The Trespassers

Continuing my quest to read, not only the Newbery award winning books, but also other works by these authors, I discovered The Trespassers on a sale table at my local library. For .10 I couldn't go wrong!

Zilpha Keatley Snyder has the distinct achievement of three Newbery honor and ALA notable books. And, while The Trespassers is not one of her award-winners, it certainly is well worth the time spent in reading.

The setting is the coast of Northern California where high up on the cliff is an old, beautiful mansion. A sister and a brother who live nearby are fascinated with the stories surrounding this marvelous empty castle-like structure. Climbing a trellis the children enter the abandoned house wherein they find a beautiful play room show more filled with antique toys.

Shortly thereafter members of the rich family move into the mansion, including the creepy, emotionally disturbed grandson of the original builder.

There is suspense and a presumption of haunting, but truly the story is not portrayed in a hokey, silly manner. Rather, there is a deep abiding love between brother and sister and a protectiveness that shines through.

A quick, delightful read that is fun. I'll now look for the author's Newbery honor books. show less

Not bad, but...there's an awful lot of assuming meaning. Neely keeps thinking she knows what people (Grub, mostly, but Carmela too - and her parents, for that matter) mean - and every time we get more information about what they did mean, she's at least slightly wrong. So I wonder about her assumptions about Grub. It's an amazingly non-action story - very little actually happens, and when it does the POV character is barely involved. They don't even go to look at the remains of the house. Not particularly satisfying, to me.

"The Trespassers," by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, tells the story of Neely and her little brother Grub, who live in Carmel, California. One summer, they find their way into a long-empty mansion known as Halcyon House, a place full of secrets and tragedy. When the house is re-occupied by relatives of the original owner, they start trying to unravel the mysteries of the family, and the secrets of the house…. I remember reading at least one book by Zilpha Keatley Snyder as a child, and I was surprised to find this novel, written as recently as 1995! Clearly she had a long career as a writer, and that shows in the ease of her characterizations and her understanding of the inner lives of children and young teenagers. Quite enjoyable, especially show more if like me, you still like reading children’s novels. show less

The story starts a little slowly, as there are six chapters of preparing the ground before the two children actually begin trespassing in a nearby mansion; but once we get going this is a good read, with some interesting characters and a story that keeps the pages turning.

The relationship of Neely and her introvert brother Grub perhaps owes something to Madeleine L'Engle, but the ghostly haunting of Halcyon House is dealt with in a successfully low-key way alongside the more adventuresome goings on with the dysfunctional Hutchinson family.

This isn't a bad book at all. It's well-written, and the plot has an interesting concept. But somehow I just never connected with it. The characters didn't particularly move me, and all I can say about it is that the experience of reading it was...okay. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it, and once I was done, it didn't linger in my mind. I've enjoyed other books by Snyder, but somehow this one just left me completely unmoved.

Despite my rating, I wouldn't say this is a book to necessarily stay away from--I think other readers would certainly get a lot more from this book then I did. But if you pick it up hoping for another "Egypt Game", you're probably going to be disappointed."

I remember reading Zilpha Keatley Snyder's books and enjoying the supernatural scares as a kid, but this one felt more like an episode of Law & Order SVU than an elementary school ghost story. I think if I had read this as a kid when I was reading the rest of her books it would have freaked me out miserably.

School is out and Neely and her brother, Grubb, have the days to themselves. Living the country area near Carmel, California, there could be a lot to do and explore.

Nearby was Halcyon House, built in 1910 by a Mr. Harold Hutchinson. A magnificent summer house to behold, but it has been empty for a good number of years. The house is rumoured to have a number o tragic stories about it and its owners. Fenced off from access, only Ruben Flores the watchman/caretaker lives on the premises with his watchdog Lion, a large mastiff who has run of the property when Ruben goes into town. Both are deterrents to trespassing, except to Neely and Grub. Grub had made friends with Lion a couple of years back and this gave them access to the property, show more unbeknownst to Ruben.

This summer Neely and Grub would gain access to the mansion and discover some of the secrets and history, true and false, of the house and the family.

Neely and Grub’s access went from secret to known when the current owners moved back and Neely becomes friends with Curtis, the owners’ son. Curtis is a boy of big boasts and mood swings. At one point Neely is warned to keep an eye on her young brother. It seems some of these stories do have truth to them.

As some of the stories come to light, there is a bit of a chill. There is also the magic of an earlier time in the house that the children learn of. A happier time.

Zilpha Keatley Snyder is an award winning children’s author with a long list of books. I’ve read a number of them and enjoyed them all. show less