Lock and Key
Encyclopedia
Lock and Key is a novel written by author Sarah Dessen
. It is her 8th published novel. It was published by Viking's Children's Books in 2008.
Ruby also meets Olivia Davis, a cell phone addict who had attended Ruby's old high school, and the two are bonded by their nonconformity. Nate offers to give Ruby a ride home. Ruby asks him to drop her off at a bus stop, but Nate refuses and says he can drive wherever she wants. Reluctantly, Ruby directs Nate to the yellow house she used to live in so that she can retrieve her things. As the story develops, Jamie convinces Ruby to let Nate drive her to school every morning, and the two are accompanied by Gervais, a young prodigy who later offers to tutor Ruby in her weakest subject, calculus.
As Ruby adjusts to her new life, she learns Cora had not been avoiding her; in fact, Cora had been trying to rescue Ruby from their mother but had always been stopped, Ruby didn't know at least not yet. Upon learning this, a distressed Ruby attempts to find comfort from her boyfriend, Marshall, and Olivia agrees to drive her to his apartment. However, Ruby finds Marshall cheating on her with her best friend, Peyton, and hurries away. She is met by Peyton's ex-boyfriend, who offers her alcohol and drugs, which she accepts. Hours later, Ruby awakens in Nate's car, who, given directions from Olivia, had come to pick her up after she had become unconscious, again trying to create a friendship with her. Ruby is irritated by his quixotic actions and comes home to a furious Jamie, who accuses her for being ungrateful to he and her sister. Having seen resemblances between herself and her mother that night, Ruby becomes determined to change her ways.
As the story continues, Ruby unintentionally closer to Nate, riding with him to school and on jobs for his father's errand running service, but is adamant in maintaining a distance between them. One of Nate's clients, a high-strung woman named Harriet, offers Ruby a job at her jewelry store. Harriet's business booms after a line of key-shaped pendants, inspired by Ruby's necklace, becomes an instant hit.
On Thanksgiving, Jamie and Cora inviting all of Jamie's relatives to dinner. While Cora stresses out over preparing the giant turkey, and Ruby helps by setting pies to cook over at Nate's house. When dessert time comes and Ruby goes over to retrieve the pies, she overhears Nate's dad yelling at his son for forgetting to bring his keys. Ruby is concerned, but Nate dismisses it as his dad just "blowing off steam". Near Christmas time, Ruby and Nate begin a relationship when they kiss while swimming in Nate's pool under the moonlight. On Christmas Eve, Jamie persuades Ruby to join him in passing out candy around the neighborhood. When they arrive at Nate's house, he comes across as very elusive and anxious when he answers the door, and Ruby can hear his father yelling in the background. At Cora and Jamie's post-Christmas pre-New Year's party, Nate apologizes for what happened on Christmas Eve and tries to convince her that everything is all right.
The story then skips to February, a couple of days before Valentine's Day. Nate asks her to meet him at seven, telling her he has a present for her, but is over an hour late. Ruby sees bruises on his shoulder and is immediately alarmed, but Nate refuses to talk to her and leaves. After the fight, Nate and Ruby stop speaking and avoid each other. One day, Cora and Jamie inform Ruby that the police had found her mother unconscious in a hotel room. She was sent to a rehabilitation center in Tennessee. Ruby feels guilty that she wasn't there for her mom, but is also relieved that she was no longer missing. Harriet discovers her balances are off, something Nate should have taken care of. Ruby later finds Mr. Cross on the phone, demanding to know where Nate was, and realizes Nate has run away. She finds him in an apartment room that she and Nate had visited while she was tagging along with him on his job.On the day of his departure leaving to go live with his mom, Ruby drives him to the airport. When they arrive, Ruby ruminates over what to offer Nate in return for everything he had done for her. After a sudden realization, she takes the key to the yellow house off its chain, replaces it with the key to Cora and Jamie's house, and hands the necklace to Nate. She then pulls him in for a kiss, finally closing the distance between them she had tried hard to keep.
