Hidden by Helen Frost

Hidden by Helen Frost

I first saw Hidden reviewed at The Reading Zone earlier this May. I picked it up when I was at Cover to Cover the weekend of the 48 hour book challenge soon after for my summer vacation reading list.

When Wren and Darra meet in summer camp, they know each other instantly, even though they’ve never met. How could that possibly be? When the girls were eight, Darra’s father stole a car, not realizing Wren was in the back. It was with Darra’s help that Wren managed to escape without her father knowing that he had “kidnapped” her.

Free verse poetry tells the story in both Wren’s and Darra’s voice. First in Part One: The Way You Might Remember a Best Friend, we hear the story from Wren’s point of view. Part two: It’s All Her Fault  is told from Darra’s viewpoint after the girls have “re-met” at camp. The third part, The Diving Raft, is told by both girls. The story is mesmerizing, and not in a “true crime” type of story. You feel for both girls and you see how they have both positive and negative feelings towards each other. Even the different parts are told with a different version of free verse poetry.

You wouldn’t think an Endnote could give such a big thrill, but what the author reveals in Diving Deeper: Notes on Form, is remarkably unique and had me rereading the book again instantly.

Set in a Michigan summer camp, the book also does a great job of capturing the magic of summer camp and the friendships that develop there. I love summer camp and we have a family favorite/regular in Michigan, but not the one in the book.

Literate Lives has a review as well.