You and this town in the back of my mind: THE VANISHING STAIR.

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars


*Note if you haven't read the first book in the series & don't want to encounter spoilers, stop reading*

Stevie Bell loves Ellingham Academy and the mystery that drew her to the school in the first place. But while she was trying to solve it, a classmate of hers died instead. Stevie figured out what happened, but the aftermath made her conservative parents pull her from the school. Stevie misses Ellingham and all its quirks. She also misses the friends she made there--even David, with whom she shared a kiss--and then learned he was the son of the horrible politician Edward King. So imagine Stevie's surprise when Edward King himself shows up at Stevie's house. He has a deal that's hard to resist: he'll convince Stevie's Edward King-loving parents to send her back to Ellingham, if she agrees to watch over David and get him to behave at school. So Stevie's back, working on the long-unsolved Ellingham mystery and riddles. But the more she uncovers, the deeper trouble she--and her friends--may be getting into.


"What do you do when the devil turns up in your living room and offers you everything you want?"


Oh I just love Maureen Johnson, and I think this series is becoming my favorite of hers, although it's in stiff competition with the Shades of London books. STAIR picks up shortly after the lovely first book TRULY DEVIOUS, which is wonderful, as that one ended on a dramatic cliffhanger. Oh, but don't worry, this one will leave you gasping for more Stevie and more DETAILS, too.

This book was so compulsively readable that I read it in two sittings, on two flights. I ignored everyone around me and frantically flipped the last couple of pages as my plane landed in Charlotte (if I had known I was going to be stuck in Charlotte thanks to a canceled flight, maybe I would have made it last... oh who am I kidding, no I wouldn't have). Johnson is just so good at getting into her characters' heads--I love Stevie. I loved her in the last book, and I loved her here. She's smart, she's relatable, and she's always getting into trouble. There's plenty of exploring, detective work, and yes, tunnels, in this one to keep you more than interested.

Stevie's cast of friends is also superb, from the prickly David to the wonderful Janelle, and Nate, the writer who can no longer write. Oh and Larry, Stevie's protective security guard. I love them all, even if there are plenty of times I wanted to shake David in this one. We're also introduced to some new characters here, as Stevie takes on a new research project. (I don't want to spoil anything or ruin your enjoyment of reading about them all yourself.)

Stevie is busy unraveling the Ellingham Academy mystery in this one, and I'm happy to say she goes a long way in book #2. What I love about this series is that you get a great underlying mystery (what happened to Ellingham Academy founder Albert Ellingham's long-missing wife and daughter, if you for some unknown reason haven't read the first book), but there are always little side mysteries, plus just the general business of Stevie trying to live her life. She's struggling with being back at Ellingham--dealing with what it means to have struck a deal with Edward King, negotiating her boundaries with David, and much more. Johnson deals with Stevie's anxiety, her intelligence, and just her general no-nonsense approach to life in such realistic ways: I love it all.

So, yeah, I can't think of anything I didn't like here, except that the book ended, and now I have to wait *forever* again to find out what happens! I love this series, I love the character of Stevie, and I highly recommend this book (but start at #1, please). It's a funny, mysterious, sweet, and compelling read. 4.5 stars.

Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Google+ ~ Instagram



View all my reviews