Much like pretty much the rest of Gen Z, I’ve been hooked on Stranger Things for several years now. I hate that the show is coming to an end, although it makes sense – the actors are starting to age out of portraying children (Millie is literally a mom now, which I love for her tbh). But at the same time, waiting for the rest of season 5 to come out has been agonizing. In the meantime, I picked up a copy of Caitlin Schneiderhan’s new spinoff book One Way Or Another, and of course I speed-read it so I could share my thoughts.

The book was just released earlier this week and takes place during the gap between the end of season 4 and the start of season 5. For a shift in perspective, it follows Nancy Wheeler as the main character instead of the group of kids, and it reads more like a suspense thriller than a supernatural horror – though references to the ongoing hunt for Vecna are everywhere. Robin Buckley fills the role of Nancy’s sidekick for this one-off adventure, and we get to follow more of Nancy’s budding journalism career, which isn’t something the show always has time to explore.

An old friend of the Wheeler parents from their time at Hawkins High returns to give the commencement address as the CEO of a nonprofit organization that rebuilds towns in the aftermath of natural disasters. She’s been focusing on helping to rebuild Hawkins after the “earthquake” in season 4. Meanwhile, a classmate of Nancy’s begins to experience symptoms reminiscent of Vecna’s victims and reaches out to Robin for help. Nancy soon discovers that people in town are mysteriously getting sick. How do these scenarios tie together? Nancy feels everything is connected, and as a journalist, it’s her job to uncover the truth.

This was a fun one to read, especially given my love for the show. Admittedly, much of the plot was easy for me to predict, but I still enjoyed it. I would’ve liked to see more supernatural elements – the upside-down weirdness is what gives Stranger Things so much of its appeal – but I also appreciated seeing one of the show’s most solid side characters take on a different kind of mystery. It’s a nice fill-in-the-gaps story for the space between seasons.

There are a few other official Stranger Things spinoff books (this being one of the four in the official collection), but this is the first I’ve read. It definitely doesn’t feel like fanfiction – more like a Nancy-and-Robin episode where they go on a side quest that may or may not connect to the larger story, just delivered in book form instead of on TV. The spotlight stays on these two almost exclusively, with the rest of the cast only appearing briefly, if at all.

Having something relevant to read while waiting for the next part of the season did help fill the void a bit – but now that I’ve blown through the book, it’s back to reruns and searching for tiny details I might have missed the first dozen times. Let me know in the comments if you have any theories for the rest of the season!