuse was to avoid creditors and landlords. Ruby slowly comes to find out that this is the version her mother wanted her to hear.

Early on in her senior year of high school, Ruby's mom does a runner. Leaving Ruby all alone in the rented yellow house, Ruby does what she can to survive. She will be eighteen in less than a year, and if she can hide the fact that she's alone until then, the authorities won't be able to touch her. But when the dryer fails at her rented house and the landlords notice a clothes line strung throughout the kitchen, Ruby's life is forever changed.

Custody of Ruby is given over to her older sister, Cora. Cora and her husband, Jamie, live in a wealthy community and live a life totally foreign to everything Ruby has ever known. Not trusting Cora and Jamie's intentions, Ruby plots an escape her first night in her new home. Making a break over the fence in the back yard, her escape is foiled by one rambunctious dog, Roscoe. Roscoe's barking brings a curious "Hello?" from the other side of the fence. Here she meets her next door neighbor, Nate. Nate's outlook on life is upbeat and infectious. But Ruby does everything she can to keep him at bay, as well.

Slowly, Ruby learns to adjust the new life she has been given, and develop friendships in the most unlikely places. Ruby has always kept on the fringes and avoided being indebted to anyone. But as she grows and evolves, she realizes that maybe others need her just as much as she needs them. With a class assignment to define "Family," Ruby understands that the word has many meanings, and most of them don't necessarily mean blood relations.

Sarah Dessen writes another amazing novel for young adults. LOCK AND KEY is wonderful, heartfelt story. All of the characters draw you in and make you feel like you are part of their lives. Jamie's naiveté is endearing. Cora's infertility struggles hit you in the heart. Olivia's tough girl exterior has cracks you get to see through. Harriett is just as harried as her name implies. And the perfect-seeming Nate has secrets all his own.

My only regret with this book is that I failed to move it to the top of my To Be Read pile as soon as it arrived for review. So if you have this one sitting around at home, make it the next one you read. And if you've picked it up at the book store, considering purchasing it, definitely do so the next time you are there. You won't regret it! ...less

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Snorkle rated it:

08/06/08

bookshelves: young-adult

Read in May, 2008

Ruby has been living without her mother for the past couple of months now, she only has a few more months until she's 18, so she figured she could pull it off. But social services finds out that her mother has been gone and before Ruby knows it she's living with her sister and her new brother-in-law, Jamie. She goes from poverty to a private high school and designer clothes all in under 24 hours. Ruby doesn't know how she feels living with her older sister, Cora, who abandoned her and went off t...more

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Chelsea rated it:

10/29/07

bookshelves: 2007, advance, own, youngadult

Read in October, 2007

This is the first Sarah Dessen I've read, after much prompting. Her plots always seemed cheesy and melodramatic to me (based entirely on wildly varying reviews I've read and, you know, the back of the books), the young adult version of Jodi Piccoult (another author I am judging without ever having read her, shame on me). And, well... I don't see myself seeking out any of her others. I finished it off in about three hours, and... The b...more

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7 comments

Jessica rated it:

05/27/08

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: YA lit fans

Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors and her latest novel, Lock and Key does not disappoint. The main character Ruby has been raised by her not-very-attentive mother (also named Ruby) and so she has learned to be independent and not get too close to anyone. But, when her mother disappears for over a month and their landlord finds out Ruby ends up living with her estranged older sister. Even though Cora seems to have a perfect life now, Ruby just can't feel completely comfortable ...more

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Laura rated it:

06/16/08

bookshelves: realistic-fiction, romance, teen

Read in June, 2008

Ruby wears a key around her neck. It is the key to the last house she shared with her mother. After her mother takes off, Ruby is taken in by her sister and brother-in-law.

This constitutes big changes. First, Ruby and Cora have not seen or spoken to each other in years -- Ruby didn't even know Cora was married. Second, Cora and her husband, Jamie are rich and living in a wealthy community. Third, new school and new friends. Fourth, the opportunity to redine what family really means. ...more

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CLM rated it:

05/10/08

Read in May, 2008

Startling to have a Sarah Dessen heroine having sex with a drug dealer! That is not the kind of girl I went to high school with.

