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Avg. Rating: 4
Not Dessen's best work
I'm a longtime fan of Dessen's books, but this one, I happily put down and haven't picked it up since purchasing it.
The plot and characters are all one-dimensional, flat, and have Mary-sue-like qualities.
I found Ruby to be quite irritating, boring, and ungrateful and relied on her poor past as an excuse for the manner in which she treated those around her. In all sense, she was a stereotypical bratty teen who thought herself above everyone. She was sarcastic (surprise, surprise), moody, didn't like anyone, and always had a quip ready to toss out in a second's notice.
She spent a great deal of the book moping and brooding and complaining about how she was a loner, nobody liked her, everybody hates her...I was waiting for her to start chugging the worms: which would have been an enjoyable turn in the pace of the book.
Then there's Nate, her love interest who is as repulsively perfect and charming and embraces the ideal boyfriend for ever tween and teen in existence as Ruby is dull and whiny. Everything Nate did was perfect, everyone loved him, he was practically made of gold and encompassed a fanfiction Mary-Sue character to the tee.
Then there's the typical relationship with Ruby's guardians (her sister, Cora and her husband, Jamie - the developer of a Myspace-esque website). They were extremely welcoming, nice, and allowed Ruby into their million-dollar (or what seemed to be) mansion, gave her the world and kept grinning and giving even when she acted like a spoiled brat. Jamie, like Nate, was irritatingly perfect and chipper and rarely seemed to mind, if even notice, Ruby's poor demeanor as he appeared too wrapped up in his world of yellow flowers and sunshine.
The next problem is the pace of the story, perhaps it was because I found the plot and characters so dull, but it moved at a snail's pace. Ten chapters later and the character's were in the exact same situation as they were at the start of the book.
I did enjoy how she fleshed out the tumultuous relationship between Cora and Jamie and their struggle to have a baby--this was actually the only interesting part of the book.
I think the biggest problem in the book was that Dessen tried to incorporate too much at the sake of character development. There's the [SPOILER] abuse Nate endures, the aforementioned relationship between Cora and Nate and their goal to get pregnant, Ruby's own struggle with herself, her mother, and the friend/enemy relationship between Ruby and Olivia.
I think if she had focused on one and pulled away from the typical characterization of brooding "nobody understands me teens" that it could have been a wonderful book.
I Expected Much Much More...
Whenever I open up a Dessen novel, I have, over the years, began to expect something wonderful, but Lock and Key just didn't live up to my expectations.
The book was far longer than it needed to be, filled with constant repition and whining. The book was, though too long, quite crowded. The characters were numerous, and underdeveloped. Every time I looked there was a new character, and the most realized character, unfortunately, seemed to be Roscoe, the dog. Dessen says that Cora is a wonderful friendly person - than why is she unfriendly for the whole of the book? Ruby is addicted to weed and alcohol - than why does she rarely ever smoke or drink? Nate is made out to be the kind of person who would rather die than be mean to someone, and yet he screams at Gervais in the car on just a random day, for little or no reason. Nate lives in a beautiful house with a beautiful pool and expensive car, but is somehow ridiculously poor without anybody knowing it. He quits swimming, his one true passion, and when asked why can't come up with anything better than "I want to". I found Nate to be a very unworthy love interest, compared to Wes, Dexter, or Owen, some of Dessen's far more interesting and original love interests. Nate is much too cliche for a Dessen novel - rich golden boy, who says little to nothing, and mostly stands around being pretty - and Dessen seems to throw this whole abuse thing in an attempt to make Nate more interesting than he really is.
The relationships in this book were much too complicated, and each wanted to be addressed, though very few were very interesting. Dessen attempted to address Ruby's relationship with her mother, Ruby and Nate, Ruby and Cora, Ruby and Jaime, Ruby and Cora and Jaime, Reggie and Harriet, Olivia and Gervais,Nate and his dad, Gervais and Ruby, Nate and Gervais, Olivia and Ruby, Marshall and Ruby, Ruby and Peyton... the list goes on and on. I believe that the extreme amount of characters was the downfall of this book, and that Dessen created far too many characters than she would be able to address in the proper manner.
Besides it being overcrowded, and contradictory there was also a lot of bad language, which I don't usually expect out of Dessen's novels. She ususally has some, but not the plethora of language that was in this one.
The metaphor of the lock and key was extensively used, and not that well.
One thing that is great, as always, is that Dessen wrote this book extremely beautifully, even if her writing served to no end - it was still beautiful to read - if you were able to get through that much.
