LOCK AND KEY
by Sarah Dessen
Lock and Key is a book written by Sarah Dessen about an
adolescent girl, Ruby, who is abandoned by her troubled mother.
Ruby Cooper has not had an easy life. Her alcoholic mother
is barely ever home, and her father is not a part of her life. She lives in a
shabby rented yellow house. She
struggles with her schoolwork, and since she has nobody to help her, she fails
most of her classes. She does all the housework as well. Ruby doesn’t have a
very significant relationship with her mother. Her mother stays out late, and
leaves her home alone often. She sometimes disappears for a few days and then
comes back, and just lolls around the house. She does not concern herself with
paying her bills, the housework or even her daughter’s wellbeing.
One day, Ruby wakes up to an empty house. She assumes its
one of her mother’s week-long disappearing acts, and goes about her day. By
now, she is used to living alone for days at a stretch, so she manages school,
housework and everything else.
She goes on without any problems for about two weeks or so.
Ruby realizes that her mother has never left her alone for this long. Still,
she decides not to worry about it. Another two weeks pass. Ruby then starts to
get worried. She starts to think that her mother has maybe left for the long
haul, and to confirm her fears, she finds that Ruby’s hard –earned 300 dollars
have disappeared, along with her mother’s few belongings. Ruby first considers
turning herself in to Social Services, but then decides not to. A few months
later, the water runs out, and the phone becomes unusable as both bills have
not been paid. Ruby does not have the money, and she struggles. Soon, the neighbors
start to get suspicious, and they find out that Ruby has been living alone for
a quite a long time.
They turn her into Social Services. The authorities there
ask her if she has any extended family, and Ruby replies that she has a sister,
Cora. Cora had left for college when Ruby was about 12, and she hadn’t heard
from her since. They contact Cora, and find out that she is now married, and is
now living a lavish lifestyle. Ruby is sent there, against her will. She starts
off being hostile to everyone there, convinced that she could have made it on
her own.
She slowly starts to get friendly with everyone, including
Nate, one of the neighbors. They are in the same grade. Cora sends Ruby to a
private school in that area, and although she is, at first, reluctant to make
friends, she soon does.
As soon as Ruby starts to get comfortable there, Nate, who
had by now, become very close to Ruby, is forced to move away to another state.
After he moves, they keep in contact with each other, and
maintain a good friendship. They say that they will always remember each other.
I found Lock and Key to be a very good book and a nice
summer read. It teaches us that we cannot always be independent, and that it is
okay for us to accept a little help from others in the long run.
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