Life is Strange: Steph's Story

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.

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.

Steph's Story is told from Steph's point of view, so the book hinges on whether or not the author and narrator can find her voice. Thankfully, perhaps the two most qualified people got the job.It feels as though author Rosiee Thor effortlessly channeled and poured Steph into the pages of this story. Fleshing out Steph is sure to please and delight Life Is Strange fans, but others will find a gripping relationship that can be messy, fun, moving, and deeply impacted by the characters' past. Aspects that will be relatable to all.The audiobook version is spectacularly performed by Katy Bentz. Many audiobook narrators are more subdued than the source material, avoiding taking any of the spotlight away from the author. In this instance, the actual voice of Steph, Katy Bentz, matches her performance with the material. This brings a life to the material that is rarely found.It feels as if Steph herself is telling you her story. Katy performs the material that Rosiee has written, which offers the listener a phenomenal experience. An experience worthy of one of Life Is Strange's most endearing characters.

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.

Gran complemento para la historia de Steph

This book is all kinds of amazing! The way it’s written is just soo good! Rosiee did an amazing job writing this one. May I suggest getting the audio book too because hearing Katy reprise her role as Steph and narrating this book is even better!! No book has pulled all different kinds of emotions as this book did! Definitely recommend!

This was an enjoyable story about a young woman whose romantic relationship falls apart, but that turns out to be a good thing. Coming to understand yourself sometimes leads you in unexpected directions that become healing, where the more expected thing would only hurt you more. Loved it.

It was a great book about one of my favorite characters from my favorite game series. And i enjoyed how it set up them being where the game takes place.