Six teenagers from the Bronx set out to explore a cave in their neighborhood. The cave exploration is a washout but there is another surprise. After falling down a ledge the six find themselves three centuries into the future. The teens are accepted by the tribe living in the Bronx however, within weeks they find themselves in the middle of a fight for survival.
Another tribe living in Manhattan is bent on wiping out the tribe in the Bronx!
These teenagers have a unique advantage in this conflict. They know the land. For the six, this experience becomes a true adventure. Yet, all too soon their adventure becomes very real. Friends and enemies are getting killed! This was no longer fun.
Hamid looked around. "We could try the cave one more time. We're... What's that?"
From the woods came the sounds of yapping and snarling. A dogfight? Here?
"Where's Club?" Hamid looked around frantically. "Club!" he called before rushing off in the direction of the snarling.
It was a small, rocky clearing only a few feet away and Club was in the middle of a vicious fight with a coyote. They watched helplessly as the coyote tried to bite out a chunk of Club's neck. His collar saved him. The coyote's teeth slipped off harmlessly, and the two animals lunged at each other again.
Derrick grabbed a stout stick and ran forward. He began hammering away at the coyote's head. With vicious fury the coyote turned to confront this new attacker. Derrick backed up in surprise but the animal took aim at Derrick's neck— actually knocking him over— before Club attacked again, this time from behind. Club's teeth sank into the coyote's neck. The two animals were now locked together and Club had the upper hand!
The incident had happened so fast, the others were still standing in shock. But when Derrick went after the coyote again—stick in hand—Hamid screamed at him.
Midwest Book review
"An intriguing story of adventure, recommended, March 10, 2010
It's all fun and games until you realize the reality of it. The Intruders tells the story of six Bronx teens flung into a future war where they use their knowledge of the subways to win a war where the surface of the Bronx has once again become a forest. Initially enjoying their new found importance, they soon realize war is no game."
-Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
Sheila Deeth
I wonder when the movie will come out. The Intruders has all the right ingredients—mixed races, teens in the Bronx , new-dawning love, a mysterious cave and a time-slip that sends them tumbling into a different world.
I hadn’t even realized there were trees in the Bronx . That shows how much I know. But the waste-land lake with its putrid odor seemed awfully real as the intrepid youths marched in search of their cave and water source.
When things go wrong the youths, with youthful flexibility, immediately realize they’ve arrived in a different time. They’re just not sure which time. Almost impenetrable forest surrounds them. Wild coyotes shout. And suddenly geeky Hamid with his backpack full of supplies is their only hope.
I loved the point where they looked at each others’ faces and realized, if this was the past, only one of them would be allowed to walk free in what passed for civilization. It isn’t really color or background that sets the teens against each other though, but hurtful words born of unease and misery soon lead to blows. They work through it, wisely remaining friends. And when they finally meet other dwellers in this different Bronx , what amazes them is how easily they’re all accepted.
In this world, there’s another difference, not skin color, that separates people. But those who the world rejects are the ones who lay out the welcome mat. And the teens must join in a fight for survival—this world will be a poorer place if its rejects lose the war.
The Intruders is a fascinating, thought-provoking, teen novel. All the obvious issues are addressed, and there’s a powerful longing for peace and acceptance beautifully portrayed. Dialog is convincing, relationships very true-to-life, emotions mixed and genuine, and the story’s intriguing and fun.
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