Hidden by Helen Frost

Bibliography:

Frost, Helen. 2015. Hidden. Square Fish. ISBN: 1250056845

Plot Summary:

When Wren Abbott and Darra Monson are eight years old, Darra's father steals a minivan. He doesn't know that Wren is hiding in the back. The hours and days that follow change the lives of both girls. Darra is left with a question that only Wren can answer. Wren has questions, too.

Critical Analysis:

 I listened to this book through Libby, and it was unabridged. The narrator was Sisi Aisha Johnson. At first, I was a little bored because I am not an audiobook person but the story was good so kept with it. The narrator did a great job reading the book and honestly, it didn’t make me think of poetry at all. I could see YA loving the book because this generation seems more into audiobooks and the story is interesting. You can imagine being this young girl in the back of a van when someone steals it.

The story is interesting. I can imagine being Wren because as a child we used to sleep in the back of our suburban and I could see someone getting in to steal it not knowing we were in the back. The story goes on to years later when the girls run into each other at summer camp. They at first don’t know each other, and one almost kills the other in a drowning game. Throughout the book, there is a lot of emotion with the girls learning the truth and having to deal with a variety of emotions. There were times I felt the book to be a little boring after the start being intense with a kidnapping but it was a good book.

Review Awards and Excerpt(s):

2012 ALA Notable Book

2012 Bank Street Best Children’s Books, Starred

2012 Lee Bennett Hopkins Children’s Poetry Award Honor Book

William Allen White Children's Book Award (Kansas): Sixth-Eighth Grade Winners

“Like Frost's Printz Honor Book, Keesha's House, this novel in verse stands out through its deliberate use of form to illuminate emotions and cleverly hide secrets in the text.” ―Booklist

“Many teen readers will identify with Wren and Darra and how events that happened to us when we were younger help shape the person we become.” ―VOYA

Connections:

This book would be a great book to teach point of view, as well as while teaching the novel in verse.

You could compare this book to other books by the author such as:

Keesha’s House (2003)

Spinning Through the Universe (2004)

The Braid (2006)

Diamond Willow (2008)

Crossing Stones (2009)

Salt (July 2013)

Monarch and Milkweed (2008)

Step Gently Out (2012)

In the book the girls are taking lifesaving classes and water activities are mentioned so you could use this to tie in learning about the buoyancy of different objects during a “Sink or Float?” unit.