The Intruder

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Discuss your overall impressions of The Intruder. Which were your most and least favorite aspects of the novel, and why?

2. How did your experience reading The Intruder compare to your experience reading others McFadden novels? For example, what parallels do you notice between The Intruder and other McFadden titles like The Housemaid or The Teacher?

3. Compare and contrast The Intruder to other contemporary psychological thrillers. How does McFadden’s interpretation of the genre measure up to titles like Mary Kubica’s She’s Not Sorry or Alice Feeney’s Beautiful Ugly?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Reflect on your emotional response to descriptions of Ella’s home life. Which aspects of Ella’s circumstances most resonated with your own experience? Which aspects were least or most believable, and why?

2. The novel explores The Relationship Between Fear and Trust. Explore how your trust for or mistrust of others relates to your own self-protection. How does your fear, skepticism, or trust compare to Casey’s and Ella’s feelings?

3. Ella is depicted as an outsider at school until she and Anton Peterson become friends. How does Ella’s social life compare and contrast with your own teenage experience? If you were Ella, would you trust Anton; if you were Anton, would you reach out to Ella? How does your personal experience inform your thinking?

4. Casey doesn’t trust Lee Traynor despite his kindness toward her. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation where you’re wary of a person based on gut instinct? How did your experience compare to Casey’s? Identify examples from the text.

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The novel incorporates extensive depictions of emotional and psychological abuse. Analyze McFadden’s representations of these experiences in the text. Does she subvert or interrogate stereotypes via The Intruder? Is the novel socially aware; why or why not?

2. Analyze the novel’s depictions of violence. How does McFadden’s handling of violence compare and contrast with other literary or cinematic works of the same genre? Is The Intruder sensational; why or why not?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Analyze the narrative and thematic effects of the novel’s point of view. How do Ella’s and Casey’s perspectives inform one another? How would the novel resonate differently if written from an alternate point of view?

2. Compare and contrast Ella’s and Nell’s characters. How do their experiences of trauma inform one another? Identify specific examples from the text.

3. Analyze the relationship between the novel’s micro and macro settings and the narrative mood. For example, how do Ella’s house and Casey’s cabin impact the narrative atmosphere and tension, as well as the characters’ behaviors?

4. Identify three symbols not named in the guide and explore their significance. For example, what do the map, the bloody cloth, and the envelope represent and how do they further the novel’s themes?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine you are adapting The Intruder into a feature film. Who would you cast in the leading roles? What musician or band would you choose for the soundtrack? Which plot points would you add, omit, or alter to make the adaptation your own?

2. Imagine that like Casey you are stuck in a secluded cabin during a storm when a mysterious intruder appears in your shed. Would you behave in the same way as Casey? Which choices would you make differently? How does your personal background inform your thinking?