The Steps

Van Draanen, Wendelin. The Steps

September 2, 2025 by Holiday House
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ruby Voss appears to have a privileged existence, living on the grounds of her grandmother's estate with her father, stepmother Vivian, and stepsiblings Brielle and Liam. Under the surface, however, tensions roil. After the car accident death of her mother and aunt, her father and uncle had a tremendous falling out over the insurance payout, since the uncle maintained that Ruby's mother caused the accident, and therefore he should get some of the much larger insurance payout for Ruby's mother. Ruby is not supposed to talk to her cousin and best friend, Sterling, because of this, and the two girls even help out their grandmother, Oma, on separate shifts so they don't see each other. When Sterling shows up, knocking on Ruby's second floor window like she used to, Ruby is surprised. She follows her cousin to Oma's, where they find that their grandmother has been bound and gagged, and her pink diamond engagement ring has been stolen. Sterling helps her grandmother, but Ruby hides so that her presence isn't detected. Despite the drama that unfolds in the afftermath of the robbery, with her father and uncle renewing their fighting, Ruby still has to go to high school. Without Sterling, it's been hard, but she's made a a good friend in Izaan Ray. He invites her to join the chess team, and the advisor, Mr. Archambeau, tells her that he is tutoring Oma in French in exchange for being able to stay at the French chateau Ruby doesn't even know Oma owns. Back at home, her Aunt Katrina stops by, and provides some calm support for Ruby, who gets so little support from her father and Vivian that she's been living on coffee and Twinkies. Since Oma's ring is worth three million dollars, the police question everyone. When Ruby's room is ransacked, and some of the tools she keeps in her room to make herself feel safe (a hatchet, saw, and rope!) are taken, things look grim, but the police officer who is investigating is helpful. As Ruby and Sterling try to find out what really happened, and why Ruby seems to be targeted now, family secrets galore are revealed. I don't want to reveal any of the twists and turns that this action and suspense packed novel takes, but it's a good thing that Ruby has the support of her Aunt, as well as for the members of her school chess team, who help save the day! 

Strengths: Van Draanen is an author who consistently turns out well crafted books, and this stand alone novel had several things that will make it instantly appealing to middle grade and high school readers. Ruby is a troubled but privileged character who is in high school. She's struggling to make her life work even though she has adults in her life-- she's essentially on her own. I recently read a book where there was a similarly menacing character and a tense situation that was NOT as exciting as it should have been. The last third of this book was quite the nail biter, and Ruby was constantly in danger. The inclusion of Izaan and the chess team was important, but hard to properly describe. There were lots of cliff hangers, reveals of evil doers, and even some strategic fire poker wielding that was all well done.
Weaknesses: At least the mother's death was important to the plot, but I still could have done without it. I'm not being facetious when I say that about half the books I read deal with parents who have died, and surviving parents, like Ruby's father, who aren't dealing well with the situation in various ways. It gets wearing even as an adult, and can't be great for young readers' moods, either. Perhaps it would have been more interesting if Ruby's mother had been committed (wrongly!) for mental health issues and then reunited with Ruby after all of the situations with the family were resolved. 
What I really think:  The story had shades of Barnes' popular The Inheritance Games, Cavalancia's Mystery Royale, and Gerber's The Liars Society. The cover has the type of illustration aimed at older readers, which is so important, and it's a good length. I was even impressed by the somewhat distinctive san serif font. This is definitely a must purchase title that will circulate extremely well!