Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Ruby is living by herself in a broken-down old farmhouse after her mom takes off on her. In a few months she will be eighteen and legally independent but when social services learns of her situation she is obliged to live with her older sister, whom she has not seen for many years. Suddenly, she is living in a beautiful house and going to a private school, but Ruby is uncomfortable with the situation. Because she feels that everyone she has ever cared about ultimately leaves, she is determined not to get close to anyone or to rely on anyone. But life doesn't work that way. As the people around her, including the popular guy next door, begin to find their way into her life, she finds that they too have problems and secrets to deal with. While Ruby and other characters are well-developed and the plot an interesting one, I found that the dialogue was a bit unbelievable. Lessons about relationships are provided through conversations and I kept thinking that people really don't talk like this. However, Sarah Dessen is tremendously popular and this would be a good bet to recommend to teen girls who like books about working through problems in relationships. Another one, in the same genre, but much shorter is Sweethearts by Sara Zarr