This is not by any means Sarah's best - the characters did not seem fully developed and the problems experienced by the sisters seem much too easily resolved or ignored - but it was still enjoyable.

For someone who is such a college basketball fan, she did not depict a (would be) swimming scholarship athlete at all realistically. Also, Cora had much too mu...more

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Lynn rated it:

08/10/08

Read in August, 2008

I've always loved Dessen's books but I found this one slow to get into. There is an emotional distance to the character which distanced me as a reader. I am glad I stuck with it though as it definitely picked up for me about halfway through the book and I was very compelled to keep reading from then on. I enjoyed how the themes of family and friendship were explored and there are some nice sections on closing out/opening up to relationships with the lock and key images.

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Ashley rated it:

10/20/08

bookshelves: currently-reading

Just started this book. Good so far.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

12 comments

Carolynne rated it:

10/30/08

bookshelves: recentlyread

Read in October, 2008

recommends it for: Melody

Ruby tries to make it on her own when her alcoholic mother abandons her, but she is caught by a nosy landlord. A social services agency ships her off to live with her sister, whom she hasn't seen for ten years, and brother-in-law. She's not used to the lavish life style or the fancy private school where her family enrolls her. For a long time Ruby is resistant to Cora and Jamie's concern and affection, as well as the friendship of her good-guy next-door neighbor Nate Cross, but their persisten...more

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Emily rated it:

09/26/08

Read in September, 2008

While I appreciated the story Dessen tells in this book, I feel that it should have been edited down significantly. The main character, Ruby, is going through a very rough time in her life and has to learn to adapt to living in a world that is completely foreign to her. I think that the way Dessen wrote Ruby’s thoughts—-a seemingly endless back-and-forth with herself—-is probably a realistic depiction of the way a person in that situation would think. But that doesn’t mean that it mak...more

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Navah rated it:

09/16/08

bookshelves: teen

Read in September, 2008

recommends it for: fans of Elizabeth Scott, Deb Caletti

Ruby has been taking care of herself for a while, but after her mother takes off and leaves her, her plan is simple: survive the next few months until she turns eighteen and can legally be on her own. But when her well-meaning but nosy landlords turn her over to social services, Ruby is forced to go live with her older sister Cora, who went off to college years ago and never looked back.

Now, Cora is living in a big gorgeous house with her entrepreneur husband Jamie—and so is Ruby. Cora a...more Ruby has been taking care of herself for a while, but after her mother takes off and leaves her, her plan is simple: survive the next few months until she turns eighteen and can legally be on her own. But when her well-meaning but nosy landlords turn her over to social services, Ruby is forced to go live with her older sister Cora, who went off to college years ago and never looked back.

Now, Cora is living in a big gorgeous house with her entrepreneur husband Jamie—and so is Ruby. Cora and Jamie give Ruby everything a girl could possibly want—a room of her own, new clothes, and attendance at a prestigious private school. But all Ruby really wants is to be a one-woman operation, not dependant on anyone else—especially not the sister who abandoned her.

The more Ruby pushes away, the closer she grows to Nate, the affable, perpetually friendly boy next door who has a secret of his own. Can Ruby break through the locked doors inside herself in time to see past Nate’s?

Sarah Dessen, as always, has a spot-on teenage voice, and this book is no exception. I loved reading it. I love being inside Sarah Dessen’s characters. And it’s not just her main characters who are fun—the best Sarah Dessen characters are the secondary characters, the zany cast and crew of her books who keep things interesting. In this case, Nate, Olivia, Gervais, Cora, and especially the fabulous Jamie, who I alternately want to be and know.

That said, this is not Sarah Dessen’s strongest book. I liked it better than Just Listen, but towards the end it lost some steam for me. I felt like the end happened too quickly, with not enough buildup, and some of Ruby’s development and change seemed too easy. She becomes a very different person, and though it does happen over the course of time, it doesn’t feel like it does.

Don’t get me wrong. I liked reading this book, and if you like pitch-perfect teen voice novels, you will too. But it doesn’t quite hit the mark of classics like Someone Like You.

