kasfire's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first time in years I've finished a book in a day. So just for that this book gets 5 stars. But there was so much more to my rating than that.
Sarah Dessen has a way of writing hard subjects so that they can be understood by all audiences. I noticed this when I first read a book of hers several years ago. And even years later, that still rings true. The little hints she gives through her characters' POV, the way she sets up the story, even the way she describes the smallest detail reflects the messages she tries to write.
In this novel, Ruby is a senior in high school and is thrust into unfamiliar territory when she has to live with her older sister that Ruby hadn't seen nor heard from in 10 years. Ruby is so used to living on her own that it is hard for her to accept the little bit of help she needs.
The novel begins with Ruby describing her living conditions with her mother. Her mom is always drinking or sleeping with random boyfriends that she picks up. Ruby is always the person who has to communicate with the outside world and take care of the bills. Then one day her mom up and leaves. You find out later that it happened every now and then, but this time it was for good.
Ruby gets placed by social services in her sister's house. Cora is standoffish towards her sister in the beginning, which is to be expected after ten years of not seeing each other. Throughout the first half of the novel, Ruby rejects the attempts of her sister and her sister's husband to make Ruby feel at home. She tries to run away within the first night of staying, but runs into the hot neighbor, Nate.
Nate saves her this first night by covering for her when Jamie (her sister's husband) finds her in the yard. Throughout the book Nate tries to befriend her and Ruby, begrudgingly, accepts. After receiving a project at her new school about family, Ruby does everything she can to escape.
Then one day the truth comes out about why her sister disappeared for ten years. Cora had tried to keep in touch with her sister, but their mother thwarted all attempts by constantly moving and never having a phone connected. She constantly used fake addresses and then in the end actually left her daughter to fend for herself.
Unable to face this truth, Ruby skips school and leaves. She tries to go back to her old life, but finds that her old "friends" dumped her; two of them started hooking up, and another left Ruby in the woods after she became drunk and passed out. Nate comes and finds her, and she realizes that he is actually genuine in his friendship. Ruby slowly begins to accept that she has people who care about her.
Ruby becomes part of a family only to learn that Nate wasn't in the healthiest family relationship. His father would verbally abuse him, and occasionally physically abuse him. Sadly, Nate, as much as he helped save Ruby, didn't think he needed saving. And Ruby left him to believe that, though she couldn't believe it. Soon Ruby tried to actually help and Nate left her, leaving their relationship rocky.
So much happened in this book but in the end, both of them found the family and support they needed. This novel evokes sympathy and, at least for me, empathy for these characters. They were all relatable in one way or another.
Sarah Dessen has a way of writing hard subjects so that they can be understood by all audiences. I noticed this when I first read a book of hers several years ago. And even years later, that still rings true. The little hints she gives through her characters' POV, the way she sets up the story, even the way she describes the smallest detail reflects the messages she tries to write.
In this novel, Ruby is a senior in high school and is thrust into unfamiliar territory when she has to live with her older sister that Ruby hadn't seen nor heard from in 10 years. Ruby is so used to living on her own that it is hard for her to accept the little bit of help she needs.
The novel begins with Ruby describing her living conditions with her mother. Her mom is always drinking or sleeping with random boyfriends that she picks up. Ruby is always the person who has to communicate with the outside world and take care of the bills. Then one day her mom up and leaves. You find out later that it happened every now and then, but this time it was for good.
Ruby gets placed by social services in her sister's house. Cora is standoffish towards her sister in the beginning, which is to be expected after ten years of not seeing each other. Throughout the first half of the novel, Ruby rejects the attempts of her sister and her sister's husband to make Ruby feel at home. She tries to run away within the first night of staying, but runs into the hot neighbor, Nate.
Nate saves her this first night by covering for her when Jamie (her sister's husband) finds her in the yard. Throughout the book Nate tries to befriend her and Ruby, begrudgingly, accepts. After receiving a project at her new school about family, Ruby does everything she can to escape.
Then one day the truth comes out about why her sister disappeared for ten years. Cora had tried to keep in touch with her sister, but their mother thwarted all attempts by constantly moving and never having a phone connected. She constantly used fake addresses and then in the end actually left her daughter to fend for herself.
Unable to face this truth, Ruby skips school and leaves. She tries to go back to her old life, but finds that her old "friends" dumped her; two of them started hooking up, and another left Ruby in the woods after she became drunk and passed out. Nate comes and finds her, and she realizes that he is actually genuine in his friendship. Ruby slowly begins to accept that she has people who care about her.
Ruby becomes part of a family only to learn that Nate wasn't in the healthiest family relationship. His father would verbally abuse him, and occasionally physically abuse him. Sadly, Nate, as much as he helped save Ruby, didn't think he needed saving. And Ruby left him to believe that, though she couldn't believe it. Soon Ruby tried to actually help and Nate left her, leaving their relationship rocky.
