Hidden: A Novel

Hidden is told from two alternating points-of-views, Wren and Darra. Wren’s sections are told in free verse, while Darra’s sections are told in a unique form created by the author specifically for this book.

This idea of an unintentional kidnapping was very intriguing to me. Wren is in the

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backseat of her mom’s minivan when it gets stolen. Too afraid to say anything, Wren stays hidden until the car comes to a stop where she finds herself closed in a garage. While hidden in the garage Wren learns about the man who took her and his family, which includes a daughter the same age as herself. The two girls never speak, they never even see each other, but it is with her help that Wren is able to stay hidden long enough to come up with a plan and make her escape.

Years later the two girls end up in the same cabin at summer camp. At first they both try to ignore each other and the past, but the past soon becomes too big a burden that neither of them can ignore anymore.

Wren and Darra were both likable main characters who were easy to sympathize with. Both girls had been affected by this event in their pasts, but it had changed their lives in different ways. The main focus of the story was definitely character growth as we see these two girls overcome their painful past and start to forge a strong friendship that will continue into the future.

The thing I really liked was how creative the author was with this unique form of storytelling. The poems told from Darra’s view were created in a way that when you read the last word of all the long lines straight down the page from top to bottom it tells you more of the story. I thought this was a really unique and fun way to bring more depth to the story. Once I had finished the book, I saw the authors note on this and really enjoyed flipping back through the book to read these little bits on Darra’s life that give us a bit of a deeper look into her side of things, and how life changed for her as well as Wren.

Overall, this was a unique and enjoyable read. It’s the first of Helen Frost’s books that I’ve read but it certainly won’t be my last.

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When I saw that the book was written in verse I panicked at first- but I didn't need to. This book reads easily and warmly.
A girl, Wren, is left in the family minivan in the parking lot of a supermarket while her mom goes in to shop. Wren hears a gunshot, and a man gets in the minivan and drives

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away while Wren hides, terrified in the back. When the man finally parks in his garage, Wren spends a couple of scary days hiding in the unfamiliar garage, listening to the man yell at and possibly beat the adult woman and the young girl, Darra, inside the house. Darra becomes aware that Wren is hiding in their garage, partly because the girl's disappearance is all over the news. Wren manages to escape, which leads the police to Darra's house and lands Darra's dad in prison for a long time.
Flash forward a few years, and the two girls end up at the same summer camp. they know who each other is from the news reports and from the news reports and from the unusual names. Will they be able to come to terms with the wrenching events of their past? Is friendship at all possible?
I really liked this book, and I think middle school readers will too.

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The dramatic premise of this story and the ripped-from-the-headlines beginning are certain to appeal to young teens. The book's tween-appropriate while still feeling YA enough (not too young). After the dramatic beginning, this is very much a summer story, a camp story, a story about girls becoming

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friends, a story about family and how family issues can affect kids.

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Quick read because it is told in free verse, but it still has a great emotional impact.

Darra's father steals a minivan not knowing that Wren was left in the back seat. After taking the van home, he still doesn't realize she is there. Darra knows Wren is still in the garage, though her father

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thinks she has run off. Wren must find a way to escape without detection and Darra must find a way to forgive her father.

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A short novel in verse, this tells two girls' stories revolving around their shared experience as 8 year olds. Wren was inadvertently abducted by Darra's abusive and thieving father, and Dara tried to help her out. When they meet at camp as 14 year olds, their friendship is not automatic. The

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author's note at the end of the book would be helpful to have placed at the beginning. The "invented" form whereby the last word of Darra's lines form other sentences, while clever, does not work smoothly, since not all lines are included or obvious.

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Hidden is a great book about two girls named Darra and Wren whos lives completely changed after an incident. Wren is very frightened and the only thing she has with her is her doll Kamara. Darra's dad is an abusive, unemployed mechanic, that steals cars and then sells them. Darra is scared of her

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dad but still loves him but Darra doesn't want her dad to find out that she is helping Wren. A few years later the two girls meet up again at summer camp where they find themselves avoiding eachother. A few days later when they find out they are in some of the same classes in summer camp they start to talk to eachother and find out what actually happened a few years earlier.

I didn't have any dislikes about this book. I thought it was a great book and a very quick read as it switches every chapter between the two girls talking.

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Hidden is a fantastic book by Helen Frost. At a young age, something very significant has changed Wren and Darra's life. Wren is alone, scared, worried. In the mix of all that, Darra does not know what is taking place in her garage. Later in life , they meet up again at Camp Okawood in Cabin 8.

