Setting of Lock and Key

     The main settings of Lock and Key so far have been the little yellow house, which is where the book started off at, and Ruby's sister, Cora's, house.

 

     The little yellow house tucked deep into the woods is a mess. After Ruby's mother left her, the entire house became even more of a reck than when her mother was still there. The wood paneling covering almost the entire inside began to rot, the dirty dishes piled high, the dryer had broken and clothes were hung throughout the kitchen.The most disturbing part about the yellow house was the dirty ash trays and cases of empty bottles, that were once filled with variations of booze.

     After Ruby was forced to move in with Cora, everything that she had once known to be right was considered wrong and improprt. Cora's house was large, with an extravagent amout of rooms. The entire place was spotless. No drinking or smoking, working washers and dryers and expecially no dirty dishes.The house was decorated with plain walls and carpet and incredibly expensive furniture. The backyard reflects perfectly on the house. It was also plain but decorated with a few rose bushes and trees. This was nothing like Ruby had experienced ever before. Now, she felt that she lived in a place that she did not belong.


Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

    The novel that I am currently reading is 'Lock and Key' by Sarah Dessen.

     Lock and Key is about a 17 year old girl named Ruby who has always had a bit of a rough life at home. In the very first few pages, the author tells a lot about how Ruby has always lived her life; just her and her mother, who is a raging alcoholic and drug addict, living in small one-bedroom apartaments their whole life with a very small budget and usually not even enough to pay rent. Suddenly, one day her mother never came home from work. Ruby layed low in their current house for a few months on her own, until the washing machine broke, and she had to call her landlords to come and fix it. Little did she know, that coming with a fixed washing machine, was an entire new lifestyle.

      Upon the landlords arrival, they had noticed many things out of the ordinary. Some of which include dirty dishes piled high, no water in the kitchen, empty beer and other bottles consisting of alcoholic substances littered around, and ash trays scattered throught the house. This is what would flip Ruby's quiet, dangerous life upside down. She was reported for being abandoned by her mother and having to live in an unsafe enviornment, and forced to move in with her older sister that she didnt even know existed until now.

     Even the day that Ruby had met her sister, Cora, and moved in with her and her husband, she knew she would never fit in. She was now expected to live a rich, lavishing life and go to a prim and proper private school. Who was she to stick around and adjust herself to the enviornment though? Instead, that night Ruby packed up her bag again and left Jaime and Cora's house. Sadly, before she could even get to the mailbox, she ran into Jaime, taking their dog on a very late night walk. She returned back into the house and went to bed, praying tomorrow would not be too tough at her new school.