There are some truly stellar moments. The scene with the heron and the pond? Stunning. All of Jamie’s holiday mania? Fantastic. Actually, everything with Jamie is a winner. I would read a whole book just about Jamie. I want to hang out with Jamie.

Does it make me old that my favorite character in a Sarah Dessen novel is the husband of the big sister?
...less

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Merissa rated it:

08/15/08

bookshelves: reviewed-on-blog, young-adult

Read in August, 2008

Ruby has been abandoned by her mother. For months she’s lived alone in her yellow house. But now she’s been discovered and she’s transfered to her sister’s house, with her sister and her sister’s husband: Cora and Jamie. Now she has to go to a new school, with new people, with nobody whom she knows except maybe Nate, the friendly neighbor boy.

But Ruby doesn’t want to change. She wants to be by herself, like before. But unfortunately, that’s not happening.

I’m not c...more

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Carrie-anne rated it:

08/14/08

bookshelves: ya

Clearly, Sarah Dessen has been spying on me. Or, at least, somehow she got hold of a copy of my creative writing thesis. There are a handful of freaky similarities between Lock and Key and my thesis novel. The premises are different -- her protagonist, abandoned by a neglectful mother, goes to live with her older sister and brother-in-law, while mine moves in with her dad and step-mother after her overprotective grandma dies -- but both are struggling with letting people they thought abandoned t...more

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Jeanne rated it:

08/04/08

bookshelves: young-adult

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: fans of Sarah Dessen

Confession: even though Dessen's novels are generally cheesy and melodramatic, I could not resist picking up Lock and Key. The blurb made it sound good; unfortunately, it is not.

This is the story of 17-year-old Ruby Cooper. Her mother recently abandoned her, and she's been living in squalor for the past few months. When social services is alerted to her situation, Ruby is removed from the house and taken to her older sister's home. Cora, who is ten years older than Ruby, hasn't seen Rub...more

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Nian rated it:

07/12/08

bookshelves: five-stars

Read in July, 2008

recommends it for: everyone, whether you're a Dessen fan or not

Ruby Cooper’s plan to live in the yellow house alone, without parents around while she is still a minor, goes nastily wrong when her dryer blows out. The next thing she knows, Social Services is sending her to Cora, her sister she hasn’t seen in ten years, and Jamie, her brother in law. Ruby doesn’t want their help, and the first night, she plans to run away. She meets Nate, her next door neighbor who saves her lie, and Ruby has to stay. For a girl who’s always counted on herself and doe...more

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Allison rated it:

07/05/08

Read in July, 2008

Dessen, Sarah Lock and Key, pgs.432 Penguin Group-Viking Juvenile. Language~PG-13, Sexual Content~PG; Violence~PG;

Seventeen-year-old Ruby knows how to take care of herself. She has been doing it for the last 10 years ever since her older sister Cora left for college. This left Ruby alone with her mother who is a habitual drug user and alcoholic. With a mother like hers, Ruby has been mostly on her own, even with her mother in the next room. Ruby's mother recently abandoned her, disappea...more

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Bullcitytaheel rated it:

06/30/08

bookshelves: realistic-fiction, ya-lit

Read in June, 2008

As I started reading this, I was thinking, "This seems like Dessen's other books. Maybe I have read enough of her books by now." But I must say, like her other books, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and read it in only a few days. Outsider girl with problems learns to trust a small, quality (and quirky) group of family & friends, including a cute, overly-understanding guy (who happens to have his own problems). Dessen does a great job creating Ruby - her thoughts and actions are ...more

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Garciaa rated it:

06/28/08

bookshelves: young-adult

Read in June, 2008

recommends it for: teens and reluctant readers-- esp. females

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

What's an almost 18-year-old to do when her mom abandons her and social-services changes her entire life? They stick her with her wealthy brother-in-law and sister (who she hasn't seen or heard from in about 13 years)! They take her out of public school and enroll her in an elite, private, college-preperatory academy. Will she just screech through the next few months until independence, or will she adapt to this new life? Will she learn to make friends or keep her hard shell?

I love Sarah...more

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