Life Is Strange: Steph's Story

By: Rosiee Thor

Narrated by: Katy Bentz

Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

The official origin story of LiS fan-favourite Steph Gingrich featuring LGBTQ+ romance, inevitable heartbreak, and the punk-rock beginnings of Drugstore Makeup.

Setting the stage for her appearance in Life Is Strange: True Colors, this official Steph Gingrich novel sheds light on the Drugstore Makeup years and the story of how Steph crash-landed in Haven Springs, Colorado.

Steph Gingrich has finally run out of couches to surf. Now she’s back at her dad’s place in Seattle to figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

When running an RPG session for her local gamer café, Steph meets Izzie. Izzie is electric: a punk, a girl who likes girls, and a hella good guitarist. Steph finds the punk life is exactly what she needs, she loves the music, the art and the fashion, but most of all she likes the girl. Entranced, she offers to drum for Izzie, forming the band Drugstore Makeup.

A hit in more ways than one, Drugstore Makeup compete in a battle of the bands before deciding to tour the offbeat punk venues of America. But Steph and Izzie soon find themselves on different wavelengths, unable to communicate, and wanting different things.

©2015 - 2023 Square Enix Ltd. (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

Into the mind of Steph

I really loved being able to see what lead Steph to land in Haven Springs. Getting to know her struggles in the aftermath of the Storm from LIS and being able to see she needed healing and how the town was that for was some beautiful to be apart of.

A perfect character expansion

Steph's Story is a must for any fan of the Life is Strange series! A lovingly crafted deep dive into one of the best characters of the entire series. Beautifully expanding Steph's life and feelings, while giving deep and meaningful insight to her experiences and struggles. The story is expertly narrated by Katy Bentz, who pours so much love and emotion into every single chapter.

A love for the franchise

As you listen to this title, all you feel is an overall appreciation for what makes Life Is Strange what it is as a franchise.
Katy Bentz gives an intentional performance in reading each character so that you are fully immersed into Rosiee's storytelling skills for the origin story of one of the most treasured characters in the Life Is Strange franchise.
I fully recommend listening to this story if you're a fan of Life Is Strange and especially if you're a fan of Katy Bentz voice acting!

I love that character but

I've played all of Life Is Strange, and since Before the Storm I found Steph's character to be very interesting and charismatic. When I finished True Colors and the DLC, I was a little disappointed that Steph was treated as poorly as she deserved to be. She's a very good character and when I found out about the book I ran to read it because I thought I would finally be able to know more about her, and unfortunately it wasn't quite what I expected. The story is not so captivating, I loved the moments of memory of Arcadia bay and especially of Haven Spings, but the main thing was Steph's story, I found it a little weak. But if you like the character, it's worth it.

Solid Life is Strange story

I really like this as a prequel to Life is Strange: True Colors, and especially because it can be read before or after that without either spoiling anything.

Katy Bentz does a great job with character emotions, and while I think she started out with a few unnecessary pauses (which sounded like the sort of pauses I would expect an editor to remove, so the voice actor can breath!), things smoothed out after the beginning. Hearing the voice actor from the game read the story was a real treat!

Loved it

It's perfect for any Life is Strange fan curious about Steph's past, and how she came to be who she is when we meet her in Wavelengths & True Colours. I didn't play the previous games, so there's a backstory there too that gets touched on in the book and is explained very succinctly. Googling the synopses of the previous games if you're curious also helps but not necessary. Overall I love the angst, the confusion, the uncertainty of it all. It's kind of fun to listen to a book that you know the ending to, and it's perfect.

Excellent

Katy Bentz as always doing amazing job with Steph. I have been enjoying it since the beginning. I would definitely recommend listening to this book. If you are a LIS fan.

Amazing

I thoroughly loved this book and I’m so happy the voice of Steph actually reads truly amazing got me in all the feels now I wanna re play life is strange series again

Really Awesome

I really enjoyed the story.
It started with uncertainty and lost but gradually change to something new.
And throughout the story you can really understand the feeling of it.
Was really excited to get the full foosball story.

Strong ending-really awesome.

Truly Steph's Story

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.