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The Specter
Seventeen-year-old Dina is fighting cancer and is angry at the whole world. But when Julie, a nine-year-old survivor of a car accident, becomes Dina's roommate at the hospital, there's no time for Dina to keep on being angry. Because Julie is frightened. Desperately frightened. She's sure that someone caused the accident she was in--someone who will retum to kill her. Now she's insisting on being with Dina all the time. But by befriending Julie, is Dina making herself the target of a dangerous killer?
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1982
5 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
About the author
Joan Lowery Nixon
190 books485 followersAuthor of more than one hundred books, Joan Lowery Nixon is the only writer to have won four Edgar Allan Poe Awards for Juvenile Mysteries (and been nominated several other times) from the Mystery Writers of America. Creating contemporary teenage characters who have both a personal problem and a mystery to solve, Nixon captured the attention of legions of teenage readers since the publication of her first YA novel more than twenty years ago. In addition to mystery/suspense novels, she wrote nonfiction and fiction for children and middle graders, as well as several short stories. Nixon was the first person to write novels for teens about the orphan trains of the nineteenth century. She followed those with historical novels about Ellis Island and, more recently for younger readers, Colonial Williamsburg. Joan Lowery Nixon died on June 28, 2003—a great loss for all of us.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 19, 2023
It's now 1982, a year skipped, because JLN was probably writing one of her hundred Orphan Train books (this woman was prolific, and yet most people don't remember her - weird, right?).
Keeping watch over some trope-ish things I've been tracking -- Set in a small Texas town? Check. Religious community? Check - and this time in Spanish. Male hero popping up half way through the novel but romance is never firmly sealed with a kiss? You've got it! I've also noticed that these books often have some kind of older matriarch in them. In Christian Lattimore - it was her grandmother who ran the family. In The Séance - an elderly aunt was the caregiver. In this one, a retiring, Hispanic nurse takes care of the two kids. Interesting, right?
Oh - and conversations about college. Our main character, Dina, is really obsessed with college -- but it makes sense that she's preoccupied with it, because she has Hodgkin's Disease and doesn't know how long she'll live.
Oh boy, is this an uplifting book...
The story revolves around Dina dealing with her cancer treatment - all the meanwhile, a strange girl named Julie ends up in the hospital bed next to her. (Now that I think of it -- Julie, a car crash survivor, probably wouldn't end up in the same section as the cancer patients - but it's probably best not to think too hard about these plots.) The book is split up into two distinct parts - the first part dealing with everything that happens at the hospital and the second half dealing with being fostered by a retiring nurse.
Oh right, because both the teenage Dina and the 9yo Julie are orphans. This book just doesn't stop hitting you with these tragedies, but they're all in service to the plot that Nixon is trying to sell. Does it all work? Mmmmm - I suppose it's better than everything that happened in Christina Lattimore.
Here's the thing - it's kind of hard to talk about this book without getting into spoilers because all of it kind of hinges on the 'twist' that's at the end of the book. I will say - even if I hadn't remembered (and I was surprised at how easily it came back to me) it's pretty obvious what the twist is. Even the cover is spoilery once you know what's happening. It might have been intentional, though, to drum up drama. You're one step of all the characters in the book the whole way, and that adds to the tension.
The crux of the book lies on the growingly complicated relationship between Dina and Julie - and the mystery surrounding what happened in Julie's past that got her to this point.
I can't say that this was the most intriguing plot. Honestly, it might have been better as a short story - as the character development of Dina trying to cope with her cancer going into remission just felt like filler and padding time to get back to the, somewhat thin, plot of what was happening with Julie. I can say that Dina was at least a decent main character - and better written than either Christina or Lauren, but, while this is still a quick read, the book drags -- especially when it pushes in on the drama and consequently stretches out the mystery.
I should also note - while there is quite a bit of tension in the novel, it's not steeped in that unnerving late 70s/early 80s horror-esque feel. While definitely dated, it feels more generic than feeling of a single time and place.
Alright - so I am going to talk about the twist, so that'll be under the cut. The non-spoilery ending of this review will be -- it's fine. Not my favorite, not terrible, but not great either. Meh.
Rating: 2.75 Stars
**spoiler section**
Okay - so here's the thing. The whole twist is that after her mom decided to run off with this dude who nearly killed her father, Julie decided to cause the crash to kill them all. (Or did the guy kidnap them? I'm a little fuzzy on this.)
The thing is -- I feel like the ending is trying to paint Julie in a sympathetic light at the end. Oh, this poor girl and all the trauma she's been through. And her dad is alive - and they'll go live happily ever after.
