A review by dominiquediane
Hide by Kiersten White

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 For the average reader, this book will probably be at least a 4-star read. For those more widely read and those familiar with Kiersten White’s other books, this one may disappoint. Not because it’s bad, but because there is a lot of unrealized potential. Despite anticipating this book for a long time, I don’t think it was my own high expectations that made this book fall flat for me. And it wasn’t the marketing either - the book certainly delivers on that.

Instead, I think the disconnect comes from what the author was trying to achieve with this novel, which she self-describes as, “an of-the-moment, scarily precise diagnosis of class and privilege and generational wealth” and the level of depth that is actually offered to the reader. Basically, I feel as if this book showed me every opportunity the author had to take things deeper and then showed me the author doing the bare minimum instead. I don’t say this often, but in this case, I feel like the book could have benefitted from being twice as long. 

For example, as other readers have noted, the large number of characters in this novel made it hard to develop solid, in-depth backstories for each one. There was enough information for me to generally tell characters apart and keep them separate, though, which is pretty impressive considering there are fourteen characters in the game plus another handful of characters running the game. It was pretty clear based on the amount of attention given to each character, though, which ones would survive and which ones were obviously just cannon fodder. 

World building also left a lot that could have been developed. The setting of this Hide and Seek game is an abandoned amusement part. However, the park has been abandoned for so long that the surrounding forest has basically reclaimed it. You’re reading less about an abandoned amusement park half the time and more of forest/jungle. Which is FINE, this is just not the vibe the book sold me on. 

The mythology was never fully explained and most things had to be inferred. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but more of a missed opportunity. I would have loved a dual timeline, with one taking place in the past where everything first started and one storyline in the present. Instead, there are a few diary entries, many of which are from different people (which also have to be kept track of in the character soup) and which are used more as exposition to fill in plot holes and move things along. 

In the end, I just wanted MORE, which is both a good and a bad thing. There was so much that could have been given more detail and depth - the creepy town, the cult, the mythology, all of the characters’ backstories, the romantic subplots… There were some fantastic moments in the climax that had me flying through the last pages of the book as fast as I could turn them. There were some actual brilliant twists that I didn’t see coming. I just wish it had all been backed by something stronger in terms of world and character building. 

For most people, I think the book will be either too long or two short based on what aspects of the plot they enjoy most. If you’re here for a And Then There Were None - esque horror/mystery read, you may find the pacing drags and there isn’t as much of the hiding and seeking and scary stuff as you’d like. For those who love horror with a good side of social commentary and character exploration, this book probably won’t quite scratch the itch. 

In the end, though, it was definitely a fun read and a great option if you’re looking for some fun summer horror. It’d also probably translate to film really well, so I’ll be surprised if the rights aren’t sold soon.