We're right in the middle of Stranger Things 5, the final season of the hit Netflix original series, and it's the perfect time to read a new Stranger Things book about Nancy Wheeler.
Stranger Things: One Way or Another by Caitlin Schneiderhan, who is also a writer for the series, hit bookshelves around the world on Dec. 2, 2025. In the novel, Schneiderhan takes readers into the mind of Nancy Wheeler, one of the most iconic characters from the series. Natalia Dyer is so good as Nancy, but One Way or Another gives viewers and readers a glimpse into just what makes Nancy tick.
One Way or Another begins just two months after the events of Stranger Things 4, which saw Vecna's plan come to fruition. Hawkins has been ripped in two, and the military rolled into town to "help" clean up and manage the situation. That's where we find Nancy Wheeler, who is celebrating her high school graduation with plans to find Vecna, kill him, and leave Hawkins in a few short months.
In the middle of that investigation to find Vecna, Nancy gets a little sidetracked when a classmate, Joey Taft, turns up dead. With the help of her new best friend, Robin Buckley, Nancy tries to get to the bottom of this situation and solve Joey's murder.
One Way or Another is a must-read for Stranger Things before the Netflix series ends
I know page-turner gets thrown out a lot in book reviews, but Schneiderhan's novel is exactly that. I read it in, basically, one sitting. I know that might be the norm for others, but I have three very busy kids and a young dog with endless energy. I really have to love a book to read it as quickly as One Way or Another, and I did.
Schneiderhan, who also wrote one of the best episode of Stranger Things ever, season 5's third episode, "The Turnbow Trap," found a way to balance the chaos happening around Nancy with a new mystery, a journey that she embarks on almost completely on her own. Yes, Robin is there with her, but this is Nancy's story.
We've seen Nancy in a lot of epic sequences in the series so far. Her persistence, and knack for knowing when something is amiss, is as important as anything any other character has done, outside of maybe Eleven.
In One Way or Another, we do get to see a Nancy differently and in a way that allows readers to understand her motivations. It's so refreshing to get to spend this much time with one character, especially a character as underrated, and probably underappreciated, as Nancy. The character development is excellent, and you'll be leaving One Way or Another with a new appreciation for Nancy Wheeler as a character.
That was one thing I love about this story, which is set during a very pivotal time that the show skips over. In Stranger Things 5, we pick up with Nancy and the other characters in Hawkins more than a year after the events of One Way or Another. The novel does a great job filling in some of those gaps in the timeline, like the beginning of the hunt for Vecna and what's happening with Nancy and Jonathan (and Steve).
Most importantly, though, Schneiderhan wrote a banger of a mystery. In the same way that Nancy was trying to solve the mystery regarding Joey's death, I was reading as fast as I could to find out exactly what happened. The pacing is perfect. Don't even get me started about the twists and turns. One Way or Another is a thrill from start to finish.
So, if you love Stranger Things like me, and you can't get enough of this world, One Way or Another is a must-read. I loved it, and I know you will, too.
Oh, and pro-tip, Stranger Things: One Way or Another is the perfect holiday gift for the Stranger Things fan in your life. There's a ton of good merch and collectibles available right now, but there's only a few Stranger Things standalone books that truly enrich this story and make it even more meaningful than it already is. One Way or Another might just be the best of the bunch.
Stranger Things: One Way or Another is available now, wherever books are sold.