A review by mayas
The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

3.75 stars

Book CWs: murder, kidnapping, blood, animal dissection, anxiety disorder, alcoholism.

This was difficult for me to rate because the first half was slow-paced and I was bored but the second half was so good. I was a bit disappointed by some of the reveals (and also the last page) but I enjoyed the suspense and mystery.

This instalment introduced a few more characters, who were all (to my understanding) white, and the poc were barely relevant to this book. I hope the non-white characters are more present and relevant in the third novel!
I liked how Janelle's skills were used toward the end, though!


Overall, I really enjoyed this (the second half) and I like how Johnson writes her characters; there's a lot of compassion. The friendships are also really lovely.

:)

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