"Lock and Key" by Sarah Dessen

“What happens when your past is not just past, but wiped clean entirely? How do you figure out where you’re going when you can’t even claim where you’ve been? These were the questions that inspired Lock and Key. It’s the story of a girl named Ruby who is abandoned by her mother and determined to make it on her own, even—and especially—when she is sent to live with her long-lost sister in a whole new world of privilege, family, and relationships. As Ruby learns, there’s a big difference between being given help and being able to accept it. And sometimes, it takes reaching out to someone else to save yourself.” - Sarah Dessen's website

This is the second Sarah Dessen book I’ve read, the first being The Truth About Forever. I guess everyone’s right, she’s amazing! Her writing is so gorgeous. It’s very descriptive and emotionally charged, she makes you FEEL the characters, everything seeming so real. I might have felt kind of disconnected from Ruby if it weren’t for that, but I didn’t. The whole story is full of Ruby (and sometimes Nate’s) raw emotions and that made the whole thing more enjoyable. I felt so bad and so confused for Ruby, after her mom’s disappearance. I had a feeling of what Cora would tell her, and that Ruby’s impressions weren’t necessarily true, and I was right. (What am I talking about? I’ll give you my usual answer: read the book.)

My favorite character was probably Jamie, he tried to hard for Cora and Ruby to give them what they never had and be there for them. He was hilarious, too. The whole UMe thing was quite funny too. I liked all of the characters, actually (well, all the good characters, anyway). Olivia was great and I could really appreciate her helping Ruby… and Gervais was just amusing. The only qualm I have with the characters (and really, this is my qualm with the book in general, though not that bad) was Nate. I liked Nate, I liked how Ruby and him got along and could relate, they kind of needed each other, BUT I never really got to like him that much… despite his emotions showing through sometimes and his action, I never felt a connection to him as a character, and I missed that, I think that might’ve helped me love the book rather than just quite liking it, though I’m not sure why it effected me so.