I was first turned on to Sarah Dessen’s writing with The Truth About Forever.  A teen recommended it to me, having read it over the summer last year, telling me that I would just ‘fall in love with Wes.’  Eager for something new and fun, yet interesting and thought-provoking, I took it home and cuddled up on the couch to read it.  2 days later, I was a new Dessen-ite.

As a librarian, I keep track of when the new works of popular YA authors come ashore, so to speak, and try to get them here ASAP.  So naturally,  when the 2 copies of Lock and Key arrived, only 1 made it to the new fiction shelf.  The other was under my desk, waiting to catch a ride home with me. 

This is a touching novel about teenage Ruby, who has had her share of hard knocks.  Her family life was a bit of a mess; her Mom was a drinker, her Dad left early on, and she was estranged from her older sister.  Ruby’s circumstances and experiences made her a little rough around the edges, and not exactly eager to delve into new relationships or trust new people.

Ruby takes a journey…of the heart and soul…stopping along the way to discover meaningful insight about more than just her family, but the meaning of family in general.  From a yellow house in poor condition, to a simple key around her neck, to a white fish in a pond, to a place where she feels a sense of home at long last – Ruby lets us follow her around, and we can’t help but learn a thing or two about our own relationships, and ways that we understand them.  Another fun tidbit, for Dessen-ites like myself, there is a nice shout-out to a few characters from Truth About Forever.  I loved that!  I love a little continuity, so much fun.  It’s like I’m in on a secret. 

Self-reliance, humility, vulnerabililty, a dash of teen (P.G.) romance and heaps of insight echo throughout the pages of this important Young Adult novel.  I heartily recommend it, to teens and adults alike.   

I can’t wait to go back and read Dessen’s earlier stuff.  I am a fan.   Go Sarah!