Lock and Key

by Sarah Dessen
Hennepin County Library audioCD 10 discs
read by Rebecca Soler
genre: YA realistic fiction

This was a much more gripping story than I anticipated. Ruby has been living alone for a few months since her mom took off. She has been pretending that everything is "fine," even though the heat doesn't work, the cockroaches are rampant, and she has to get water from the bathroom to do any cooking in the kitchen. When social services take her away to put her in the care of her sister Cora, the seventeen-year-old decides to take off after everyone is in bed. But when she tries to jump a fence that leads to the neighbor's pool area and Roscoe the dog barks like crazy, Ruby ends up with a new definition for the word family.

Poignant, painful, and very real . . . Nate and his dad, a new classmate and her cousin Lainie, Cora and her husband Jamie, the high-strung jewelry artist who hires her, . . . this is a mature story about relationships and humans learning to trust. Soler's vocal work was stellar.

The Moon and More

by Sara Dessen
Hennepin County Library hardcover 435 pages
genre: YA romance, coming-of-age

Better than the Colasanti stuff, but still not my cup of tea! Emaline has been dating the gorgeous Luke since the two were freshman. Ready to enjoy her last summer before college, Emaline gets caught up in a wave of emotions surrounding her relationship with her biological father, ambitious Theo, and her friends and family members.

My favorite parts involved Clyde, the mysterious artist about whom Theo and his obnoxious film-making boss are pursuing a story.

Predictable, but definitely a better story than other YA romances.