So much happened in this book but in the end, both of them found the family and support they needed. This novel evokes sympathy and, at least for me, empathy for these characters. They were all relatable in one way or another.
rebeccabooks's review against another edition
5.0
more like 4.5 out of 5.
This a good book but not as amazing as some of Sarah Dessen's other stuff like The Truth About Forever and Along For The Ride
This a good book but not as amazing as some of Sarah Dessen's other stuff like The Truth About Forever and Along For The Ride
sanjana1510's review against another edition
3.0
Ruby's world changed the day the landlords discovered her living alone for 3 months ever since her mother took off. She was taken in by her estranged sister Cora and her husband Jamie who is a hot shot and very well off. New school, a cute neighbor who's your typical popular boy in school and the pressure to get into a decent college now constitutes her life now, wherein she finds more people like herself...people who are misfits too.
bbckprpl's review against another edition
4.0
What happens to a 17-year-old (who mostly takes care of herself anyways) when her mother just doesn't come home? That's the tale that Sarah Dessen tells in Lock & Key, and she does so with grace, humor & power. I always enjoy her books, and this one did not disappoint.
wonder_in's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ehaigh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
abinthebooks's review against another edition
5.0
Going into this book I really don't know what I was expecting. A cute, 3 star, YA contemporary, I guess? I read a book by this author a month or two ago, and I really liked it. But this book is 10 years old, and I wasn't really expecting much. I was entirely wrong about that. Entirely!
What I got instead, was so much more. First of all, I want to applaud [a: Sarah Dessen|2987|Sarah Dessen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1372181953p2/2987.jpg] for making me cry, more than once, might I add. This is one of those books that makes you feel hopeless and heartbroken and inexplicably sad for the MC. She went through so much, and I sympathized with her in a way I do with only characters I care about immensely. By the way, the MC Ruby, was great all around.
For the first 200 pages of this book Ruby is sad, lost, so unsure and untrustworthy of herself and everyone around her. She'd never had kindness just given to her. She'd never had kindness ever, and for her to realize people care about her, and overcome the abuse, neglect, and trauma that she went through made me so happy.
I also love the side characters in this book, every last one of them. The side characters don't feel like side characters, because they are written so so well. Ruby's sister Cora is such an awesome character, and we really get to see her development. Jamie is great too, he's honestly just a human Golden Retriever. The dog, oh god, Roscoe is adorable and I fell in love with him. Olivia, and everyone else, and Nate. God I love Nate.
Nate is also a character who goes through a lot of trauma and heartbreak, and I loved him and cried for him, as much as I did Ruby. He's such a great person, and character, and the things he went through, absolutely broke my fragile heart.
I just love this book. The way it portrays emotional, mental, and physical trauma, and many other hard hitting subjects, whilst also being funny and uplifting in the end, was something else. I just loved this book with my whole heart.
The ending was a bit cheesy, but eh what can you do. It was happy and that's all that matters to me.
Definitely reading more from Sarah Dessen, because I've loved the two books I've read from her so far.
What I got instead, was so much more. First of all, I want to applaud [a: Sarah Dessen|2987|Sarah Dessen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1372181953p2/2987.jpg] for making me cry, more than once, might I add. This is one of those books that makes you feel hopeless and heartbroken and inexplicably sad for the MC. She went through so much, and I sympathized with her in a way I do with only characters I care about immensely. By the way, the MC Ruby, was great all around.
For the first 200 pages of this book Ruby is sad, lost, so unsure and untrustworthy of herself and everyone around her. She'd never had kindness just given to her. She'd never had kindness ever, and for her to realize people care about her, and overcome the abuse, neglect, and trauma that she went through made me so happy.
I also love the side characters in this book, every last one of them. The side characters don't feel like side characters, because they are written so so well. Ruby's sister Cora is such an awesome character, and we really get to see her development. Jamie is great too, he's honestly just a human Golden Retriever. The dog, oh god, Roscoe is adorable and I fell in love with him. Olivia, and everyone else, and Nate. God I love Nate.
Nate is also a character who goes through a lot of trauma and heartbreak, and I loved him and cried for him, as much as I did Ruby. He's such a great person, and character, and the things he went through, absolutely broke my fragile heart.
I just love this book. The way it portrays emotional, mental, and physical trauma, and many other hard hitting subjects, whilst also being funny and uplifting in the end, was something else. I just loved this book with my whole heart.
The ending was a bit cheesy, but eh what can you do. It was happy and that's all that matters to me.
Definitely reading more from Sarah Dessen, because I've loved the two books I've read from her so far.
jbesty's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't think this lived up to previous dessen novels. Found the characters uninteresting and flat.
mrs_george's review against another edition
3.0
I have to say this was the first Dessen novel I didn't totally love. I felt the ending was so rushed!