The Intruders [Hardcover]

E.E. Richardson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2006

Joel Demetrius is looking forward to moving in with his new stepfamily, but as far as his sister Cassie’s concerned, they’re nothing but intruders. Cassie doesn’t want anything to do with their mother’s fiancé and his two sons, and to make matters worse their new home is a rotting old heap, neglected for decades. Joel thinks it’s interesting; Cassie thinks it’s a dump.

But as fascinated as he is by the place, Joel has to admit there’s something not quite right about it. Not only does he keep seeing things out of the corner of his eye, but strangely realistic nightmares are keeping him awake.

And now day is becoming just as horrifying as night. Joel’s nightmares are developing into blood-drenched hallucinations and the others are starting to feel the same strange presence from his dreams. As the events in the house gradually become harder to explain, the line between nightmare and reality is beginning to blur—and now all four teenagers are starting to wonder just who the intruders really are.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10–For Joel Demetrius, the move to a new house with his new stepfamily-to-be is somewhat exciting. His older sister, Cassie, on the other hand, is not happy about the situation. She wants no part of her moms fiancé or his two sons. The old and battered house gives Cassie even more reason to hate the move, but for Joel it is just different, quirky even. But then, when vivid scary dreams awaken him at night and he repeatedly sees things move out of the corner of his eye, he begins to wonder whether there is more to this house than he originally thought. Then, the dreams start to become vivid hallucinations during the daytime. Soon, all four of the teens have experienced something they cant explain and begin to question what is really going on. This fantastic supernatural thriller will have readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. The main characters are well developed and consistent throughout and details are revealed at a steady pace. The underlying tones of how two families come together as one are well done, with just the right amount of rivalry and bitterness, but with continual glimmers of hope.–Dylan Thomarie, Johnstown High School, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. The tumbledown mansion Joel moves into with his future stepfamily is undeniably creepy, "full of hidden corners, secrets . . . [and] a subtle but pervasive feeling of things being not quite right." Even so, Joel is initially more worried about adjusting to his "squashed together" family--until he begins to experience nightmares and blood-soaked waking visions, which drive him to unite with his older sister and stepbrothers to settle the estate's restless spirits. The mystery surrounding the ghosts' identities and fates is a bit mild, involving classic haunted-house devices, and the backdrop of tensions among stepsiblings feels forced and simplistic. But few readers will be able to tear themselves away from Richardson's urgent descriptions of "raw, elemental" presences (no gentle, filmy apparitions here) and vividly painted scenes, such as Scrabble tiles rearranging into messages during a spooky seance. With the violence confined to the distant past, this is well cued for younger YAs seeking more than gentle goose pimples, but not ready for horror fare where main characters might meet genuinely gory ends. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (August 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385732643
• ISBN-13: 978-0385732642
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,037,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blended Family Troubles and Creepy Ghosts--what's not to like?, December 5, 2006

By 

Jesse Penitent "zekaille" (Somewhere, Out There) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Intruders (Hardcover)

Excellent little thriller for the 11 to 14 crowd. I'm a children's librarian, a sucker for ghost stories and can't resist a good scare. While "The Intruders" may not satisfy the gore and guts crowd, the tale will give the younger teens and tweens a few sleepless moments...partly because they won't want to put the book down. I know I couldn't.

Usually, in a book like this, the subplot (in this case, a blended family trying to find its way to be a "real" family) not only takes a backseat to the main, scary plot, it's usually boring. But the tension between the children is so palpable and fascinating, it *almost* kicks the threat of the ghosts to the back. I really liked the characters (well, yeah, the parents were typically clueless) and enjoyed spending time with them. The teens were witty without being too adult. All in all and excellent effort and I look forward to more of Richardson's books.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, January 29, 2009

By 

L. Hatem "Bibliophile" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Intruders (Paperback)

I have to say, only one other book has managed to handle a slight creep factor without seeming corny, and that was Hell Phone by William Sleator. This book is the only other, and I must say, it was wonderful. There are about a dozen uses of h-ll and several inappropriate uses of Jesus or God, but other than that, it's clean. I highly recommend this book.