But here's my issue. The kid is a freaking psychopath. Everything she does with Dina is psychopathic behavior. And she tries, multiple times, to murder people without really any kind of remorse. Everything she does is manipulative and selfish. And I guess I don't buy that the basis for all of this is psychological trauma from what happened to her. Not saying she wouldn't be traumatized because she would be. But the girl is also a psychopath. And I'm worried for her dad once he comes out of that coma...
The thing though, too, is that Julie is really what made me not like this book. She is terrible and annoying. The rest of the characters are fairly interesting (if a little dull). Dina is a find MC. Her love interest, Dave, is the first male hero I've liked. And her Hispanic community she gets fostered into are really fun. But Julie and all of her games - and the fact that they all keep making excuses for her is really annoying. The twist isn't that hidden, and like I said earlier, probably purposely done - but it makes it even more frustrating seeing it coming. I know times were different back then, but would they really so easily shuffle this girl, with these behaviors off so easily? Ug.
Anyway - that's my two cents on that. I still found it overall a better read than Christina Lattimore, though.
Keeping watch over some trope-ish things I've been tracking -- Set in a small Texas town? Check. Religious community? Check - and this time in Spanish. Male hero popping up half way through the novel but romance is never firmly sealed with a kiss? You've got it! I've also noticed that these books often have some kind of older matriarch in them. In Christian Lattimore - it was her grandmother who ran the family. In The Séance - an elderly aunt was the caregiver. In this one, a retiring, Hispanic nurse takes care of the two kids. Interesting, right?
Oh - and conversations about college. Our main character, Dina, is really obsessed with college -- but it makes sense that she's preoccupied with it, because she has Hodgkin's Disease and doesn't know how long she'll live.
Oh boy, is this an uplifting book...
The story revolves around Dina dealing with her cancer treatment - all the meanwhile, a strange girl named Julie ends up in the hospital bed next to her. (Now that I think of it -- Julie, a car crash survivor, probably wouldn't end up in the same section as the cancer patients - but it's probably best not to think too hard about these plots.) The book is split up into two distinct parts - the first part dealing with everything that happens at the hospital and the second half dealing with being fostered by a retiring nurse.
Oh right, because both the teenage Dina and the 9yo Julie are orphans. This book just doesn't stop hitting you with these tragedies, but they're all in service to the plot that Nixon is trying to sell. Does it all work? Mmmmm - I suppose it's better than everything that happened in Christina Lattimore.
Here's the thing - it's kind of hard to talk about this book without getting into spoilers because all of it kind of hinges on the 'twist' that's at the end of the book. I will say - even if I hadn't remembered (and I was surprised at how easily it came back to me) it's pretty obvious what the twist is. Even the cover is spoilery once you know what's happening. It might have been intentional, though, to drum up drama. You're one step of all the characters in the book the whole way, and that adds to the tension.
The crux of the book lies on the growingly complicated relationship between Dina and Julie - and the mystery surrounding what happened in Julie's past that got her to this point.
I can't say that this was the most intriguing plot. Honestly, it might have been better as a short story - as the character development of Dina trying to cope with her cancer going into remission just felt like filler and padding time to get back to the, somewhat thin, plot of what was happening with Julie. I can say that Dina was at least a decent main character - and better written than either Christina or Lauren, but, while this is still a quick read, the book drags -- especially when it pushes in on the drama and consequently stretches out the mystery.
I should also note - while there is quite a bit of tension in the novel, it's not steeped in that unnerving late 70s/early 80s horror-esque feel. While definitely dated, it feels more generic than feeling of a single time and place.
Alright - so I am going to talk about the twist, so that'll be under the cut. The non-spoilery ending of this review will be -- it's fine. Not my favorite, not terrible, but not great either. Meh.
Rating: 2.75 Stars
**spoiler section**
Okay - so here's the thing. The whole twist is that after her mom decided to run off with this dude who nearly killed her father, Julie decided to cause the crash to kill them all. (Or did the guy kidnap them? I'm a little fuzzy on this.)
The thing is -- I feel like the ending is trying to paint Julie in a sympathetic light at the end. Oh, this poor girl and all the trauma she's been through. And her dad is alive - and they'll go live happily ever after.
But here's my issue. The kid is a freaking psychopath. Everything she does with Dina is psychopathic behavior. And she tries, multiple times, to murder people without really any kind of remorse. Everything she does is manipulative and selfish. And I guess I don't buy that the basis for all of this is psychological trauma from what happened to her. Not saying she wouldn't be traumatized because she would be. But the girl is also a psychopath. And I'm worried for her dad once he comes out of that coma...
