dig_the_plot 's review for:

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

3.5

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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I’m honestly on the fence about this one. I loved parts of it and then there were parts I felt were meh. I definitely would have rated it lower if it had not been for the illustrations. Mallory Quinn is a recovering addict and takes a job as a nanny for Ted and Caroline Maxwell for their 5-year-old son Teddy. Mallory immediately connects to Teddy. Teddy has an active imagination, an imaginary friend Anya and loves to draw. At first it’s your typical drawings….stick figures, rabbits, his family. But soon it becomes much more evil and Mallory can hear Teddy talking to Anya in his room. Mallory discovers that a woman may have been killed in the guest house she’s staying in and their neighbor tells her that the spirit is using Teddy. Overall it wasn’t really that scary. The drawings added a depth to it that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. The twist at the end wasn’t forceful enough to proved an aha moment. It slid right past me. I would have much preferred a different ending. I’m not really sure how it won Goodreads Horror award but nevertheless it did. After finishing the book the reviews alluded to a lot to controversy surrounding this book. I read and take books for what they are. I don’t think he was trying to change the world when he wrote it. It’s just an okay read. Nothing scary here.