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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
I read a lot as a child and then abruptly stopped reading as I approached adolescence, not to leisurely pick up a book until I was well into college. This was one of the very few books I read as a teenager during my bookless years. I had to read a mystery for a 7th grade book report, and I don't know what came over me, but this particular time I decided I was going to actually read the book. I went to the library at school and asked where the mysteries were, and the librarian took me to a spinning rack. I randomly selected [book: House of Stairs], and I ended up loving it. It was about a bunch of teenagers who all end up in this void where all they can see up and down are stairs, and around them in the distance there is nothing but a haze. Oddly enough, loving this book didn't make me want to continue reading. It was an anomaly.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really don't understand why teacher's have students read Lord of the Flies when there are books that convey and portray a creeping sense of horror and dread of the loss of morals so much better. Where in Lord of the Flies, the morals and "humanity" are lost when children are faced with wilderness, this books pits teenagers against a machine, a creation and sign of "civilization" and the take away is so much more poignant then in Lord of Flies ever was.
Cool plot. Pretty good writing. Lola, Peter, Oliver, Blossom, and Abigail find themselves trapped inside a room full of stairs. The room is trains them to do what it wants. Some of them learn to fight against it. ?
I'm really not so sure what I can say about this book. I read it for a bookclub and it took me about a day to finish it. Most of the characters were horrible (except Lola). I kept forgetting it was a teen book and expecting things to get nastier than they did. I believe I can sum it up in "meh..?" leaning towards "hmmm.."
In the end, I believe that I really did enjoy this book (even though it did remind me of the type of books I used to be forced to read in my high school English classes). House of Stairs by William Sleator is a quick, interesting read; one that reminds the reader of the tiny (yet significant) difference inside us all that keeps us from reverting back to our animal instincts...that keeps us human. Oliver, Peter, Lola, Blossom and Abigail (five sixteen year old orphans) all awake to find themselves in a place that is not a prison or a hospital or even a room, but a place entirely full of stairs, and a red machine. And while all five have a sense of right and wrong in the beginning, as time and hunger wears on they not only begin to lose that sense, but the human part of them as well. Set in a broken, damaged, and entirely different world than our own, we witness the different changes in these young adults who are forced into an impossible situation by the world in which they live in.
The latest installment in my YA dystopia series is a *teeny* book. I didn't see it on the shelves because it was so small, and it's under 200 pages. It looks just like the books I used to get from the school library, because it probably is something I could have gotten. (The cover illustration features some silly hair and a non-sexy (!!) teenaged girl in Mom Jeans. Seriously, I think that's a 9" rise on those suckers.)
Now, I like me some dystopias. And in general I liked this one. Weird world - the wider context is vaguely alluded to, but it seems like even that would've been a dystopia before the kids got pulled in. They have no idea why they're there or what to do, and ... teenagers are bastards. It was written in 1974, so in comparison to most of the others in this batch, this book was charmingly low-body-count. Oh, the family connection you usually see was non-existent. The ending was also interesting.
Not a bad way to spend an evening. (This is another halfer- 3.5 stars.)
Now, I like me some dystopias. And in general I liked this one. Weird world - the wider context is vaguely alluded to, but it seems like even that would've been a dystopia before the kids got pulled in. They have no idea why they're there or what to do, and ... teenagers are bastards. It was written in 1974, so in comparison to most of the others in this batch, this book was charmingly low-body-count. Oh, the family connection you usually see was non-existent. The ending was also interesting.
Not a bad way to spend an evening. (This is another halfer- 3.5 stars.)
I absolutely love this book. My 7th grade homeroom teacher had a copy that I borrowed, and I have never forgot about it. I would recommend this book to anyone 12 years or older who likes books that put you into a completely different setting than you'd ever experience in your life. I believe it is written for young adults, but i think that older readers would enjoy it also because the idea is very interesting and gives you something to think about!
I was recently given this book by another teacher and encouraged to read it for my gifted students. The setting and premise behind it were definitely suspenseful and chilling... And it brought up some interesting ideas about behavioral conditioning. I just don't think I was in love with any of it; the characters didn't stick with me... And for similar themes (lack of ethics, individual survival) id stick to a classic like Lord of the Flies.