The thing though, too, is that Julie is really what made me not like this book. She is terrible and annoying. The rest of the characters are fairly interesting (if a little dull). Dina is a find MC. Her love interest, Dave, is the first male hero I've liked. And her Hispanic community she gets fostered into are really fun. But Julie and all of her games - and the fact that they all keep making excuses for her is really annoying. The twist isn't that hidden, and like I said earlier, probably purposely done - but it makes it even more frustrating seeing it coming. I know times were different back then, but would they really so easily shuffle this girl, with these behaviors off so easily? Ug.
Anyway - that's my two cents on that. I still found it overall a better read than Christina Lattimore, though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2016
I am sorry to anyone who has read this book. It is a very boring and has almost no hooks.
December 31, 2023
I don’t think I can explain it, but these short murder mysteries (Joan Lowery Nixons) always feel like home and give me nostalgia from childhood.
February 23, 2010
This book was very interesting. Julie is not what she seems. I was surprised with the ending. The book was quite extroadinary. I love how the book is a quick read. I get tired of Julie not telling the truth, She is interesting person. But she's also crazy. Julie is quite spooky. Interesting how she's afraid of Sikes when she killed him. She's nine years old! How does she come up with this? It's odd how she keeps moving around. It doesn't really make that much since, unless she was lying. I hated her the instant she tried to kill Daina. Daina tried to help her, by being her friend, Julie gets mad at Daina for leaving her by herself, and then hates her for it. Julie becomes too attached.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2015
I was expecting pure trash for some reason but this was actually decent. The ending is a little sudden and too perfect. Other than that, fine.
November 17, 2023
If I happen to throw a book into the category of "horror" it doesn't always mean the bloody or gory kind but more of the psychological horror. Things that are done to a person can change them and they start to act a way that is totally disturbing.
I won't say anymore than that...
Dina Harrington is seventeen years old and she is in the hospital being treated for cancer. This book was written in 1982 so I'm not sure when this type was discovered but Nixon writes her having Hodgkin's disease.
My father had Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma and passed from it so I'm not sure if it is the same thing but it strikes the lymph nodes in the throat.
Dina has been living in a foster home for her whole life but it hasn't bothered her because she still had friends and good memories and even dreams for college until she was diagnosed. Now she has had chemotherapy treatments and had her hair fall out and her weight drop and she is always tired and always angry.
Her doctor tells her that she is in remission and it can last for years until the cancer might come back but Dina is focused on all the negatives. She can't go back to her old life because she still needs to stay in San Antonio for outpatient treatments so she is far from her best friend, Holley Jo. Dina is also hurt that the boy she liked, maybe even loved, named Rob hasn't even written or called her since she has been there.
Sharing the room with Dina is a young girl, no more than nine or ten, who was in a car accident that killed her parents. She survived and has been unconscious but Dina wakes one night to the sound of a whispered word and finds the child afraid of someone named Sikes a man she claims was in the room.
Dina presses the call button for the nurse but tries to comfort the child as best she can though... begrudgingly.
Her name is Julie but they know nothing else about her, even when a nurse and doctor come in to examine her and ask questions. She is frightened, calmly withdrawn and doesn't give answers to most of the questions. Julie develops an attachment to Dina and the teenage girl tries her best to be friendly with all her angst since they now have something in common: no other family at all.
Julie does mention that Sikes killed her father and Dina can see that Julie has healing bruises on her arms. Mrs. Cardenas, a nurses aide close to retiring, tells Dina that the only thing they could find that did not get burned up in the crash was the driver's license of a William Kaines.
Her policeman brother-in-law says that Kaines served time in prison for rape.
Dina doesn't know what to think with this information and then finding that Julie has marks on her back that indicate she was beaten. Needing a place to stay, Dina asks Mrs. Cardenas if she and her husband would want to foster Dina and Julie now that the woman is retiring.
That idea comes to pass and both girls go to the Cardenas' home. Dina ends up meeting one of their neighbors, a young man around her age named Dave Lewis, and she begins to find herself liking how nice he is. It takes away the thoughts about her cancer and how clingy Julie is towards Dina but only for a little bit because of the sobering realization that a man is out there looking to hurt a very frightened child.
Sikes killed Julie's parents and now there are other people in her life and Dina is one of them who could be his next victim...
As you get toward the end of the book, pieces start falling into place and you are faced with a dawning realization of horror. It makes the reveal and the climax all the more thrilling and when you think it might end bittersweet as always it does...but not for everyone.
