The Staircase

This book is a wonderful tale of the actual mysterious carpenter of the Sisters of Loretto and his masterful staircase. I thought it was wonderful how the staricase was a way to test the users faith in the end, with no railings on either side and built of strong and sturfy mysterious wood and wooden pegs instead of nails. The fact that the actual staricase has withstood all these years is amazing as well. I give this novl 5 stars because it covers everything that is needed and only leaves you hanging in one aspect, whisch is exactly as it should have been. Perfect.

I read this book to my daughters because it is based on the fascinating, true story of a staircase that was built mysteriously and miraculously in the Loretto Chapel of Santa Fe. According to history, the nuns were praying for a staircase to be built to the upper level, and a mysterious stranger came, built it, and left quietly without payment. The staircase can still be seen and it is a wonder in design. The book adds the girl Lizzie to the story, a Methodist thrust into a Catholic school. When the other girls cause a stink about the mysterious carpenter, and plot to get rid of him, Lizzie defends him and thereby becomes the outsider in the group. The way she is treated is quite unfair, but she tries to react without resorting to the same spiteful tactics of the other girls. I enjoyed reading aloud with the nasty intonation of Lizzie's rival, but my daughters thought for their ages, the girls behaved quite immaturely. I agree with one of the young reviewers that stabbing the kitten in the eye was unpleasant to read, but otherwise, I enjoyed this story very much as Lizzie's conflicts were resolved in the midst of the mysterious carpenter's visit.

I read my first Ann Rinaldi book when I was 12 years old. I give her credit for my love of history. I continue to read her books, because I know I will get a good story and "Staircase" is no exception. Lizzy Enders is on her way West with her family and their charge, Elinora. When Lizzy's mother dies, life, as she has known it, is over. Elinora is to be taken to a Catholic convent school where her uncle is Bishop. Lizzy expects to leave with her father, but is left behind. There, she learns some hard lessons in life and how to take the good with the bad, with a little help from friends.Rinaldi, in her classic style has taken an event in history and built a wonderful, captivating story around it. No matter how old I get, as long as she keeps writing, I will be reading. I highly suggest you do the same. If you are have never read her books before, this is a great place to start.

Lizzy Enders feels abandoned in Santa Fe when her father and the remainder of their wagon train to Colorado leave in the middle of the night. Though not exactly alone in the convent school, Lizzy is certainly an outsider, the only Methodist and labeled as a heretic by Mother Magdalene. Add to that the fact that her own mother has just died on the Trail and left without a proper burial. Consider also the fact that she is outcast by the other girls in the convent, including her nemesis, Elinora who has traveled the Trail with her from Independence. The Staircase is more than a story about one girl's acceptance and perseverance in a life that is less than charmed, though. It is a story of hoping for miracles, but more importantly of realizing miracles, even when they do not come in the packaging one expected to find them. Heart-warming and based on the story of the Chapel of Loretto's fabled staircase from the late 1870's, another exceptional offering by Rinaldi.

The year is 1878. Thirteen-year-old Lizzy Enders is torn by grief. After her mother's death on the long journey westward from Missouri, her father has abandoned her at a convent school in Sante Fe, New Mexico. He is determined to prospect for gold in Colorado and regain the family wealth lost in the final days of the Civil War, just before Lizzy's birth. As the only non-Catholic girl at the school, she finds herself an unwelcome outcast, teased and tormented by the other students, especially snooty Elinora, who pretends that she wants to be a nun to avoid suspicion while sneaking out at night to see a boy. Lizzy's only friends are a slightly crazy old woman who lost both her husband and only son to the Civil War, and a travelling carpenter hired to build a staircase at the scool. But even with these two friends, Lizzy still longs for the day her father will return for her, and she wonders if that day will ever come. I highly reccomend this novel to fans of Ann Rinaldi's books. It's another excellant book by her, and she's one of my favorite authors.