The Intruder

AI Rating: 6/10 - John Rowe Townsend's 1969 YA novel explores racial prejudice in a declining English coastal town, where white residents, including protagonist Chester's family, react with hostility to the arrival of immigrant (Pakistani) families in new housing. Chester confronts community bigotry and questions his own biases amid escalating tensions and violence. While the storytelling drives the narrative, it prioritizes an anti-racism social justice message typical of 1960s progressive literature, urging tolerance and integration over pure adventure. No modern identity politics or forced diversity, but clear progressive theming on race relations.