Rating: 
Summary: Great!
Review: Man, I loved this book! It was really fast paced, and so exciting I couldn't put it down. It's a really weird story about 5 16 year olds who are forced to do to this strange "house" that has no walls or ceiling or floors, just endless stairs going in every direction. The 5 find a machine which is their only source of food. Soon it becomes obvious that to get food, they must please the machine. But how far will they be willing to go for the sake of staying alive? This is a great book that can keep anyone on the edge of their seat, a story that refuses to give an expleation of just what the house is till the last chapter. It has a great twist ending and everybody should read it.
Rating:
Summary: Sleator should be required reading for all juveniles
Review: Many years ago, when I was a wee lad of ten, I came across this book. At the time it registered as nothing more than a really good book, but later in life, I realized that House of Stairs was the first book that took my pinhole sized window of decent human normalcy and opened the blinds to include all the lovely dark fringes into view. This book, while being strictly a kid's book and friendly to a wide range of young readers, is one of the most sinister lessons of base human nature around. The "experiment" which makes up the story, is a pretty stark look at what happens to society (or 'cliques,' since we are dealing with kids), when the external influences of the familiar world are stripped away, and all that's left is satiating the animal instict of survival. Sort of a post-modern Lord of the Flies. Instead of an island, it's a (see title). There is a definate two-pronged lesson to be learned by reading this book. The first is to witness the change in the children as the experiment wears them down into little more than animals performing for sustenance. The second is the realization that the authority behind their situation is the true evil--subjecting the kids to severe psychological torture for no more cause than scientific whimsy. Teachers, you want your kids to grow up as free, clear thinkers? Stock this and every book Sleator has ever written.
Rating: 
Summary: 262_Assignment5
Review: Peter, Lola, Blossom, Abigail, and Oliver are five, 16-year-old orphans, that find themselves placed in an unusual house. No other people are present, and as far as the eye can see, stairs surround them. These stairs lead nowhere except back to a small machine that sometimes gives them food. The orphans' main problem is to find out how they are supposed to receive food from the machine. Slowly they begin to realize that the machine rewards them with food whenever they are cruel to one another. When the orphans finally discover the deadly situation, which they are trapped in, will hunger and fear cause them to give into the strange will of the machine? With no doors, no windows, no water, no adults, and no hope: they examine themselves and each other. Ultimately, they are faced with a choice between losing their lives or losing their souls. Sleator has written a tight, fast-paced story with a twisted ending. Ages 11 & up.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly Horrifying!!!
Review: Possibly more than any other of Sleator's Books this one carries a very serious note with it. A note that after reading the final sentence in this book you find Completely Terrifying. This books something that they should require in schools instead of Junk like Lord of the Flies they should give children a serious look into the human psyche. What motivates us, what makes us who we are, and what makes us what we we will become and forever be. Once again sleator adresses scientific questions that have very scary answers. This book is always in a locked contest for favorite book, battling with my other favorite Sleator works that I think are #1, Intersteller Pig, Strange Attractors, and Singularity. DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK. IT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT OTHER PEOPLE AND YOURSELF. This is Pure Genius. Please Please Please read this.
Rating:
Summary: This book was one of the best, I couldn't put it down!
Review: The book was great. Even from the beginning I enjoyed it. I thought it was a great book. The book is one of my favorites!
Rating:
Summary: Out of the Ordinary
Review: The House of Stairs, by William Sleator, is a nightmare. Peter, Lola, Blossom, Abigail, and Oliver are five 16 year old orphan kids. They are put in a house of stairs and don't know why. There are endless stairs and there is no escape. All the stairs lead to the red machine.They will learn to like the red machine. Be prepared for what happens next. I recommend this book for kids of all ages. It is funny at the end. It is great!
Rating:
Summary: A Thriller
Review: This book is riveting from page one to the end. The story of five teenagers, all sixteen, trapped in a bizzare world, a plce where the stairs seem to go on forever, but all eventually lead to the 'Red Machine'. I have read many of Sleator's books, but this one is by far the best. I would reccomend it to teens or preteens who are looking for an enthralling sci-fi, or to adults who are are looking for light reading
Rating:
Summary: Still gives me chills after all these years!
Review: This book still disturbs me, and I read it first in high school. Similar to Lord of the Flies, it demonstrates people displaying their true nature when placed in the situation of "survival of the fittest". Pretty harsh accusations regarding the nature of human beings... A terrific book. Read it as an adult if you didn't as a teenager.
Rating:
Summary: Those of you who put 4 or 5 stars, did not read this book...
Review: This book takes 16 year olds and places them in a huge room filled with stairs and conditions them to obey the food dispensing machine. Some of the characters are slightly simplistic but overall they represent a wide range of personalities. As an adult I worry more about the world that would do this to children than about the characters themselves who appear to get what they deserve in the end. I thought the interesting ending gave the book a humerous conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: Really, really good!
Review: This has to be one of the most unusual books I've ever read, but it's great! All these teenagers have to go through all these kind of 'tests' in order to survive. I read this more than six years ago, so I can't believe I still remember it, but I do. And it's good. I thought the ending was a little disappointing because it didn't explain a great deal, but the rest of the story more than made up for it!! I would definitely recommend it to anyone, but it's more a modern-world fantasy than a traditional fantasy.
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