Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

11 reviews

carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

4.5/5

Stevie continues to be my little baby. She's so weird and awk and SMART! Oh I just wanna swaddle her. She's so unintentionally --and also intentionally-- funny (

running away from David???? lmfao!

). 

In contrast, we have my enemy: Nate 👿🤬. He's soooo fucking annoying I'm sorry literally the only reason this book is 4.5 instead of 5 stars. Every time he showed up I'd literally yell at my book for him to go away (let's remember, I never claimed to be sane). He irked me to my very core. Less of him in the next book, hopefully.

God, poor Ellie. To die like that. Fucking horrible.

The whole David/EK/Stevie situation was annoying, I both get and am annoyed by David's reaction to it. Def understandable given the circumstances but I wish he would just forgive her (selfish, ik). There's actually something clinically wrong with that boy -- someone needs to get a therapist involved frfr. But just like Stevie running away, it's hard to fault them for their behavior. They're literally 17.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Suicide, Confinement, Grief, Child death, Mental illness, and Kidnapping

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Vomit

falennahrm's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Body horror, Dysphoria, Gore, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Cultural appropriation, Suicide, Stalking, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

simply_fran's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

alliemikennareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

4.75

The Vanishing Stair picks up right where book one lets off and is equally full of twists, turns and crime solving. Some parts maybe felt a bit underdeveloped compared to try first book, but it still has all the qualities I loved between the boarding school setting, fall vibes, and a mix of past and present mysteries unfolding. I loved every minute and read it in a day. It left me wanting to pick up book three immediately, which is what I shall do! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Confinement

Death by suicide, HP reference, anxiety, panic attacks, confinement.

camreads22's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide, and Alcoholism

emily_mh's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This instalment was just as spooky and atmospheric as the first book; I was completely hooked and read it in a day. Also, I liked that Stevie was actually investigating this time around. However, this series didn’t need to be three books. The plot and mystery are spread pretty thin, especially the romance with David, where the conflict just feels contrived. I also predicted who Truly Devious was early on in the first book. A predictable solution to a mystery doesn’t necessarily mean docked stars, but it does if the solution feels meh or unsatisfying, which is sort of the case here. I really hope things pick up in the third book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, and Confinement

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Gore, Kidnapping, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness

Minor: Drug abuse, Excrement, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Vomit, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Alcohol, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Racism

Illness, bombs, discussion of global warming, HP reference, divorce

leandrathetbrzero's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Upon entering The Vanishing Stair, the second installment in the Truly Devious Trilogy, there are a few things of which the reader is certain: (1) the 1936 cold case is warming up, (2) one of Stevie’s classmates is dead while another is missing, and (3) the modern-day mystery’s criminal is just getting started. Stevie is determined to solve the 80+ years old mystery surrounding Iris and Alice Ellingham, and the support from her new friends drives her even further. But as the fog surrounding the cold case begins to clear in her mind, Stevie’s reality becomes ever more complicated and dangerous. This is not a mystery to miss, but be sure to first pick up Truly Devious, the first book in the series!

Truly Devious had me on the edge of my seat until the very end, and The Vanishing Stair was no different. Johnson does a brilliant job of balancing the mysteries’ progression with the personal growth and struggles of our protagonist, Stevie Bell. I absolutely adored the friendship dynamic she shares with Janelle and Nate. Not only does their dialogue feel authentic, but it is inclusive and allows the reader to learn more about Stevie’s friends and their progress at Ellingham Academy as well. Mystery-wise, I found myself equally invested in the cold case and modern-day mystery. I also loved that as we gained some crucial answers to questions posed in the first book, Johnson still leaves us on a cliffhanger by the end of The Vanishing Stair. 

Okay, I have to toot my own horn a bit. No spoilers, though, I promise! While reading Truly Devious, I made a guess at who could be the culprit(s) in the 1936 cold case. The clues involved in the journey toward solving this part of the whodunnit in The Vanishing Stair were new and not given in the first book, but when the reveal finally came, I learned that I was right! With that said, my experience was not dampened for having guessed the criminal(s) in the first book because the how and the why were still a mystery to me. Plus, there is still the modern mystery to be solved! With that said, I’m off to get my hands on the final installment in this whirlwind YA mystery series…now where did I leave my magnifying glass? 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Murder

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, and Suicide

grimviolins's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Police brutality, Grief, and Infidelity

Minor: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Suicide

caitlyn_baldwin's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Murder, Kidnapping, and Suicide

crunchycrystals's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Vomit, Gore, Cursing, and Alcoholism

Minor: Sexism and Animal death