Lock and Key
What does family mean to you? That was the big question Ruby had to answer. For some people an answer would come easily, but not for Ruby. Being raised by a single alcoholic mother, Ruby and her sister had a challenging childhood. When the time came for her sister to leave for college, all responsibility was laid on Ruby shoulders. At the age of eighteen Ruby was abandoned by her mom, which left her underage living alone. Then Ruby's life changed, big time! This is a novel about the chance to start over, and getting the most out of it.
Reading Lock and Key really shows how Ruby took action to try to live her life. Ruby never wanted help; she always wanted to accomplish everything alone because she usually was alone. During this book she finally realizes that the world isn't out to get her, but to help her. Being alone and then moving in with her sister, Cora, really changed her perspective on life. I felt like I was right beside Ruby during all her struggles.
There are many characters in this book that helped Ruby, such as her new neighbor, Nate, who is always there for her. He is like her secret hero always rescuing her from danger and helping her through life. Nate makes this book high quality, because he is always in the right place at the right time, even though he is hiding secrets of his own.
Cora, Ruby's sister was her rock to lean on for the longest time, until she left for college. After many years of no communication between them, they are now reunited. Cora receives a call from the Sunshine Home, where Ruby had been staying while she was by herself, notifying her that her sister was living alone and now is in a need of a home. So Cora took Ruby in just like family. Now the two sisters have to overcome the barriers that separate them. Will they have enough time before Ruby goes off to college to resolve their long-lived issues?
Jamie, Cora's husband really makes this book loving. Having a close-knit family with many traditions in his family, he really makes an effort to give Cora and Ruby the life they never had. His effort made them closer as a family. In the new setting of her sister and brother-in-law's house Ruby's emotions bleed through the text. You are always hooked into this book wanting to learn more about Ruby's life, and how she will overcome her troubles.
Sarah Dessen the author of Lock and Key really brings you into the life of Ruby. In her writing she really shows us that nobody has a normal life and that there are always obstacles to overcome. Sarah Dessen also wrote the books This Lullaby, That Summer, and The Truth About Forever.
If you want to discover Ruby's finally answer to the question, what does family mean to you, and if you want to learn how Ruby's life makes a 180-degree turn. You should read Lock and Key, by Sarah Dessen. You won't regret it.
And Another Book Read Reviews
Ruby thinks she'll be fine when her mother walks out on her, especially since it's only a few months until she turns 18 anyway. Her plans to fend for herself and live in the small yellow house are foiled though when the dryer breaks down and the landlord find a clothesline in the middle of the kitchen.
Life as she knew it changes that day, when it is decided that custody of Ruby goes to Cora, her sister who left Ruby and her mother when Ruby was eight. Not only is it a shock to see Cora, but to also have to move into Cora's upper class lifestyle. Unlike the small yellow house that Ruby was living in, Cora and her husband Jamie live in a prestigious gated neighborhood and have a lifestyle that is completely foreign to everything Ruby knows.
Not really trusting this new life, Ruby plots an escape her first night at Cora and Jamie's. Her plans are once again foiled when she tries to hop over the fence by the rambunctious barking of Roscoe, Jamie's dog. The barking prompts not only Jamie to come and look over by the fence, but also a "Hello" from the other side of the fence. The voice belongs to Nate, a very cute guy who just happens to be Ruby's age. Needless to say Ruby's escape doesn't happen and she is forced to continue life with Cora and Jamie.
Despite the new lifestyle, new school, and new problems, Ruby's life starts to look up. With Nate's infectious optimistic attitude and the truth about her and Cora's relationship, Ruby starts to uncover the true person she is and the person she wants to be.
First of all I have to ask myself why I let this book sit on my shelf for so long! Sarah Dessen has truly done it again and created one heck of a book. I loved the whole premise of the book, where Ruby really had to discover her true self in an environment that was so foreign to her.
The character development was absolutely brilliant. I came to know Ruby better and better as each page turned, and by the end of the book I felt like she was a great friend of mine. Not only was Ruby fully developed, all the supporting characters were as well. Whether it was Nate, Cora, Jamie, or even Gervais, the annoying kid who was part of Ruby's carpool, each character had a story that was shared. It was also really neat how elements and characters from other Dessen books popped up throughout the story!
Overall I completely loved this book and it has definitely become one of my favorite books. Ruby's sarcastic attitude, the emotion built into the story, and just the effect the book had on the reader, makes this book easily one of the best I've read this year.
wow
This book is absolutely spectacular. When I first started reading it I wasn't sure if I would like it but it ended up being one of the best books I've ever read. I highly recommend it.
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