Review of The Length of Our Staircase

[Ria710]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Length of Our Staircase" by Betsy Naglich.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Raising a child can be one of the most difficult things in life. A child needs constant support and love. If those aren’t there, then there can be major problems. Rose adopts a young boy who has been through a rough childhood. Everything seems to be going well until Gabriel becomes a teenager. He starts putting on a lot of weight and as a result, he has difficulty navigating through daily life. On top of that, he struggles to find out the history of his family. The Length of Our Staircase by Betsy Naglich is about the challenges Rose faces and the sacrifices she makes when raising Gabriel.

This was a beautiful story about love, family, and friendship. Throughout the book, we experience many emotions with Rose. There were happy moments and sad moments. I really like that we got to see Gabriel go from a shy little boy to a confident young man. Gabriel faces things in his teenage years that many people his age face. So, I think many people can relate to him when reading the book. I think it’s great that this book is raising awareness to things like child abuse and neglect. It’s one of those things that can be hard to detect in a child, so it’s important that we all know the signs.

Naglich’s ability to tell a story is incredible. I appreciate that Naglich went into depth when describing the emotions of the characters because it’s what made me feel more connected to the characters. My favourite character would have to be Rose because she is an inspiring woman. She had everything in life, a nice big house, a husband that loves her, and a stable job. When all this got taken away from her, she still kept a smile on her face for her son. To me, Rose is a confident, independent woman because she raised Gabriel as a single mother. Despite having problems in her own life, she didn’t let that affect the way she treated and loved her son.

So, as you would have probably guessed, this book teaches readers many valuable lessons. If there’s one thing readers can take away from this book, it is that family is more important than materialistic things. What I didn’t like about the book was that at times, I felt like the book was moving very slowly. As a result, I was getting bored because I didn’t know where the story was going. Luckily, the book does pick up the pace again near the end.

Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because it was a great read. I didn’t find any mistakes, so it is exceptionally edited. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a parent or is thinking of becoming one. The book contains sensitive themes, so read at your own risk.

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The Length of Our Staircase
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[Tumaini Sulle]

Family is the most important thing in life. As a parent, this book helps to guide and show the way in which children are raised. This experience from Rose will help those people facing situations of such kind to accomplish and raise their children well.

[Amy Luman]

I, myself, would do anything for my son. I understand the need to stay upbeat no matter what your circumstances are. Thanks for the review!

[Astral Magi]

Rose and Gabriel seem like well-developed characters and Rose's love for her son, despite her hardships, sounds inspiring. I look forward to reading this one. Thank you for a lovely review.