Life is Strange: Steph's Story

A powerful but simple tie-in piece for the Life is Strange universe. This version of Steph exists in the timeline where the Storm destroyed Arcadia Bay, so we explore a bit more on Stephs mental state and what she has been dealing with from between her appearance in Before the Storm and True Colors and Wavelength. Really looking forward to listening to the Audiobook version of this. Totally worth the read for anyone that loves Life is Strange.

I finally got the chance to get through this book the other day. I ordered a physical copy plus the audio book Katy Bentz, the voice actor for Steph narrates. I highly recommend getting both as there is something magical about hearing the audio book read and following along at the same time. It’s like your in Steph’s mind listening to her thoughts as Katy reads in Steph’s voice so it’s like she is telling her story to you. Rosiee Thor did an excellent job in writing the book and really captured the feel of Steph’s character. The book takes place a couple years before Steph moved to Haven and it fills in the blanks as to what happened between True colors and the Wavelengths DLC. If your a Life is Strange fan and a fan of Steph’s character then this book is a must for you! ❤️❤️❤️ I’ve become an even bigger Steph fan thanks to reading it.

The quality of this book really surprised me in the same way that the quality of the comic books did. It's fantastic! Well written and with great voice, this novel bridges Steph's journey from the end of the first game to her arrival in Haven in True Colors. It mainly focuses on her relationship with Izzy, the singer/guitarist she falls for and ends up in a relationship with. Izzy is driven to make a real career out of music. Unfortunately, Steph may be more along for the ride than sharing that dream equally. If you're fan of Steph or Life is Strange, get this. It's a roller coaster of feels and excellent voice. Ir submerges you in the struggle of a young woman who's feeling lost after the storm and trying to find a way to move forward.

Stephanie Gingrich was my second favorite character in the whole Life is Strange franchise (eclipsed only by Alex in Life is Strange: True Colors). However, there was a large gap in time between Steph's appearance in Life is Strange: Before the Storm and Life is Strange: True Colors (Don't worry, I'll stop typing out Life is Strange and simply use LiS). Despite the generally well-written dialog in the LiS games, I had my doubts about a bit of interstitial fiction focused on a secondary character in a video game franchise. While I enjoyed Steph's appearances in the games, both in terms of writing and the wonderful voice acting, it seemed far-fetched that she could carry a whole novel. I could not have been more pleased to have my expectations subverted. The only reason I did not give this novel a 5 star review was because of its interstitial nature. Anyone who has played LiS: True Colors already knows, at least in general terms, how Steph's Story ends before even reading the first sentence. I felt like the author did their best within the constraints of the established story of the franchise, but even so, the introduction of so many late third act characters was awkward to read. I wish I could give a four-and-a-half star review, but the implicit limitations of filling in the blanks and doing fan service to characters and locations in LiS: True Colors was detrimental to this story. All that said, Steph's story is full of color and detail that make both Steph and all the people in her life feel vibrant and real. They are funny and loving, but also flawed in relatable, human ways. Her comrades are nerdy, queer, funny, inclusive, and passionate. Whether it's about Dungeons & Dragons, a podcast, or music, they feel like a real community, giving Steph both a support system and the sense of an ensemble cast. The author discloses up front that the events of Steph's Story are predicated on player's selecting the option to save Chloe at the end of the original LiS. That happened to be the choice I made, but it wouldn't have mattered to me as a reader if I'd chosen to let Chloe die. (Seriously, none of this could possibly be considered spoilers given that this novel was published 8 years after the original LiS game.) By placing Steph in the context of Arcadia Bay being destroyed, Steph is freighted with unprocessed trauma. She seems rootless, lost, like she's treading water. Sure, she's nerdy and funny, loaded with puns, and surrounded by joyful people, but when we first meet her in Steph's Story, she's incapable of feeling true joy herself. This extra level of pathos added to what was a fun, quirky, and comedic character in LiS: Before the Storm and gives Steph so much more depth, making her sympathetic, someone I wanted to root for. Steph is adrift, but she's not sinking, she's not defeated. The story really gets going when Steph meets a musician named Izzy, to whom she is instantly attracted. As far as the cliche 'love-at-first-sight' goes, this is relatively well-handled. We're given many reasons as to why Steph finds Izzy so attractive. While there is a bit of a honeymoon period when they meet, it isn't long before conflicts appear between them. Just as Steph is a deeper character for grappling with the trauma of the loss of her home, friends, and family in Arcadia Bay, so too is Izzy made so much deeper with revelations about her own past. However, where Steph comes into focus over the course of the novel, Izzy becomes more opaque. As a reader, I very much got the sense that both were working hard to sustain their relationship, even if they were working to cross purposes. At the same time, I didn't really understand what drove Izzy to many of her reactions or her choices, which is not at all a criticism, but a fact of real life: you never really know exactly why anyone does anything. While Steph's Story contains a heart-warming, but fraught, romance at its core, the author skillfully avoids it becoming simply a romance novel. This isn't the story of Izzy and Steph, but simply Steph's Story. As the inevitable resolution comes, we are reminded that this was always Steph's journey of recovery, first and foremost. Even though Steph clearly loves Izzy, her own mental health and autonomy becomes crucial by the end of the novel. Ultimately, Steph's rootlessness and her unprocessed trauma impinges on her relationship with Izzy, presenting her with a binary choice, just like the kinds of difficult, but final, decisions the LiS games confront the players with. I felt genuine satisfaction and joy for Steph in finally choosing what she wanted, rather than going along with what Izzy wanted in order to simply get along. In one simple, impulsive choice, Steph goes from being an NPC in her own life, to being the main character.

Do we date people who are like our parents? And if we do, do we realize it before it’s too late? Steph’s life is kind of on hold. It felt okay, but it wasn’t going anywhere. She just finished college and moved in with her dad, who she hasn’t seen in years. He’s a nice guy, but too self-absorbed to be a particularly good dad. Then Steph meets Izzy, and sparks fly — if both good ways and bad. Though very different from Steph’s dad, Izzy is just as self-absorbed, if not more. What got my attention about this novel was that the protagonist has the same affliction I have — Seasonal Affective Disorder. In a way I found this story very triggering, yet ultimately fulfilling. Steph starts the story not realizing that she has it, like a whole lot of people do, but knows she has unresolved trauma from the death of her mother a few years earlier. Brave in some ways, but very lost, she has to find a way to resolve that roadblock in her life, and you can’t help but wish for her success.

No es el libro perfecto pero es una buena historia complementaria para conocer mas a fondo a Steph, personalmente es uno de mis personajes favoritos del universo LIS, y me ha parecido genial poder conocerla un poco mas.

Good book about a good character

I really recommend any Life is Strange fan to buy the book! There are so many details hidden in the story, so many references to the game! The author did an amazing job at making the lis universe feel like our own.

Super livre pour les fans du jeu ! L'histoire est fidèle à l'univers du jeu et les personnages sont bien développés. L'intrigue est captivante et les descriptions sont vivantes. Une excellente lecture pour les amateurs de fantasy et d'aventure. Je recommande !

My 14 year old was off her phone for a minute because of this book. This should tell you all you need to know. It's a winner in this household for sure, lol (she read the entire thing and talked about it non stop)