Lock and Key
By Sarah Dessen
Release Date: April 22, 2008
Source: Publisher
Ruby is used to taking care of herself.
But now that she's living with her sister, she's got her own room, she's going to a good school, and her future looks bright.
Plus there's an adorable boy next door.
Can Ruby learn to open her heart and let him in?
Honestly, it's hard for me to read a YA book without really judging the maturity of the main character. Our character in this book, though, has lived through a lot and has had to basically raise herself, so I found myself really connecting with her and respecting her as a character.
After living months by herself when her mom leaves without a notice, Ruby is forced to move in with her older sister, who she hasn't seen in years since she left for college and left Ruby and her old life behind. Ruby doesn't want help and just wants to go back to the yellow house and live her own life, but she's stuck with her sister and her sister's husband who founded a networking website that rakes in the big bucks. Ruby finds herself attending a prestigious private school and feeling sorely out of place, but she also finds herself slowly starting to feel like she's finding a family with her sister and brother-in-law and the friendly boy next door who has some secrets of his own.
Like I said, Ruby has lived a pretty rough life up until this point and is far from being an immature teen complaining about juvenile things. Ruby has always taken care of herself, so she is very hesitant to accept help from anyone. I loved how fragile her relationship with her sister was and how we could really see that relationship grow and strengthen as the book moved on. Ruby makes some mistakes while living with her sister and realizes for the first time how her actions really affect other people. And I absolutely loved Jamie's character, who is Ruby's sister's husband. There are so many great characters in this book, big and small, and I loved them all!
As always, I love a good romance in my books and I really adored the romance in this book. The romance wasn't actually the central focus in this book, which was nice, but I was still totally fangirling over Ruby and Nate. Nate is so fun and I loved how he was such a nice guy, but also had some demons of his own. When we realized that Nate wasn't all that perfect, my heart broke and I just wanted him to accept the help Ruby was offering instead of pushing it away. Ruby wasn't the only one who didn't like accepting help from people, which is why I think they were absolutely perfect for one another.
Overall, I loved my reread of this book even more than when I read it so many years ago. I could appreciate the serious issues Sarah Dessen addressed with Ruby being abandoned by her mom and dealing with not following in her mom's footsteps. There was a strong family presence in this novel and I liked how that relationship was really looked at and developed. Overall, all Sarah Dessen fans, and YA fans in general, cannot miss out on this gem!
After living months by herself when her mom leaves without a notice, Ruby is forced to move in with her older sister, who she hasn't seen in years since she left for college and left Ruby and her old life behind. Ruby doesn't want help and just wants to go back to the yellow house and live her own life, but she's stuck with her sister and her sister's husband who founded a networking website that rakes in the big bucks. Ruby finds herself attending a prestigious private school and feeling sorely out of place, but she also finds herself slowly starting to feel like she's finding a family with her sister and brother-in-law and the friendly boy next door who has some secrets of his own.
Like I said, Ruby has lived a pretty rough life up until this point and is far from being an immature teen complaining about juvenile things. Ruby has always taken care of herself, so she is very hesitant to accept help from anyone. I loved how fragile her relationship with her sister was and how we could really see that relationship grow and strengthen as the book moved on. Ruby makes some mistakes while living with her sister and realizes for the first time how her actions really affect other people. And I absolutely loved Jamie's character, who is Ruby's sister's husband. There are so many great characters in this book, big and small, and I loved them all!
As always, I love a good romance in my books and I really adored the romance in this book. The romance wasn't actually the central focus in this book, which was nice, but I was still totally fangirling over Ruby and Nate. Nate is so fun and I loved how he was such a nice guy, but also had some demons of his own. When we realized that Nate wasn't all that perfect, my heart broke and I just wanted him to accept the help Ruby was offering instead of pushing it away. Ruby wasn't the only one who didn't like accepting help from people, which is why I think they were absolutely perfect for one another.
Overall, I loved my reread of this book even more than when I read it so many years ago. I could appreciate the serious issues Sarah Dessen addressed with Ruby being abandoned by her mom and dealing with not following in her mom's footsteps. There was a strong family presence in this novel and I liked how that relationship was really looked at and developed. Overall, all Sarah Dessen fans, and YA fans in general, cannot miss out on this gem!
Giveaway
Enter for a chance to win one (1) set of Sarah Dessen’s books in paperback (ARV: $132.00).
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on April 17, 2017 and 12:00 AM on May 29, 2017. Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about June 1, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
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LOCK AND KEY
May 8 – Bookmark Lit
May 8 – Dazzled by Books
May 8 – Picture Books to YA
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May 10 – Paper Trail YA
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I've heard great things about Sarah's books, but I haven't read any yet. I love YA so I really need to remedy that! Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read much Sarah Dessen, but my library at work at cannot keep on the shelves so I've been making my way through her backlist. She's awesome! :)
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