By: Jamie Steinberg
Fourteen-year-old Ruby Vossen has been through a lot in her short life. She lost her mother and aunt in a car crash, her dad remarried while she was away at camp, and she’s now saddled with a stepmother who comes with two annoying teenagers. Did I mention that both Ruby’s father and his brother are at odds over finances and refuse to let Ruby and her cousin Sterling see one another? Add in a demanding grandmother and you’ve got some serious stress. Things start to go from bad to worse though when the prized ring belonging to Ruby’s grandmother, Oma, goes missing. Thus begins a tale of mystery that leads to a murder investigation in the middle-grade new novel The Steps.
Ruby and Sterling both lost their moms in a car accident. Since then, both girls have been told to stay away from each other by their feuding fathers. Adding to Ruby’s misery is her new stepmother, Vivian, and new siblings Brielle and Liam – “The Steps” as Ruby calls them. Ruby’s father values The Steps comfort and happiness over those of his own daughter and has left any kind of care she needs in Vivian’s hands. One night Ruby receives a strange text from her cousin saying that she can’t get ahold of their grandmother, Oma. Ruby sneaks out of the house to lend a hand and when they arrive at Oma’s home, they find her tied up and her prized ring is missing. With no one to talk to and no one to turn to about what has happened, Ruby stumbles on the Chess Club at school – making friends (she dubs them “The Chessies”) with a rag tag bunch of boys who have her back when no one else does. To say anything further would only spoil the remainder of the story…
Author Wendelin Van Draanen quickly invests your heart into Ruby and her plight. She’s gotten a raw deal in life, and you wish you could hug and protect her. Readers will turn page after page to see how she navigates her sad situation and if her new pals The Chessies can help save her skin. My only qualm is that Van Draanen doesn’t explain the characters that have been given titles – such as “Oma” and “Tante Katrina.” It would have been nice to know what they mean and how the family’s ethnicity plays into their dynamics. Otherwise, readers will find themselves quickly engrossed in the story, trying to figure out who has stolen the ring and if Ruby earns a happy ending.
The Steps is a bittersweet crime drama with a dash of some serious family drama. All I can say is that readers will want to protect Ruby at all costs and certainly find themselves deeply invested in all the mystery this book holds.