Intruder by Christine Bongers

Woolshed Press, 2014. ISBN: 9780857983763.
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended.
'I don't walk past the house next door. I wish the woman who lives in it was dead. Which makes it hard . . . because she was the one who came running when I screamed.'
Kat Jones hates her next-door neighbor, Edie, with a passion. Kat hasn't talked to her for years as she believes Edie betrayed her dying mother.
Kat is fine staying home by herself every night, even though she's only 14, but when an intruder in her room wakes her up in the middle of the night, Kat must choose between staying with the 'witch' next door, or adopt an ugly guard dog. Even though Kat is terrified of dogs, she would rather own one than have to trust Edie.
Then Kat meets Al at the dog park and she finally has a friend to trust. Not only that, she also finds him rather cute.
But the intruder isn't done yet and Kat realizes she needs Edie's help and she also realizes that not everything is, as it seems . . .
I think this book by Christine Bongers is a great read for teenagers as it talks about subjects that you can easily relate to, such as, family issues, young love and the consequences of a simple misunderstanding.
Jazmin Humphries (Student Year 7)