By: Jessica Pierce (AKA: J. M. Morgan, Morgan Fields & Jill Morgan)
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Thriller, Suspense
Things are tight for the Baker family. Having recently divorced, Laura is trying to make ends meet on her single income as a librarian. To bring in some extra funds she decides to rent out a room in the house to a handsome older seminary student named Ethan Palmer. Much to her sixteen-year-old daughter, Christy’s dismay, Ethan is given her room, forcing her to bunk with her ten-year-old sister, Charlotte. While the rent Ethan pays is helpful, there is something about him that unsettles Christy, making her feel unsafe in her own home. In order to protect her family, Christy decides to investigate Ethan and determine whether he is the creep she thinks he is.
The SCREAM series, like Point Horror, is a collection of young adult horror/thriller novels from the early 1990s that have no connection to one another. The novels are contributed by various young adult authors and each one can be read as a standalone story. As there is no reason to read them in any sort of order, I picked this one as the plot sounded the most interesting.
The story definitely feels heavily inspired by the 1987 film The Stepfather mixed with the “Unhinged House Guest/Roommate” trope popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s so it doesn’t exactly tread new ground. While it is fairly predictable, the characters are well rounded and the story still manages to retain tension and suspense.
We know from the book’s summary and the blurb at the beginning of the novel that Ethan definitely is dangerous, so it’s a matter of seeing how quickly the family he’s staying with realizes this and what happens to them once they do. Christy is the only one in the house that picks up on Ethan’s weird behavior but can’t get anyone with authority to listen to her suspicions. She has to go into Nancy Drew mode if she has any hope of finding peace again.
I really liked Christy. For an early ‘90s YA horror heroine she’s developed pretty well. She makes no effort to hide that she’s struggling with her parents’ divorce or her anger at having to give up her bedroom, both of which are used against her frequently when she raises her concerns about Ethan. However, she is fairly cognizant of her emotions for a sixteen-year-old girl, and often doubts her own instincts for the same reasons. Despite her doubts she pushes forward in her investigation of Ethan because she cannot ignore the nagging feeling that something is wrong and she feels the need to protect her family however she can. She even proves herself to be a bit of a badass in the end, so take that, Ethan!
Thankfully Christy isn’t entirely alone in her probe into the real Ethan Palmer. Her two best friends Keith and Lisa are by her side most of the way. Despite a small fight between Lisa and Christy about 75% into the story, both friendships are strong and these two supply Christy with the support she needs to take action. Lisa always makes time for Christy, even if she’s about to run out the door for a date or didn’t get to sleep until 2:30 AM, but Christy needs her at 6:00 AM. She does get frustrated that the Ethan debacle seems to be taking over Christy’s life and misses her friend, which is why they fight, but in the end they make up as best friends always do. Keith treads the line between supportive friend and possible love interest, but nothing really develops between him and Christy aside from some minor, shy flirting. While Lisa even begins to doubt Christy at one point, Keith never does, and that is something that works in Christy’s favor many times throughout the course of the novel. (Side note, I’m still tagging this as a healthy love interest as there is something there, just not acted upon within the context of the story. Also, we love a male friend side-character that is a genuine, good person without an overt romance plot.)
The character that caused me the most rage aside from Ethan himself (oh, we’ll get to him!) is Laura, Christy’s mother. This whole thing could have been avoided if she wasn’t so dense. I get that money was very tight, but what single woman invites a strange man into her home almost immediately with two young daughters in the house? There didn’t seem to even be twenty four hours between Laura talking to Ethan about the room and him moving in. Did she even check his references? Also, who the hell were his references since no one seems to know him? (I’m picturing Ethan with multiple phone hook ups ala Bobby Singer in Supernatural, answering each one pretending to be someone else.)
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| Just Replace the Government Agency Names with "References" |
I know that Laura is also reeling from the divorce and having her husband run off with another woman and that she was super vulnerable, making it incredibly easy for a smooth talking sociopath to slither into her good graces. However, if your teenage daughter is telling you that the boarder creeps her out and has come into her room at night, maybe listen to her concerns, and not, I don’t know, start dating the dude? Yes he’s attractive and makes you feel wanted or “flattered” as you call it, but your daughter is visibly terrified of the man.
