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A review by manonschuur
The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson
2.25
I still don't know about this. Ik weet ook ni zo goed wat ik erover zeggen moet behalve dat ik nog steeds weinig geef om alle karakters en nog steeds niet lekker in het boek kom. It was fine, maar daar is ook alles mee gezegd. Ik ben blij als ik de trilogy uit heb. One book to go.
Someone wrote this in their review and I totally agree with them:
'That rant over, I can get back to the book as a whole— but whole, it really isn’t. Splitting up a YA mystery into three books is a strrrretcccchh. And it feels that way. There is so much expository stuff that could have been chopped away, and turned this trilogy into a fairly longer standalone. It would have worked better that way. Even a damn duology would’ve been fine! No more frustrating cliffhangers, and a lot less (if I’m being honest) boring filler.
Some random side notes:
•A good mystery typically lays most of their cards on the table and begs you to “SOLVE ME (if you can)”. Here, we’re given some clues to start, and then thrown other tidbits of clues at the very end we could never have picked up on. Ever. And again and again, we’re fed more, but it doesn’t feel fun. I want to know the broad strokes, and THEN the smaller details. And we can’t do anything about any of it, even if we knew the answers to some, until Stevie gets it in her head.
•David and Stevie are toxic together. I don’t understand the pairing AT ALL!
•Again, I found this book too “young” for me. It lacked the hardcore sleuthing I craved, and was pretty “Nancy Drew for the modern age”, but with more hipsters.
•I wanted more Nate, Janelle, and Mudge— the only sensible and interesting characters.
•I have to give credit for the way Stevie’s anxiety is handled. Props for accurate depictions of panic attacks. Mental illness is no joke... but there is something seriously problematic with David’s behavior, and no one acting on getting him help is sad.'
Someone wrote this in their review and I totally agree with them:
'That rant over, I can get back to the book as a whole— but whole, it really isn’t. Splitting up a YA mystery into three books is a strrrretcccchh. And it feels that way. There is so much expository stuff that could have been chopped away, and turned this trilogy into a fairly longer standalone. It would have worked better that way. Even a damn duology would’ve been fine! No more frustrating cliffhangers, and a lot less (if I’m being honest) boring filler.
Some random side notes:
•A good mystery typically lays most of their cards on the table and begs you to “SOLVE ME (if you can)”. Here, we’re given some clues to start, and then thrown other tidbits of clues at the very end we could never have picked up on. Ever. And again and again, we’re fed more, but it doesn’t feel fun. I want to know the broad strokes, and THEN the smaller details. And we can’t do anything about any of it, even if we knew the answers to some, until Stevie gets it in her head.
•David and Stevie are toxic together. I don’t understand the pairing AT ALL!
•Again, I found this book too “young” for me. It lacked the hardcore sleuthing I craved, and was pretty “Nancy Drew for the modern age”, but with more hipsters.
•I wanted more Nate, Janelle, and Mudge— the only sensible and interesting characters.
•I have to give credit for the way Stevie’s anxiety is handled. Props for accurate depictions of panic attacks. Mental illness is no joke... but there is something seriously problematic with David’s behavior, and no one acting on getting him help is sad.'
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Kidnapping