Lock and Key

Dessen, Sarah. Lock and Key. 2008. 432p. ISBN 9780670010882. Available at FIC DES on the library shelves.

When Ruby returns home after school one day, she realizes that her mother has left her behind. First abandoned by her sister ten years ago when she left for college, Ruby tries to make a go of living alone in the rental house and working her mom’s job for her. But she is eventually discovered, and social services get involved.

Ruby is reunited with Cora, now married to Jamie, founder of the U-Me social network. Ruby finds the transition very difficult, and attempts to run away on the first night. She meets Nate, the boy next door, and she misses her chance. But has life becomes more complicated in her new living arrangement, Ruby can’t help feeling that her sister really doesn’t want her there. After all, Cora is the one that left first, right? But what if things were not exactly as their mother portrayed them?

Meanwhile, underneath the perfect veneer, Nate is also dealing with issues of his own. Can Ruby and Nate manage to accept each other’s help?

Fans of Sarah Dessen will love this story from the heart where appearances can be deceiving. For more Sarah Dessen, read Saint Anything and The Moon and More. Interested in a great love story taking place at Christmas? Take a look at Jay Asher's What Light.