At the end of the school year, Ruby gives her English report on the meaning of family. She offers the idea that the word has a flexible definition. For evidence, she shows two pictures, both of family. The first was of Jamie's huge family, while the second was taken at Ruby's eighteenth birthday party. In the picture was Ruby, Cora, Jamie, Olivia, Harriet, and others from her new life. Cora learns she is finally pregnant, and Ruby is accepted to the same university as Nate. She wants to write a letter to her mother, but, not knowing what to say, simply mails a copy of her acceptance letter. At the end of the novel, it is mid-June, and Ruby prepares to graduate from Perkins Day. She stands by the backyard, reminiscing on all that had happened and all that had changed since she first arrived at Wildflower Ridge. As Cora and Jamie are calling for her to leave, she takes out the old key to the yellow house from the pocket of her robe and drops it into the pond.
makes several references, or Easter egg
s, to characters and situations in her other novels.
conducted an interview with the blog, The Sarah Dessen Diarist http://sarahdessen.wordpress.com/2008/08/10/lock-and-key-sarah-dessen-interview/.
Dessen chose abuse and neglect as a key theme as she "...was really interested in taking on a different type of narrator. Most of my girls are from upper middle class families, living in pretty solid environments. I was intrigued by taking a girl who WASN’T like that at all and dropping her into this whole new world. I liked the idea that you’d think it would solve all her problems—having a roof over her head, money, a family—but that it actually brought up a whole other set to deal with. Also, I liked the idea of my narrator having to sort of “save” someone else in order to save herself."
Another key theme was family. It started out with Ruby not knowing the true meaning of family, only thinking that it meant people related by blood or marriage. So in Ruby's mind, the only family she had was her mother and her sister. But by the end of the book, Ruby realized that family is not only relatives, it's everyone who takes care of you, anyone who you trust, anyone who loves you.
The concept of the English project sprung from her want to "...focus on the idea of family, and I thought it would be an interesting way to get Ruby thinking about it without it seeming too forced. Plus I really liked the idea of how everyone would have different definitions for the word, and in giving them, they’d be sort of defining themselves, as well."
The song, Angel of Montgomery, allowed Dessen to "...get down the character of Ruby’s mom. There’s a certain sadness, and tiredness, in that song, and the woman speaking in it, and it really reminded me of what I was trying to get to with Ruby’s mom. I often will have a song that brings to mind a character, or helps fill them out a bit."
The interview went into further detail with questions regarding character choices and inspirations for themes.
Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen is an American writer who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.- Background :Sarah Dessen was born in Evanston, Illinois on June 6, 1970. She moved with her family to Virginia then North Carolina where she now resides with her husband, Jay, daughter Sasha Clementine, and dogs...
. It is her 8th published novel. It was published by Viking's Children's Books in 2008.
Plot
After her drug and alcohol addicted mother abandons her, child services forces 17-year-old Ruby Cooper to move in with her sister, Cora, who had left for college when Ruby was young. Cora and her husband Jamie, creator of the popular social networking site UMe, live in the high-class community Wildflower Ridge. Ruby, who believes Cora has been avoiding her since she left, is upset and continues to wear the key to her old home she had shared with her mother, the "yellow house", on a chain around her neck. After learning she will be transferring to a new high school, Ruby attempts to run away but is given away by Jamie's dog. Nate Cross, Jamie and Cora's next-door neighbor, covers for her by telling Jamie that Ruby was simply coming to tell Nate his music was too loud.Ruby also meets Olivia Davis, a cell phone addict who had attended Ruby's old high school, and the two are bonded by their nonconformity. Nate offers to give Ruby a ride home. Ruby asks him to drop her off at a bus stop, but Nate refuses and says he can drive wherever she wants. Reluctantly, Ruby directs Nate to the yellow house she used to live in so that she can retrieve her things. As the story develops, Jamie convinces Ruby to let Nate drive her to school every morning, and the two are accompanied by Gervais, a young prodigy who later offers to tutor Ruby in her weakest subject, calculus.