The Specter is very aptly titled because a presence looms throughout the book in both an abstract and literal way. It is a Joan Lowery Nixon book that needs to be read and one you do...it will stick with you for quite some time. Despite the suspenseful moments, it resonates with anyone who has had to overcome their own forms of demons.
I won't say anymore than that...
Dina Harrington is seventeen years old and she is in the hospital being treated for cancer. This book was written in 1982 so I'm not sure when this type was discovered but Nixon writes her having Hodgkin's disease.
My father had Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma and passed from it so I'm not sure if it is the same thing but it strikes the lymph nodes in the throat.
Dina has been living in a foster home for her whole life but it hasn't bothered her because she still had friends and good memories and even dreams for college until she was diagnosed. Now she has had chemotherapy treatments and had her hair fall out and her weight drop and she is always tired and always angry.
Her doctor tells her that she is in remission and it can last for years until the cancer might come back but Dina is focused on all the negatives. She can't go back to her old life because she still needs to stay in San Antonio for outpatient treatments so she is far from her best friend, Holley Jo. Dina is also hurt that the boy she liked, maybe even loved, named Rob hasn't even written or called her since she has been there.
Sharing the room with Dina is a young girl, no more than nine or ten, who was in a car accident that killed her parents. She survived and has been unconscious but Dina wakes one night to the sound of a whispered word and finds the child afraid of someone named Sikes a man she claims was in the room.
Dina presses the call button for the nurse but tries to comfort the child as best she can though... begrudgingly.
Her name is Julie but they know nothing else about her, even when a nurse and doctor come in to examine her and ask questions. She is frightened, calmly withdrawn and doesn't give answers to most of the questions. Julie develops an attachment to Dina and the teenage girl tries her best to be friendly with all her angst since they now have something in common: no other family at all.
Julie does mention that Sikes killed her father and Dina can see that Julie has healing bruises on her arms. Mrs. Cardenas, a nurses aide close to retiring, tells Dina that the only thing they could find that did not get burned up in the crash was the driver's license of a William Kaines.
Her policeman brother-in-law says that Kaines served time in prison for rape.
Dina doesn't know what to think with this information and then finding that Julie has marks on her back that indicate she was beaten. Needing a place to stay, Dina asks Mrs. Cardenas if she and her husband would want to foster Dina and Julie now that the woman is retiring.
That idea comes to pass and both girls go to the Cardenas' home. Dina ends up meeting one of their neighbors, a young man around her age named Dave Lewis, and she begins to find herself liking how nice he is. It takes away the thoughts about her cancer and how clingy Julie is towards Dina but only for a little bit because of the sobering realization that a man is out there looking to hurt a very frightened child.
Sikes killed Julie's parents and now there are other people in her life and Dina is one of them who could be his next victim...
As you get toward the end of the book, pieces start falling into place and you are faced with a dawning realization of horror. It makes the reveal and the climax all the more thrilling and when you think it might end bittersweet as always it does...but not for everyone.
The Specter is very aptly titled because a presence looms throughout the book in both an abstract and literal way. It is a Joan Lowery Nixon book that needs to be read and one you do...it will stick with you for quite some time. Despite the suspenseful moments, it resonates with anyone who has had to overcome their own forms of demons.
Read
December 30, 2020Cross-posted from my blog where there's more information on where I got my copy and links and everything.
Now this was a lot less lighthearted and much more serious. Besides like five nasty comments about fat people, I liked this. I really liked the blending of Dina’s cancer recovery with the mystery plot, because it wasn’t just a Lurlene McDaniel cancer book. (Which is not to say there isn’t a place for those in my heart, but sometimes a girl wants more.)
This isn’t the best of the best, but it’s certainly not the worst. Bad attitude about fat people, possibly some kinda racist stereotypes, but a creepy story, and a good mystery with clues for the reader to figure out. I enjoyed this one, honestly, besides the fat comments. I would still enjoy reading more from the author, especially for my own personal nostalgia. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend these automatically and whole-heartedly to modern reasons, but for nostalgia reasons, I’m keeping it. Mostly because I love the cover.
Now this was a lot less lighthearted and much more serious. Besides like five nasty comments about fat people, I liked this. I really liked the blending of Dina’s cancer recovery with the mystery plot, because it wasn’t just a Lurlene McDaniel cancer book. (Which is not to say there isn’t a place for those in my heart, but sometimes a girl wants more.)
