Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Rounding out my short stint with very high school female-oriented Young Adult is Lock and Key, one of Sarah Dessen's more recent books (her most recent, Along for the Ride, I read in 2009 so I'm sorry to say you won't be getting my opinions here. However, I suggest you look at my Goodreads page (sidebar) to get my opinions on it if you're just dying to know). I still think my favorite Dessen book is The Truth About Forever, but this one really was excellent too. It started off a bit slow, admittedly, but the characters were really just so fantastic that it became hard to put down. The main character Ruby is a senior in high school when her somewhat deadbeat mother takes off with no warning, leaving Ruby on her own. When her landlord discovers what has happened, they turn Ruby in to social services, and from there she moves in with her sister, Cora (who she has not seen in ten years), and her brother-in-law, Jamie. Of course, there's a cute boy named Nate living directly behind them, and it turns out this cute boy has a few secrets of his own.

Jamie and Cora were wonderful characters. I loved them both, and I was completely jealous of Cora's closet! But they were such wonderful, caring people who had a surprising amount of depth to them. Nate is similar: A great character with more than a few layers. I would have enjoyed seeing more about Nate and the problems he was facing, but either way it was still a great story. I felt Ruby's transition throughout the book was very well-written. It didn't feel too rushed, but at the same time it wasn't completely dull.

The supporting characters were also a lot of fun. I enjoyed reading about Harriet and Reggie, and I had a lot of fun remembering when I worked at a mall kiosk in college. It reminded me very much of some of the interaction that various kiosk workers had with each other. I just wish my bosses had been as fun as Harriet was!

So what's next on my list? I think I'm going to take a break from the girls and crack open I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. As I detailed in my Best of 2009 blog, his book The Book Thief was astounding. So I have high hopes for this one. I just pray my hopes aren't too high. I don't want to be disappointed in an excellent book solely because I'm expecting it to be too excellent.

Other news for today: The hubs and I are heading to the local Home and Garden Show. I'm not sure why we are going other than the fact that we're new homeowners. Our house is brand new so there really isn't any necessary renovations needing to be done. I suppose we're just going to look for inspiration. Personally, I'm hoping someone will have some kind of stellar backsplash that I'll fall in love with (and that it's within my budget!). I may post some "inspiring" photos on here at some point if I find anything there that catches my eye.