As Ruby adjusts to her new life, she learns Cora had not been avoiding her; in fact, Cora had been trying to rescue Ruby from their mother but had always been stopped, Ruby didn't know at least not yet. Upon learning this, a distressed Ruby attempts to find comfort from her boyfriend, Marshall, and Olivia agrees to drive her to his apartment. However, Ruby finds Marshall cheating on her with her best friend, Peyton, and hurries away. She is met by Peyton's ex-boyfriend, who offers her alcohol and drugs, which she accepts. Hours later, Ruby awakens in Nate's car, who, given directions from Olivia, had come to pick her up after she had become unconscious, again trying to create a friendship with her. Ruby is irritated by his quixotic actions and comes home to a furious Jamie, who accuses her for being ungrateful to he and her sister. Having seen resemblances between herself and her mother that night, Ruby becomes determined to change her ways.
As the story continues, Ruby unintentionally closer to Nate, riding with him to school and on jobs for his father's errand running service, but is adamant in maintaining a distance between them. One of Nate's clients, a high-strung woman named Harriet, offers Ruby a job at her jewelry store. Harriet's business booms after a line of key-shaped pendants, inspired by Ruby's necklace, becomes an instant hit.
On Thanksgiving, Jamie and Cora inviting all of Jamie's relatives to dinner. While Cora stresses out over preparing the giant turkey, and Ruby helps by setting pies to cook over at Nate's house. When dessert time comes and Ruby goes over to retrieve the pies, she overhears Nate's dad yelling at his son for forgetting to bring his keys. Ruby is concerned, but Nate dismisses it as his dad just "blowing off steam". Near Christmas time, Ruby and Nate begin a relationship when they kiss while swimming in Nate's pool under the moonlight. On Christmas Eve, Jamie persuades Ruby to join him in passing out candy around the neighborhood. When they arrive at Nate's house, he comes across as very elusive and anxious when he answers the door, and Ruby can hear his father yelling in the background. At Cora and Jamie's post-Christmas pre-New Year's party, Nate apologizes for what happened on Christmas Eve and tries to convince her that everything is all right.
The story then skips to February, a couple of days before Valentine's Day. Nate asks her to meet him at seven, telling her he has a present for her, but is over an hour late. Ruby sees bruises on his shoulder and is immediately alarmed, but Nate refuses to talk to her and leaves. After the fight, Nate and Ruby stop speaking and avoid each other. One day, Cora and Jamie inform Ruby that the police had found her mother unconscious in a hotel room. She was sent to a rehabilitation center in Tennessee. Ruby feels guilty that she wasn't there for her mom, but is also relieved that she was no longer missing. Harriet discovers her balances are off, something Nate should have taken care of. Ruby later finds Mr. Cross on the phone, demanding to know where Nate was, and realizes Nate has run away. She finds him in an apartment room that she and Nate had visited while she was tagging along with him on his job.On the day of his departure leaving to go live with his mom, Ruby drives him to the airport. When they arrive, Ruby ruminates over what to offer Nate in return for everything he had done for her. After a sudden realization, she takes the key to the yellow house off its chain, replaces it with the key to Cora and Jamie's house, and hands the necklace to Nate. She then pulls him in for a kiss, finally closing the distance between them she had tried hard to keep.
At the end of the school year, Ruby gives her English report on the meaning of family. She offers the idea that the word has a flexible definition. For evidence, she shows two pictures, both of family. The first was of Jamie's huge family, while the second was taken at Ruby's eighteenth birthday party. In the picture was Ruby, Cora, Jamie, Olivia, Harriet, and others from her new life. Cora learns she is finally pregnant, and Ruby is accepted to the same university as Nate. She wants to write a letter to her mother, but, not knowing what to say, simply mails a copy of her acceptance letter. At the end of the novel, it is mid-June, and Ruby prepares to graduate from Perkins Day. She stands by the backyard, reminiscing on all that had happened and all that had changed since she first arrived at Wildflower Ridge. As Cora and Jamie are calling for her to leave, she takes out the old key to the yellow house from the pocket of her robe and drops it into the pond.