This isn’t the best of the best, but it’s certainly not the worst. Bad attitude about fat people, possibly some kinda racist stereotypes, but a creepy story, and a good mystery with clues for the reader to figure out. I enjoyed this one, honestly, besides the fat comments. I would still enjoy reading more from the author, especially for my own personal nostalgia. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend these automatically and whole-heartedly to modern reasons, but for nostalgia reasons, I’m keeping it. Mostly because I love the cover.
May 1, 2022
So I remember reading this book as a kid, but I honestly couldn’t remember the details of the story or how it ended… so I wanted to reread it as an adult. I remember the cover freaked me out for the longest time, so I used to hide this book at the back of my bookshelf!
Dina, a 17-year-old who was diagnosed with cancer, ends up with a 9-year-old roommate named Julie in the hospital. Julie claims a man killed her parents and is trying to kill her too and enlists in the friendship and support of Dina. Dina feels sympathy towards Julie and readily agrees. But Julie might not be as innocent as she seems…
Overall, this was an okay read. It wasn’t as good as I had hoped it’d be, and it was a little boring at times. The writing felt very basic, and the style really wasn’t for me… but the ending surprised me, so there’s that!
Dina, a 17-year-old who was diagnosed with cancer, ends up with a 9-year-old roommate named Julie in the hospital. Julie claims a man killed her parents and is trying to kill her too and enlists in the friendship and support of Dina. Dina feels sympathy towards Julie and readily agrees. But Julie might not be as innocent as she seems…
Overall, this was an okay read. It wasn’t as good as I had hoped it’d be, and it was a little boring at times. The writing felt very basic, and the style really wasn’t for me… but the ending surprised me, so there’s that!
June 1, 2023
This book is about a girl named Dina who is in the hospital recovering from Hodgkin's disease and her new roommate, Julie. Julie is 9, she just lost her parents in a car accident and thinks someone is after her.
It's a quick, fun read with some twists. I figured out the major one early on in the book and it didn't make it any less enjoyable. Some things in the book were really convenient, but this is a book for kids from the 80's. I really like the character Mrs. Cardnenas. She's very kind and caring.
It's a quick, fun read with some twists. I figured out the major one early on in the book and it didn't make it any less enjoyable. Some things in the book were really convenient, but this is a book for kids from the 80's. I really like the character Mrs. Cardnenas. She's very kind and caring.
September 21, 2022
This childrens book was strange. I do not recommend it. It is poorly written. Hard to believe the author has won writing awards.
Did anyone find it a bit suspect, that Julie cut her arm and the nurse, Mrs Cardenas, didn't know what to do. Additionally, Julie had many bruises on her body but that it was never explained who did it.
I wouldn't waste my time with this piece of trash.
Did anyone find it a bit suspect, that Julie cut her arm and the nurse, Mrs Cardenas, didn't know what to do. Additionally, Julie had many bruises on her body but that it was never explained who did it.
I wouldn't waste my time with this piece of trash.
September 26, 2018
The book was okay. I realized what Julie was hiding a bit early on. Why didn't anybody else?
mountain-loop
November 25, 20191 mass, 1 hard
November 9, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up. This reminded me so much of a Lois Duncan novel, just a little slower-paced and not as eerie. Still, I liked it.
April 14, 2012
Another awesome Joan Lowery Nixon. The plot of this book was a lot like the one of Crooked House by Agatha Christie. I liked how the tension level grew as the plot progressed. Was she insane? Or just really careless? Another one that made you doubt a natural occurence. Was the crash really an accident? I read this book right before bed and had trouble getting to sleep. The reason it didn't get five stars was because of the similarity to Crooked House, so I knew what was going to happen at the end.
April 28, 2012
The book was kinda boring throughout but the ending completely made up for any doubts I could've had in my mind about Joan Lowery Nixon. I've read 7 of her other books that were great!! But since only the end was super amazing I'm gonna have to give this only 3 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2014
This book was so scary!!! I am glad I didn't have a copy with a cover like this one, because its a dead giveaway. It was pleasantly spine-tingling and kept me turning pages all the time. The mysterious little girl was terribly creepy, and the protagonist Dina's struggles with herself, her cancer, and the boy next door added a wonderful richness to the story. Probably junior high to early high school range, I would say--definitely a good leisure read.
June 14, 2007
I will never fail to be amazed at the power of google to help me when I can't remember but a single detail of a book. I knew the main character had cancer and mentioned the name Sikes. All the other wispy images in my head weren't helpful enough to harness the power of the internets!
January 6, 2009
It sounds interesting to read. Very mysterious I suppose.
June 28, 2022
This isn't a fantastic book. I guessed the twist extremely early, and Julie was the most annoying character. I can't stand children at the best of times, but she was especially terrible.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews