Book Review: Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

I got this book on CD from the library to listen to in the car on the way to Idaho. (I can't read in the car, it makes me sick. SO unfortunate for a book fanatic like me!) The total time? 11 hours. Whoa. But worth it. :)

Lock and Key is about Ruby, a teenage girl with a troubled and dramatic past. Her mother finally ditches out for good, the social workers find out after a few weeks, and Ruby gets dumped at her now married sister's house - the sister who vanished from Ruby's life 10 years before, but not under the circumstances Ruby has been led to believe. Her sister has a fancy house, a rich husband, and a nervous dog (who's afraid of the oven) - all things Ruby is not used to at all. She has to finish her senior year of high school at a preppy school that her old school used to make fun of. She gets a job working for a high-maintenance lady who makes and sells jewelry, slowly becomes friends with the boy next door, and basically learns a ton of life lessons in a few months.

I really enjoyed this book. It was full of meaningful symbolism and messages, like most of Sarah Dessen's novels. She does not write fluffy novels, oh no. You will learn from her books and be impressed with the symbolism that she ties in so effortlessly. She is an outstanding writer. I highly recommend this novel.