Shelly's Book Blog

The Trespassers, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, seems similar to The Headless Cupid, (see below) in that there is an old (possibly haunted) house, a 12-ish child who has a younger, somewhat "different" sibling, and plenty of gothic-themed mystery and intrigue. In this story, Cornelia (Neely) and Gregory (Grub) Bradford find a way to sneak into the old, abandoned house up the hill and enjoy playing with the old-fashioned toys they find there. However, things get interesting when the owners return and the Bradfords befriend the owners' son, Curtis.

This one was a real page-turner for me. I found the pacing to be just right -- just enough description and detail about the characters to make them seem fleshed-out and real without slowing the plot. The end is quite suspensful and ultimately very satisfying. A good read for the middle-school set.