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Both of them very hesitangt to talk to one another, but both discovered what truely happended and how their life has changed since then. The book gives you both point of view's, Wren and Darra's. You can see how they feel and what is going through their heads. I totally recommend this book for all ages and genders. You wont quit reading espically with the cliffhangers it leaves after every chapter.

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In poetic forms to represent voice this novel tells a story about the bonding if two girls who have experienced uncommon traumatic events. The novel shows as the girls learn to trust again as they form this supportive friendship. This novel would be appropriate for 6-8 grades. I would use this

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novel to intoduce emotional expression through poetry. Central issues addressed are rehabilitation, trust, learning and support from others.

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I wasn't sure that I would enjoy a novel in verse. Surprisingly, I liked the story, and the verse format did not detract from that. I thought the author did a good job of showing the feelings of the two main characters. I could relate to the way that they both felt and thought the storyline was

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realistic for their age. This is my first novel by Frost, but I wouldn't turn down a second.

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Fans of Peg Kehret's Stolen Children and Runaway Twin will certainly want to read this unique book. Author Helen Frost alternates between her two main characters Wren Abbott and Darra Monson to tell the story of a car-jacking gone wrong. Wren is only eight years old when Darra's father steals her

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mother's car along with Wren who is hidden in the trunk. Wren spends a terrifying few days inside the Monson's garage, hearing Darra's father abuse his family. Darra attempts to help Wren, but the two don't exactly meet until six years after the abduction when Darra's father is in jail and the two girls coincidentally end up in the same cabin at summer camp. Can they overcome the horrible circumstances that connected them as children and realize friendship as teenagers? You must read Hidden to find out.

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Fans of Peg Kehret's Stolen Children and Runaway Twin will certainly want to read this unique book. Author Helen Frost alternates between her two main characters Wren Abbott and Darra Monson to tell the story of a car-jacking gone wrong. Wren is only eight years old when Darra's father steals her

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mother's car along with Wren who is hidden in the trunk. Wren spends a terrifying few days inside the Monson's garage, hearing Darra's father abuse his family. Darra attempts to help Wren, but the two don't exactly meet until six years after the abduction when Darra's father is in jail and the two girls coincidentally end up in the same cabin at summer camp. Can they overcome the horrible circumstances that connected them as children and realize friendship as teenagers? You must read Hidden to find out.

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Another excellent novel in verse from Helen Frost, impressively structured and richly layered.

Two girls, two types of poetry, two viewpoints about a traumatic event.

Novels in verse have grown on me. Hidden was a quick read because I needed to know what would happen to the girls at camp. Dual POV shown as different poetry patterns was refreshing.

This is a book written in verse with an ingenious hidden narrative running throughout the story.

Good read, it went with a good pace, but I just felt like it was a quick read, as if a friend was telling you their encounter. The kidnapping part and the POV of Wren after was sad to read. I'll admit I cried at the ending though, when Darra introduced Wren to her mom.

teen fiction (in verse); unintentional kidnapping trauma new girl at summer camp hoping that no one finds out her dad is in prison for said kidnapping. Told in the voices of the kidnapped girl (Wren) and the girl whose dad kidnapped her (Darra). Each voice has its own form of poetic verse; it's not

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terrible poetry but Darra's voice just looks like randomly broken
up sentences
which turns out to be for no reason
other than that the author wanted to hide
sentences
in the words at the end of the longest lines--
and,
when this tactic is revealed
in the author's note at the end, the reader goes back through
the whole book only to learn
nothing
much new--at all.
Which is maybe just as well since they were likely to miss it in the first place, but still--a little reward for the trouble would've been nice. So, that was kinda pointless, though easier to read than some other books in verse I can think of. The other (big) beef I had with this book was that it felt incredibly manipulated and forced. If you can suspend your disbelief long enough to buy into the whole circumstances of these two girls (one's mom left her 8-year-old and her keys in her car unattended while she ran into the minimart to buy something at the same moment when the minimart was being robbed; several years later the girls happen to meet at the same summer camp? and oh, the kidnapped girl's mom's cousin also spent time in prison, as did (other kid at camp) Jeremy's dad?), there's still the whole race thing. Looking at the cover the reader immediately knows it will come into play somewhere; the author is careful not to describe either girl's appearance until the middle of the book--Darra (child of a convicted robber/kidnapper) turns out to be the white girl and the black girl is Wren (whose parents, it's possible, could've been African American hippies to name their child so). Obviously stereotypes exist and it's good that readers are made to challenge how they think--but does it have to feel so deliberate? This might have been an amazing story otherwise.

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