Lock and Key

Name: Michelle Sherwin
Grade:12+
Title: Lock and Key
Author: Sarah Dessen





What kind of life can you have if you can count on no one? That is exactly what Ruby tries to do. She tries to count on no one, just as her mother has taught her to do. Her mom and her have moved around so many times and tried to keep anyone from know where they are because of her mother's shady past. So when her mother doesn't come home Ruby decides to continue living by herself. She does her mom's job, does the housework, goes to school and gets by alright. That is until the people she is renting from stop by and find out that she has been abandoned. Now Ruby's whole life is going to change. Her sister, who has not been in the picture since she left the house at 18 is now going to be the one taking care of Ruby. At first Ruby absolutely hates the house and everything about it. She hates her new room, her new school, her sister and brother in law's willingness to help her. Nothing seems right and she doesn't want any part of it. She tries running away, going back to her old home and skipping class just to see what will bring back her old life, but when she finds  the boy next door, popular Nate, to be charming things seem to take a turn for the better, but do they really? She gets a job and beings to settle in.  Suddenly she is not sure that either her or Nate are ready for where their relationship seems to be going and Nate seems to be just as wary. Will Ruby be able to survive this relationship and this life or will this just bring on another move and another new life?

I found the conflict to be the best part of this book. Ruby was always in conflict over what her next move might be and where her life and home truly were. It was a little difficult to get into the book at first because there did not seem to be much going on.

I picked this book up because I liked the last book that I had read by this author. This one look to be interesting as well.

I finished this book because there was always something else left to find out, although it did seem like there were still quite a few things left unsettled in the end that could have been wrapped up.

I'd give this book to people who liked any of this author's other books. I would also give this book to people who have  had a lot of conflict and not a lot of stability in their lives because Ruby really shows what it is like to transition and to not be sure who to trust.

I give this book: ***