The Sitter

by R.L. Stine

Book Overview

Master of chilling suspense R. L. Stine proves that you never outgrow a good scare. If he frightened you then, he'll terrify you now. . . . Ellie Saks is dying to escape the city. She's sick of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345459806
• ISBN13: 9780345459800
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 311 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Bought as a gift

I bought this as a gift, so I can't say much about the plot or writing, but it came absolutely perfect and was shipped safely and on time.

It gave me Goosebumps!

I was a big fan of the Goosebumps series when I was a teenager, and reading R. L. Stine's first adult thriller was a flooring, suspenseful experience.Ellie Saks wants to get away from the dead-end jobs and stressful life of New York City. More to the point, she wants to get away from her ex-boyfriend's obsessive behavior. So she moves to the Hamptons and accepts an offer to work as a nanny. Her life takes some disarming turns when she moves into the Harpers' beach house. The young couple's four-year-old son hasn't spoken in months, and Ellie witnesses his dark and sinister behavior. Throw in a ghost story, a tormented past, a murderous stalker and enough twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages into the wee hours and you've got quite a chilling novel in your hands.Mr. Stine has outdone himself with this gem. I thought his horror stories for children and young adults were fun, but his novels for adults are intense. I picked up some young adult-like elements in his writing -- the twenty-five-year-old protagonist seems younger than her age at times -- but that is the only flaw I found in this book. A fine read. Highly recommended...

R.L. Stine at his best...

This is R.L. Stine's second attempt at an adult novel (his first being 'Superstitions'), and I believe it hits the target. At 309 pages, its quite an easy book to read, but at least for me, was a little more challenging than say Goosebumps or Fear Street.I read R.L. Stine as a child, both the Goosebumps and Fear Street series, and it was quite a surprise to see him write an adult novel. Language, sex, drugs, alcohol, and very difficult situations play into this novel, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 14.The book is very well-written, and has a great surprise ending (what else would you expect from Stine?). I hope very much Robert continues his current writing process, that being no series, but a novel or two every 6-8 months.

Great Book

I don't pick up many books and read them, for this one to keep me on my toes says something about it. I couldn't put it down and I completed it in 2 days. The ending completely shocked me. The whole book was great. There weren't any boring parts or paragraphs that needed to be skimmed. I would recommend this book for any one looking for an easy read.

Creepy and shocking...A page-turner all the way.

Ellie Saks is tired of the city and her dead-end temp jobs so she decides to move to the Hamptons for the summer.Ellie is just getting out of a relationship with a guy who won't take no for an answer, her mother constantly reminds her of her short comings with her life, and to make matters worse she has started reliving a terrible incident that happened to her back in high school.Upon arriving in the Hamptons Ellie finds out the job she had lined up has been taken, but a stroke of luck has a new job opportunity placed right in front of her. Ellie meets Abbie Harper, a young woman desperate for a live-in nanny to care for her two children. Ellie takes the job, but what looked like a great job turns to a nightmare as Abbie's young son begins acting weird, and strange things begin happening.Ellie begins receiving disturbing messages, and the Harper's previous nanny warns of ghosts, and the evil locked inside of Brandon. Ellie dismisses everything, until the messages become gruesome, and a violent act proves that someone wants her dead. Time is running out for Ellie to find a madman, and as she races to save herself she comes face to face with a horror she never expected. `The Sitter' is a creepy and suspenseful shocker. Good old fashion horror unfolds in a story that's part supernatural, part slasher, and all-around scary. From it's chilling opening scene to it's surprise ending readers know they are in the hands of a master. R.L. Stine has written countless bestsellers for children and teens, but he out does himself with a gripping thriller for adults that deserves to be a huge success.You will be hooked with this page-turner that's reminiscent of early John Saul novels.Nick Gonnella