House of Stairs

By William Sleator
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Noelle

Sometime in the future, 5 orphans from 5 different places are blindfolded and inexplicably left in a giant building full of nothing but white staircases and a few random landings. The stairs lead up to nowhere and down to nowhere. Slowly, the five 16 year olds find each other. Lola, Peter, Oliver, Blossom and Abigail are all mystified as to why they are in this place with no food and no way out. But then a machine dispenses food pellets when Blossom sticks her tongue out at it and soon the machine is conditioning all of them in an elaborate sort of dance which if they perform correctly, will result in food. But then the machine begins to want more from them than just dancing. Only Lola and Peter realize that they are going to have to resist the horrible things the machine wants them to do...but are they ready to starve to do it? This book is a real page turner, filled with psychological twists and turns and five very different characters. Readers will want to finish this book in one sitting and may be surprised at the ending. A classic mix of science fiction and psychological thriller.