Reviews for The Steps

The average rating for The Steps based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2021-01-15 00:00:00 Clay Morton The main character started off super bratty, but redeemed herself in the end. I want to go to Australia!

Review # 2 was written on 2012-02-16 00:00:00 Donald Barker This review pertains to the 2003 hardcover edition. This first-person narrative is about twelve-year-old Annabel, a Manhattan pre-teen navigating radical changes in her family. Her parents, Jack and Angelina, divorced following a rocky marriage. Jack moved to Australia to live with his second wife, leaving Annabel in New York with Angelina. Annabel is jealous of her Australian blended family, particularly towards twelve-year-old Lucy. When Annabel has a chance to visit Australia, she envisions ways to get Jack back to the U.S. Determined to dislike everything about the strange new family blend, she and Lucy embark upon a transformative, radical adventure. The cover is very appealing and amusing, showing a family tree of the bazillions of steps, (stepbrothers, and stepsisters) with Annabel in the middle. The narrative is very pleasant, funny, and seems appropriate for the character. There are no excessively bitter, violent, or offensive occurrences. There is one brief scene referencing a change of life. Culturally, there are many opportunities to sample Australian culture. Characters find accents amusing, and terminology confusing at times, e.g. brushing teeth vs. cleaning teeth. Kirkus Reviews suggest an age range of 11-14. The Lexile rating is 860L. For slightly younger readers, Shug (Jenny Han, ISBN: 9781416909439, Lexile 680L) is about a twelve-year-old girl with bickering parents and similar preteen themes. Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan (ISBN: 9780064410441, Lexile 820L) is about a boy sent to live at an unusual home school, featuring similar themes of blending with different families. In a classroom setting, themes related to diversity of families serve as a basis for activities. Students might engage in a quick-write, including definitions, phrases, etc. to define family. Small groups might discuss their ideas, then creating a larger poster for a gallery-walk activity. Groups or individuals then rotate to the posters, adding new ideas. Other themes include jealousy and conflict resolution, and tolerance towards cultural differences.