Pick the Lock

By A.S. King

Book Overview

From the award-winning author of Dig comes a weird and insightful novel about a girl intent on picking the lock of her toxic family's secrets.

"A roller coaster of a book, Pick the Lock is one thrill after another."--NPR

"Updated and recast for a new generation, this is a much-needed, thought-provoking tale of survival and triumph."--BCCB, starred review

Jane Vandermaker-Cook would like her mother back. As Jane's mother tours the world to support the family, Jane lives and goes to school in a Victorian mansion with her younger brother and their mendacious father, who confines Jane's mother to a system of pneumatic tubes whenever she's at home. And then there's weirdly ever-present Aunt Finch, Milorad the gardener, and his rat, Brutus. For Jane, this all seems normal until she gains access to the files for a lifetime of security camera videos--her lifetime.

Pick the Lock is a punk opera, a primal scream, and a portrait of a family buried in lies.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593353986
• ISBN13: 9780593353981
• Release Date: September 2025
• Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher