manwithanagenda's profile picture

manwithanagenda 's review for:

The Trespassers by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
3.0
mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Huzzah! Here is finally a book that has improved on reading it as an adult. I remember reading this in 6th grade and being so disappointed in the story. I missed the point completely. Some things are scarier for adults then they are for children.

'The Trespassers' is about siblings Neely and Grub, who live in a then-contemporary Northern California town. Faced with a summer of minding her little brother, Neely is thrilled when they instead accidentally discover a way into Halcyon House, a mansion abandoned for decades. Exploring, they discover a playroom filled with antique toys. Unexpectedly, the owners return to the house and Neely befriends their son, Curtis. Rumors of a curse on the house and of it being haunted resurrect themselves as the children get to know one another.

Snyder creates one of her best villains in this novel. As a young reader I should have realized that what made 'The Headless Cupid' so effective, was in how human the paranormal events of the book turned out to be. Back to 'The Trespassers': Could we please put more funding into dealing with mental illness? Thanks.