Characters
- Ruby Cooper -is the protagonist of the story, a seventeen-year-old who was abandoned by her mother. She lived by herself for two months, but is shipped to live with her sister, Cora, who'd left when Ruby was eight, after the government finds out. Ruby is convinced she can take care of herself, but later finds otherwise. She is sarcastic and independent, but changes her cynical worldview as the story develops. She has inherited many physical features from her mother, both described to have pale skin, red hair, and a tall-wirey frame.
- Cora Cooper-Hunter - Cora Cooper-Hunter is Ruby's older sister, though they look nothing alike. She left for college when Ruby was eight, and married Jamie Hunter two years later. She tried to keep in contact with Ruby, but her mother continually moved and put fake addresses in Ruby's school records. Cora is a supernatural caretaker and tries to get pregnant throughout the story. She finds out she is pregnant at the end of the novel.
- Nate Cross - Nate is Jamie and Cora's neighbor. He is a senior, like Ruby, and carpools with her every day. He is constantly helping Ruby when no one else is there for her, although she does not think she needs anything from him. Nate works for his father's business "Rest Assured" and is often abused when his dad loses his temper. He was a swimmer, but quit when his father became too involved in it. He is friendly, popular, and optimistic. Nate is described as having blonde hair, and being "cute, but in a rich-boy way."
- Jamie Hunter - Jamie Hunter is Cora's wealthy, easygoing, amicable husband. He came from a large family and loves to celebrate festivities. He is the founder of the most popular social networking website UMe and built a pond in his backyard.
- Olivia Davis - Ruby's new friend that also attended Ruby's old school. She is constantly on her cell phone.Is somehow related to Don Davis, from This Lullaby.
- Gervais Miller - Gervais is young for his grade, but is one of the smartest kids in school. He carpools with Nate and Ruby and excels in Calculus. He has a crush on Olivia.
- Blake Cross - Nate's father who founded a service to run errands for people. He owns the house behind Cora and Jamie's.
- Marshall - Ruby's ex-boyfriend.
- Peyton - Ruby's best friend before Ruby moved away. Ruby later finds out that Marshall had been cheating on her with Peyton. Peyton went to private school before she got expelled for possessing drugs on school grounds. She went Jackson High after that, where she met Ruby.
- Rogerson Biscoe - Marshall's best friend. (Also a character from Sarah Dessen's other work DreamlandDreamland (novel)Dreamland is a young adult novel by the American author Sarah Dessen.-Part I: Cass:Caitlin O'Koren has just realized that on her 16th birthday, her 18 year old sister, Cass, has just run away. Everybody completely forget about Caitlin's birthday. Her parents are broken-hearted, since she was...
).
- Laney - Olivia's cousin who throughout the novel trains and takes part in the 5K race, in which she is the last one to finish the race.
- Harriet - A red-haired hard-working woman who owns a jewelry kiosk at the mall and provides Ruby with a job. She drinks too much coffee and shares Ruby's same independence and self-reliance.
- Reggie - Owns a vitamin kiosk near Harriet's. He and Harriet constantly bicker and tease each other, but is obvious that he is interested in her.
- Heather Wainwright - Nate's extremely selfless, kindhearted ex-girlfriend.
Allusions and references to other works
Sarah DessenSarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen is an American writer who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.- Background :Sarah Dessen was born in Evanston, Illinois on June 6, 1970. She moved with her family to Virginia then North Carolina where she now resides with her husband, Jay, daughter Sasha Clementine, and dogs...
makes several references, or Easter egg
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
s, to characters and situations in her other novels.
