Footsteps on the Stairs

by C.S. Adler

Thirteen-year old Dodie and her new stepsister Anne gradually become friends as they investigate sounds of footsteps which may be those of two sisters drowned in a nearby marsh nearly forty years earlier.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Horror, Ghosts, Ghost Stories, Paranormal, Childrens

151 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

C.S. (Carole) Adler moved to Tucson, Arizona, after spending most of her life in upstate New York. She was an English teacher at Niskayuna Middle School for nearly a decade. She is a passionate tennis player, grandmother, and nature lover, and has been a full-time writer since the publication of her first book,The Magic of the Glits, in 1979. That book won both the William Allen White Award and the Golden Kite Award.

Her bookThe Shell Lady’s Daughter was chosen by the A.L.A. as a best young adult book of l983. With Westie and the Tin Man won the Children’s Book Award of the Child Study Committee in l986, and that committee has commended many of Adler’s books. Split Sisters in l987 and Ghost Brother in 1991 were I.R.A. Children’s Choices selections. One Sister Too Many was on the 1991 Young Adults’ Choices list. Always and Forever Friends and Eddie’s Blue Winged Dragon were on a 1991 I.R.A. 99 Favorite Paperbacks list.

Many of her books have been on state lists and have also been published in Japan, Germany, England, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, and France.

Reviews

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, quick read

I don't know how I missed this book when I was younger. This is exactly what I loved to read growing up. It reminded me a lot of the scary books by Mary Downing Hahn. I loved all those books.

[MV · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never read this one as a child, but heard about it a few times while waxing nostalgic with other people about the phantom-filled reads of our youth. I got a copy and was pleasantly surprised. This is a great story about step-siblings learning to adjust to their new blended family. The ghost story serves as the catalyst for them to do that, and is not as front-and-center as in other stories, but there are definitely some chilling moments.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I ended up with this on my to-read list. This was the most bland and blah book I've read in a while. I really don't understand how it got a Mark Twain award. The reading level is very low - I'd guess upper elementary or lower middle school, which I didn't realize when I chose the book. The story is just 'meh,' the author throws in jabs at stay-at-home moms, there's a ton of fat shaming, an odd paragraph about sex and use of the word 'orgy' (in reference to food, but still) which isn't really appropriate to the reading level. All in all, I'm just really confused by the negative stuff in the story and there aren't enough good attributes, like an intense plot or deep characters, to make the negatives worthwhile. This book is definitely not for adults, and it was never intended to be, but I'm not sure who it would be for. I wouldn't let my child who is at this reading level read it, so I don't who exactly the intended audience is.

[Elizabeth Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm definitely keeping this one! I adore the spooky ghost story, coupled with the family issues that arise, and the loving physical affection shared between family members. When Dodie goes on vacation with her mom, step-dad, and new step-sister and step-brother she finds herself fighting the jealousy she feels from not being her step-dad's biological child. At the same time, her step-sister is dealing with jealousy because her dad is living far away with this new family. The house they've rented for vacation comes with a mystery and the two girls must work together to find out whose footsteps they are hearing on the stairs.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

my 5 star rating is based on a 16 year old memory. i read this book three or four years in a row in elementary school and for some reason thought it was the best thing ever. i can't remember anything except these two little girls who were friends and spent some time on the beach. and i think there was a ghost. anyway, i'm sure it was awesome, and i think i shall revisit it some time.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

As good as I remember it being when I was in middle school...though not as scary.

[Thomasin Propson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. The relationship between Dodie and her step-father was weird, her mother was TERRIBLE to her, and the freakin' ghosts are real? And terrible girls themselves?! No. out his one goes.

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a child I had one book by Adler (The Magic of the Glits) which I read for the first time in kindergarten and adored and reread periodically thereafter -- I still have it, too, the same old hardback, although I haven't reread it in a number of years now.

With that in the background, I was curious to read some of Adler's other work, and the library had this one -- so! It's a decent old-school children's book of the period, which means it's nothing like a children's book would be now -- it's about divorce and remarriage, step-siblings learning to get along with each other, families of choice vs. families of origin, the way kids often feel emotionally responsible for their parents -- and yes, there is a ghost story in there as well, but it's there to tie everything together, rather than being the focal point of the book.

Reading it as an adult, one of the things that really stood out to me is how casually verbally cruel Dodie's mom is to her, and how mixed Dodie's feelings are about it -- she's frustrated and lonely because of it, but when her new step-sister points it out she feels defensive of her mom rather than validated. Which is super-realistic to my memories of childhood, but I feel like it would be handled differently in a modern book? I think the difference is that Adler is not didactic about it; there's no point in the book where it is made clear *to the reader* that Dodie's mom is being inappropriate and ought to be doing better. Dodie doesn't like it, and she wishes her mom would stop, but she also feels... not exactly like she deserves it, but like it must be so difficult for her mom to have a daughter who isn't conventionally pretty etc etc, so she understands why her mom constantly criticises her. I think a modern children's novel would make sure it was obvious to the reader that this behaviour isn't acceptable, even if the characters struggle to figure that out, because ideas around parenting and the treatment of children have changed so much (for the better!) in the last 40 years and there's a lot more awareness now of how kids learn from what they read.

Anyway, I am glad I read it, and it was interesting, but not really enjoyable; I will probably read more Adler over time, though, to continue satisfying my curiosity.

[Jaynaé · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this first as a kid and again as an adult. It's a great book. You get mystery, coming-of-age, and strong character arcs--from the past and the present. As a lover of YA ghost stories, since I could read, I recommend this book because it has just enough fright for a preteen to handle. It is one of the few books that never gets old.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book when I was a kid

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book 37 years ago when I was in elementary school. As soon as my kids were old enough for ghost stories, I purchased a vintage copy and added it to my collection (it’s no longer in print). I enjoyed reading it with them. I love seeing it on my bookshelf and cherish the memories.

Format: Physical book

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book when I was kid, very spooky.