“I think you’d like something to be weird about him. You’re looking for trouble where there isn’t any.” (p. 33)
“It’s not that I doubt you’re telling me the truth, at least what you think is the truth … Only it was very late. You were sleepy … You were asleep. The fire engines woke you. Maybe, if you were dreaming then, you were dreaming earlier.” (p. 59)
“… He’s been very understanding about the way you’ve been acting since he’s been with us. You’ve made it pretty miserable for him, Christy.”
“Mom, he scares me!”
“I’m sorry about that, I really am. I wish things could be the way they used to be when your father and I were together, but I can’t make that happen. I know our divorce has been hard on you. Things have changed in your life. I wish I could make them better. Christy, you love your father, I understand. But, you have to understand something. Our financial situation isn’t the same as it used to be. We need the money we get from renting the room. Without it we can’t afford to live here.” (p. 68)
You can’t rent the room to anyone else?
“He’d like to be friends with you too. I know you love your dad. No one’s trying to change that. It’s just … Ethan wants to be someone special in our family. He’s told me how important we’ve become to him. I’d like it if you could give him a chance. Try a little harder to be his friend, Christy.”
“I don’t need him as a friend.”
“Then, do it for me. Maybe I need him. Maybe I don’t want to be alone the rest of my life. Your dad has his girlfriend. Be fair. Maybe I need someone for me.” (p. 89)
Ugh, the guilt trip and the gaslighting. No one said you couldn’t date, Laura! Just maybe don’t date the guy that scares your teenage daughter? I don’t know, just a thought.
I don’t want to victim blame. Laura was in a very emotionally vulnerable state and Ethan is a charming man that preyed upon her. He also rapidly becomes emotionally abusive to her. For that, I am empathetic. However, her teenage daughter has told her multiple times that she’s scared of the man and cited numerous examples, from the way he looks at her to him coming into her room at night to him getting physical with her, and he even admits to doing some of these things. He just finds a way to twist them so Laura sees the events the way he wants her to and she falls for it every time!
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| He Literally Corners Christy Like This in Her Room. But That's Totally Normal, Right Laura? |
I’m sorry, nothing you say is going to make me okay with you in my child’s room and especially not if you lay hands on her. If this were my Mom, the guy would be lucky to only be kicked out of the house and not end up six feet under. (Of course, my Mom would never let a strange man into the house in the first place, no matter how hard up for money we were or how attractive and charming he was, but I digress.)
This brings us to the man himself, Ethan Palmer. I hate him so much. He’s undeniably the villain. As aforementioned, the book makes no attempt to hide what he is. He does, for the sake of Laura and Charlotte, but completely drops the mask around Christy most of the time. He blatantly stares at her, calls her ‘special,’ seems aware of her every move in the house, yells at and manhandles her when he gets her alone, listens in on her phone calls, etc. It’s obvious he gets a sadistic pleasure out of playing with Christy’s head and turning her family against her. He’s cocky, thinking that because he has Laura wrapped around his finger there’s nothing Christy can do to stop him. Oh, but sir, you’re in a Young Adult horror novel and Christy is the heroine. You should know better than to underestimate her.
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| Christy's About to Channel Her Inner Buffy Summers |
The plot itself, though predictable, flowed well and kept me reading to find out what happened next. I often had an idea what Ethan would do, but Christy’s movements occasionally surprised me. She was smart and she was aided by good friends who would help her brainstorm what to do. She makes other people aware of her current situation – her mother might not take her seriously, but other people suspect she might be onto something. Her investigation into Ethan was more interesting than his increasingly erratic behavior, but seeing how the two combined and played out was entertaining.
It was easy to get emotionally invested in this one as I cared about Christy and I was so frustrated for her. Having the advantage the book’s synopsis and blurb provided, I knew Christy was onto something and wanted her to succeed in protecting her family from Ethan. It’s a product of its time for sure, and a bit derivative of popular horror and thriller films of the era, but I still enjoyed this quick little read.
7/10
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