- - Marshall, who is Ruby's ex-boyfriend, is roommates with Rogerson, Caitlin's boyfriend in DreamlandDreamland (novel)Dreamland is a young adult novel by the American author Sarah Dessen.-Part I: Cass:Caitlin O'Koren has just realized that on her 16th birthday, her 18 year old sister, Cass, has just run away. Everybody completely forget about Caitlin's birthday. Her parents are broken-hearted, since she was...
. - - Ruby moves to Wildflower Ridge, a neighborhood created by Macy's mother in The Truth About ForeverThe Truth About ForeverThe Truth About Forever is Sarah Dessen's sixth novel. It was published in hardcover on May 11, 2004 and in paperback on April 6, 2006.-Summary:...
. - - Nate listens to Annabel from Just ListenJust Listen (novel)Just Listen is a novel written by teen-author Sarah Dessen. It is her seventh published novel.-Plot summary :Annabel Greene is a girl who has it all - at least, that's how it seems on TV commercials. Annabel's life is far from perfect. Though, some thought that Annabel had everything people often...
on the community radio. - - Nate is making gift bags with chocolate houses for a client who happens to be a builder; the builder is Queen Homes, run by Macy's mother in The Truth About ForeverThe Truth About ForeverThe Truth About Forever is Sarah Dessen's sixth novel. It was published in hardcover on May 11, 2004 and in paperback on April 6, 2006.-Summary:...
. - - Ruby first goes to Jackson High which is Caitlin's school in DreamlandDreamland (novel)Dreamland is a young adult novel by the American author Sarah Dessen.-Part I: Cass:Caitlin O'Koren has just realized that on her 16th birthday, her 18 year old sister, Cass, has just run away. Everybody completely forget about Caitlin's birthday. Her parents are broken-hearted, since she was...
, Macy's school in The Truth About ForeverThe Truth About ForeverThe Truth About Forever is Sarah Dessen's sixth novel. It was published in hardcover on May 11, 2004 and in paperback on April 6, 2006.-Summary:...
, Annabel's school in Just ListenJust Listen (novel)Just Listen is a novel written by teen-author Sarah Dessen. It is her seventh published novel.-Plot summary :Annabel Greene is a girl who has it all - at least, that's how it seems on TV commercials. Annabel's life is far from perfect. Though, some thought that Annabel had everything people often...
, Auden's school [only for two weeks] in Along for the RideAlong for the Ride-Characters:* Auden Penelope West: Auden is the main character of Along for the Ride. She is a quiet girl who lived with her mother after her parents' divorce, devoting herself to schoolwork in order to please her perfectonist of a mother...
, and Mclean's new school in "What Happened to Goodbye?. - - Ruby later goes to Perkins Day, which is Rogerson, Caitlin's boyfriend's school in DreamlandDreamland (novel)Dreamland is a young adult novel by the American author Sarah Dessen.-Part I: Cass:Caitlin O'Koren has just realized that on her 16th birthday, her 18 year old sister, Cass, has just run away. Everybody completely forget about Caitlin's birthday. Her parents are broken-hearted, since she was...
, the school Will Cash goes to in Just ListenJust Listen (novel)Just Listen is a novel written by teen-author Sarah Dessen. It is her seventh published novel.-Plot summary :Annabel Greene is a girl who has it all - at least, that's how it seems on TV commercials. Annabel's life is far from perfect. Though, some thought that Annabel had everything people often...
, and Auden's school [only for a while] in Along for the RideAlong for the Ride-Characters:* Auden Penelope West: Auden is the main character of Along for the Ride. She is a quiet girl who lived with her mother after her parents' divorce, devoting herself to schoolwork in order to please her perfectonist of a mother...
