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Overview
“Ruby, where is your mother?”
Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she’s been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return.
That’s how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn’t seen in ten years, and Cora’s husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future—it’s a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?
Best-selling author Sarah Dessen explores the heart of a gutsy, complex girl dealing with unforeseen circumstances and learning to trust again.
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Synopsis
“Ruby, where is your mother?”
Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she's been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return.
That's how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn't seen in ten years, and Cora's husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future—it's a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?
Best-selling author Sarah Dessen explores the heart of a gutsy, complex girl dealing with unforeseen circumstances and learning to trust again.
Publishers Weekly
Dessen (Just Listen) inverts a familiar fairy tale: what if Cinderella got the prince, the castle and all its accoutrements, but wasn t remotely interested? After her mother abandons her, Ruby Cooper is flying below the radar of officialdom and trying to make it to her 18th birthday, when she s busted by the landlord and turned over to social services. Ruby gets taken in by her estranged sister, Cora, who left for college a decade earlier and never looked back, and Cora s husband, Jamie, the wealthy founder of a ubiquitous social networking site. Resentful, suspicious and vulnerable, she resists mightily, refusing the risky business of depending on anybody but herself, and wearing the key to her old house around her neck. All the Dessen trademarks are here the swoon-worthy boy next door who is not what he appears to be; and the supporting characters who force Ruby to rethink her cynical worldview, among them the frazzled owner of a jewelry kiosk at the mall. The author again defines characters primarily through dialogue, and although Ruby and her love interest, Nate, sound wiser than their years, they talk the way teens might want to from the heart. A must for Dessen fans, it will win her new readers, too. Ages 12-up.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
After her mom vanished in a stench of drugs and alcohol, Ruby continued to live in the family house alone. Finally found out, the introspective teenager is sent to the luxurious home of her older sister, Cora, whom she hadn't seen in ten years. Everything there seems unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and supremely weird: her fancy new room; her lavish new wardrobe; the exclusive private school where she never quite fits in. Most mysterious of all is Nate, the friendly boy next door who seems to have a deep secret of his own. Another subtle character-driven teen novel by Sarah Dessen, the author of Just Listen and That Summer.Publishers Weekly
Dessen (Just Listen) inverts a familiar fairy tale: what if Cinderella got the prince, the castle and all its accoutrements, but wasn’t remotely interested? After her mother abandons her, Ruby Cooper is flying below the radar of officialdom and trying to make it to her 18th birthday, when she’s busted by the landlord and turned over to social services. Ruby gets taken in by her estranged sister, Cora, who left for college a decade earlier and never looked back, and Cora’s husband, Jamie, the wealthy founder of a ubiquitous social networking site. Resentful, suspicious and vulnerable, she resists mightily, refusing the risky business of depending on anybody but herself, and wearing the key to her old house around her neck. All the Dessen trademarks are here—the swoon-worthy boy next door who is not what he appears to be; and the supporting characters who force Ruby to rethink her cynical worldview, among them the frazzled owner of a jewelry kiosk at the mall. The author again defines characters primarily through dialogue, and although Ruby and her love interest, Nate, sound wiser than their years, they talk the way teens might want to—from the heart. A must for Dessen fans, it will win her new readers, too. Ages 12-up.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
KLIATT
AGERANGE: Ages 15 to adult.Lock and Key is a quiet, moving dramatic family story such as we expect from Sarah Dessen, one of the fine authors of YA fiction. It is long, and could easily be considered a novel for adults as well as YAs. Ruby is almost 18 years old, and her mother has abandoned her. She tried to take care of herself and pay the bills, but the landlords figured it out and reported her to social services. Ruby’s life changes dramatically when her older sister Cora and Cora’s husband Jamie take her in. Instead of attending a huge, mediocre public school, she now is in a nurturing private school; she has a ready-made family who can take good care of her; it is possible for her to attend college. So, why is she so hesitant to trust Cora and Jamie, to relax and allow new friends into her life? As the months go by, slowly Ruby learns some truths about her own parents and about Cora, and she begins to allow people to love her and take care of her. She gets involved with the next-door neighbor, Nate, who seems to also be living the good life, but Ruby finds out how vulnerable Nate is to his abusive father. There is some smoking of weed, drinking of alcohol, and casual sex, but it is mostly suggested, not described in detail, and certainly not portrayed as positive in Ruby’s life. Thoughtful readers who like slowly unfolding family sagas will want to read this latest work by Dessen. Reviewer: Claire Rosser
March 2008 (Vol. 42, No.2)
VOYA
Dessen's latest novel is a testament to her development as a writer. Ruby is unlike any of her previous narrators. A loner by choice, Ruby follows in her mother's footsteps with drinking and drugs. Given a chance to start over, she redefines the meaning of family and in doing so, herself. The characters are real and relatable. This new book is Dessen's best since This Lullaby and it will captivate all readers. Reviewer: Abbe Goldberg, Teen ReviewerChildren's Literature
Abandoned by her mother, Ruby has been living alone in a filthy house without running water or heat for two months. Her only goal is keeping her mother's disappearance a secret until she turns eighteen, legally free to be on her own. But with only a few months left, her secret is discovered and she is placed in the care of her sister Cora, who left ten long years ago. Living with Cora and her successful husband, Ruby now has access to things she previously thought impossible—new clothes, private schooling, a beautiful home, and even the possibility of college. Despite now having a family, a home, and all these opportunities, Ruby cannot let her guard down, fearing that at any moment everything could change and Ruby will be alone once again. After her next door neighbor Nate repeatedly helps her out of trouble, Ruby reluctantly becomes friends with him. As their relationship develops, Ruby discovers that Nate has more in common with her than she initially thought—secrets he cannot face. In order to help both Nate and herself, Ruby must make peace with her past and learn to trust others. Dessen's novel is quick and fun literary candy. While the plot is at times unrealistic, readers will connect to Ruby and root for her success. Reviewer: Melissa Joy AdamsSchool Library Journal
Gr 7 Up- Ruby, 17, is taken in by her older sister and brother-in-law when her mother abandons her. Ruby and her sister haven't spoken since Cora left for college a decade earlier. She moves from a semi-heated, semi-lighted farmhouse to a McMansion in a gated community. The theme of abandonment permeates the narrative-Ruby's mother's disappearance, Cora's perceived abandonment, and all of the small abandonments around every corner throughout Ruby's life. The plot hinges luxuriously on character arc. Ruby's drama of pathological self-reliance to eventual trust plays out through thoughtful, though occasionally heavy-handed, inner monologue and metaphor. As always, Dessen's characters live and breathe. Ruby's sweet hipster brother-in-law and Nate, the freakishly affable hottie next door, are especially vivid, and Cora's change from bitter control freak to sympathetic co-protagonist is subtle and seamless. Though Ruby and Nate don't have quite the cinematic chemistry of many of Dessen's couples, their cautious friendship into romance seems that much more realistic. The author's feel for setting is as uncanny as ever, and Ruby's descriptions of the homogenous nouveau riche Anytown are sharp, clever, and honest. The dialogue, especially between Ruby and Cora, is crisp, layered, and natural. The slow unfolding adds to an anticipatory mood. What's more, secrets and situations revealed in the second half of the novel are resolved more believably by already deeply developed characters. Recommend this one to patient, sophisticated readers.-Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library