Reading Response 2: Lock and Key

I am reading Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. In one part that I'm reading, the main character, Ruby, is feeling homesick.  Ruby tries to hide the fact that she’s underage and living by herself, but, eventually, her landlords find out, and the state sends Ruby to live with her older sister, Cora. Ruby and Cora haven’t seen each other since Cora left for college, years ago, escaping their mother and abandoning her younger sister (as Ruby thinks so). Ruby has to live with her sister Cora, because she isn't a legal adult yet. Things have been a little weird between the two. With Ruby's mom missing, Ruby has no choice but to live with Cora. Ruby and Cora don't have any sister bond.

Ruby is living with Cora and her husband Jamie. Ruby and her mother move around a lot, and their life is rather unpredictable. It’s not unusual for her mother to disappear for days at a time, but Ruby knows something is different when her mother doesn’t come back for months, leaving Ruby on her own. Ruby has to go to a fancy private school, and now she has a whole different life with Cora. Ruby goes to visits her house with a new boy she met, named Nate and believes she sees her mom, but it turns out it was nothing. I think Ruby wants to believe her mother is there, but her mother is never coming back. Ruby wants to be home again. Even though her mom wasn't the best, she would rather stay home alone than live with Cora. Cora gave her a big room, bathroom, and anything else she could possibly ask for. Ruby would rather have almost nothing, than everything that Cora offered her. Ruby would rather be isolated from her family. One quote that made me think that was when Ruby was talking to her older sister Cora, and she said,"I'm almost eighteen. And I was doing just fine on my own". This make me feel like Ruby doesn't want Cora's support. Even though Cora believes she needs to be helped, Ruby just wishes things could go back to normal.

Cora and Ruby don't know a lot about each other. Ruby admitted her mom was a drinker, but Cora thought she was "living without heat or water in a filthy house". Cora and Ruby know almost nothing about each other, she doesn't even know what her sister does for a living. The two barley get along so far. Since Ruby just started at Perkins Day, she starts getting a ride from Nate. Nate is Cora and Jamie's neighbor. Ruby hates having to be on a schedule. She can't find any close bus stops, and Cora disagreed with Jamie with letting her use their car. Nate and Ruby start talking more. Nate even backed up Ruby a few times. They start to form a bond together. A bond that should be more than a friendship.

All in all, I know I can totally relate to Ruby. I mean she hasn't seen her sister for years. Things must be a bit awkward between them. Especially with Ruby's mother. She just left Ruby all alone. Her mother must have not been thinking. Did she have any idea what Ruby would of done by herself? Even though Ruby didn't want to stay with Cora, at least she pulled through. Ruby didn't always stick to her gut, but she listened to her heart.