. - - At Cora and Jamie's party, Barbara Starr from This LullabyThis LullabyThis Lullaby is a young adult novel written by Sarah Dessen.- Plot :Remy is an eighteen year old about to leave for college. Her father, a famous musician, left before she was even born. Her mother is getting married for the fifth time that summer. Consequently, love is something she just doesn't...
appears as an author who was a client to Cora when she was going through a divorce. - - Olivia mentions that her cousin Laney was inspired to train for a marathon by Kiki Sparks from Keeping the MoonKeeping the MoonKeeping the Moon is a young adult novel by author Sarah Dessen. It is her third novel and was first published in 1999.-Summary:Nicole Sparks and her mother used to be poor and moved often. They also were very overweight...
. - - Gervais is also mentioned in "What Happened to Goodbye? as "Gerv the Perv".
- - The guy and girl that go to Harriet's jewelry stand are actually Bert and Kristy in The Truth About ForeverThe Truth About ForeverThe Truth About Forever is Sarah Dessen's sixth novel. It was published in hardcover on May 11, 2004 and in paperback on April 6, 2006.-Summary:...
. - - Jamie enlisted Owen from Just ListenJust Listen (novel)Just Listen is a novel written by teen-author Sarah Dessen. It is her seventh published novel.-Plot summary :Annabel Greene is a girl who has it all - at least, that's how it seems on TV commercials. Annabel's life is far from perfect. Though, some thought that Annabel had everything people often...
to help with Cora's CD music for Valentine's Day. - - Ruby applies to Defriese University, which was the university Auden went to at the end of Along for the RideAlong for the Ride-Characters:* Auden Penelope West: Auden is the main character of Along for the Ride. She is a quiet girl who lived with her mother after her parents' divorce, devoting herself to schoolwork in order to please her perfectonist of a mother...
, and the Basketball team McLean and her dad loved in "What Happened to Goodbye?. - - The girls that visit the jewelry stand and look at the key necklaces are actually Mallory, Owen's little sister from Just ListenJust Listen (novel)Just Listen is a novel written by teen-author Sarah Dessen. It is her seventh published novel.-Plot summary :Annabel Greene is a girl who has it all - at least, that's how it seems on TV commercials. Annabel's life is far from perfect. Though, some thought that Annabel had everything people often...
, and her friends.
Motivations
Sarah DessenSarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen is an American writer who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.- Background :Sarah Dessen was born in Evanston, Illinois on June 6, 1970. She moved with her family to Virginia then North Carolina where she now resides with her husband, Jay, daughter Sasha Clementine, and dogs...
conducted an interview with the blog, The Sarah Dessen Diarist http://sarahdessen.wordpress.com/2008/08/10/lock-and-key-sarah-dessen-interview/.
Dessen chose abuse and neglect as a key theme as she "...was really interested in taking on a different type of narrator. Most of my girls are from upper middle class families, living in pretty solid environments. I was intrigued by taking a girl who WASN’T like that at all and dropping her into this whole new world. I liked the idea that you’d think it would solve all her problems—having a roof over her head, money, a family—but that it actually brought up a whole other set to deal with. Also, I liked the idea of my narrator having to sort of “save” someone else in order to save herself."
Another key theme was family. It started out with Ruby not knowing the true meaning of family, only thinking that it meant people related by blood or marriage. So in Ruby's mind, the only family she had was her mother and her sister. But by the end of the book, Ruby realized that family is not only relatives, it's everyone who takes care of you, anyone who you trust, anyone who loves you.
The concept of the English project sprung from her want to "...focus on the idea of family, and I thought it would be an interesting way to get Ruby thinking about it without it seeming too forced. Plus I really liked the idea of how everyone would have different definitions for the word, and in giving them, they’d be sort of defining themselves, as well."
The song, Angel of Montgomery, allowed Dessen to "...get down the character of Ruby’s mom. There’s a certain sadness, and tiredness, in that song, and the woman speaking in it, and it really reminded me of what I was trying to get to with Ruby’s mom. I often will have a song that brings to mind a character, or helps fill them out a bit."
The interview went into further detail with questions regarding character choices and inspirations for themes.