Reviews

I just finished it about 2 hours ago so my emotions on this book is kind of crazy right now, if you can forgive me. This is my first book by Sarah Dessen and i'm pretty positive it isn't going to be my last. May suggestion on what to read next?

PROS
There was so many cute scenes that just made me smile and say awww. it's adorable. When Ruby was in her room and the dog was laying on her lap, i thought that was so sweet, then again pretty much all the scenes with the dog was KUTE! (except for the one where it digs in Nate's garbage and the dad was there. I hate him, he's so mean.) And when ~~Nick~~ (i don't know why be i keep calling him that) Nate & Ruby were in the pool I literally had an awesome overload! The whole book I was waiting for something to happen then YES! <3 And i thought it was nice that Cora & Jamie went pool jumping, it made them seem younger, which they already are, but they have these really intense adult jobs, and that whole act made them look like a fun 20 year old just have fun. By the end of the book i started tearing up a little because it was so sadly beautiful. I hated to see Nate go but i knew that was what had to happen.

CONS
Once Ruby and Nate were dating that whole part was just not in the book, what happened to January?!?! This is a romantic book right? and i didn't even get to see one carefree 'i love you scene.' Also i think Ruby needs to say what's on her mind more because she has all this witty comments on things but she only thinks them and doesn't say them out loud. And she doesn't even realize she likes Nate for a VERY long while, even though she walks slow so he can catch up to her & I'm pretty sure if she wanted to, she can wake up early enough to take the bus but it is because she wants to ride with Nate that she's always late. That is pretty much it, i loved the book. Oh but I was a little bummed out that the book ended, i want to know what happened later. What's going on with Gideon & Olive. Why is Gideon still living with his dad? Does Ruby date again? Or does Nate come back? What's up with the upcoming baby? What about the mom? The couple at the mall? Ruby's old friends? Sarah leaves us at a ending that we can make our own theories and i really like/hate that.

jackiestone's review against another edition

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DNF 50%
I just got reaaaallly bored. Sorry.
Would not recommend.

jazmin's review against another edition

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4.0

“It's a lot easier to be lost than found. It's the reason we're always searching and rarely discovered--so many locks not enough keys.”

Lock and Key was the fourth book in my Sarah Dessen binge read, and it wasn’t my favourite, but not my least favourite either. It was an enjoyable and heartwarming read, Sarah Dessen’s signature style shining through!

⇢The Plot
I actually really enjoyed the plot of the book, despite its open-ended nature and the presence of quite a few untied strings at the end, something that I’m usually not fond of. I think the reason I enjoyed the storyline was that I’m a sucker for those stories where the main character moves somewhere new and learns to adapt. (Particularly where they meet new people and open up, that’s the best.) That being said, this book’s conflict felt different than those in the other 3 Sarah Dessen books. The main reason was that one of the main problems wasn’t related to the MC, but rather the love-interest, Nate, and his struggles at home. I was surprised by this because it was different than the other books, but I think it was an interesting change because it allowed us to learn more about a side character for once.

“What is family? They were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they were the ones who showed up, who stayed in there, regardless. It wasn't just about blood relations or shared chromosomes, but something wider, bigger. We had many families over time. Our family of origin, the family we created, and the groups you moved through while all of this was happening: friends, lovers, sometimes even strangers. None of them perfect, and we couldn't expect them to be. You can't make any one person your world. The trick was to take what each could give you and build your world from it.”

This book was somewhat slow and I think that’s a common criticism of this book, but honestly, that didn’t impede my enjoyment of it because as long as I’m invested in a character or story, I don’t care how slow the book gets. However, I understand why some people aren’t fans of this book, because it can be hard to get into.

⇢Ruby and Nate
Unfortunately, on the other hand, the characters in this book were probably the least memorable of all the ones I’ve met through this binge read so far. While I appreciated Ruby’s perseverance and story I just never fell in love with her personality, and I didn’t like the way she dealt with a lot of her problems. And while I liked learning about Nate, I didn’t find him to be that interesting of a character. Just like with Ruby I empathized with his situation, but I feel like his character wasn’t as multi-faceted as some of the other love-interests and should have been developed further. I feel like all I know about him is his situation and swimming, and barely even the latter since he quit.  

⇢The Side Characters
This book had some amazing side characters, and some that I really didn’t care about at all. Surprisingly, the most interesting characters were the adults. I LOVED Cora and Jamie and was actually super invested in their family and house, and same with Harriet. On the other hand, Olivia and the other school friends that Ruby had were just okay.