Book Review: Hide and Seeker
Hello Chill and Thrill Seekers,
How’s your October going? I hope you’re getting into the spooky spirit of things. It finally feels like fall here in KC, and I’m really enjoying it.
Anywho, today I’m stopping by with another book review.
This time I read Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon.
This was a buddy read with my awesome friend Gigi aka The Beachy Reader. We started reading Something Wicked This Way Comes, but weren’t feeling it so we switched to this book. I love a creepy play on childhood games, so I was really excited about this middle grade read. I mean, just look at that awesome cover!
This post is my individual review of Hide and Seeker, which will be followed up by a buddy read and rant with me and Gigi.
So, how did I enjoy this spooky-looking book? Keep on reading to find out!
Blurb
I went up the hill, the hill was muddy, stomped my toe and made it bloody, should I wash it?
Justin knows that something is wrong with his best friend. Zee went missing for a year. And when he came back, he was . . . different. Nobody knows what happened to him. At Zee’s welcome home party, Justin and the neighborhood crew play Hide and Seek. But it goes wrong. Very wrong.
One by one, everyone who plays the game disappears, pulled into a world of nightmares come to life. Justin and his friends realize this horrible place is where Zee had been trapped. All they can do now is hide from the Seeker.
GoodReads
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***Brief disclosure***
I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post. It’s a great way to help me keep things running on my blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase.
The Review
This is my first time reading something by this author, and I had a good time!
This spooky middle grade novel is about a kid named Justin. His friend Zee has been gone for a year and just came back, but he’s different. He mumbles and keeps repeating odd cryptic rhymes. To pass the time until Zee’s birthday party starts, Justin and several friends play a game of hide and seek in Zee’s backyard, but something strange happens and now a sinister force is hunting Justin and his friends down. Can they stop the monster before its too late?
Overall, I think this was a solid read for a younger audience.
I enjoyed the comradery of Justin and his friends Nia and Lyric. Quincy and Carla gave some much needed tension to their party, and their dialogue felt believable for kids. Justin had some good character progression throughout (his mom passed away) coming to terms with reality and coming to see how his friends were his family. It was a nice message.
The plot was a lot of fun. Basically you play hide and seek, but if you don’t play by the rules some creepy force comes after you and your friends. I liked the twist on things, and particularly enjoyed the Nowhere and how things worked there. Things were spooky, but not too scary for middle grade kids.
As far as cons, it’s a bit tough to pinpoint exactly where my disconnect with this book stemmed from, but overall I feel that the first part of the book dragged a little bit. There weren’t a lot of answers there, and the figuring out of things came a bit late and sudden in my opinion. Other than that, this was a lot of fun, and I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for future publications by this author.
If you love Halloween, definitely give this one a go!
That’s A Wrap!
Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!
Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!
Have a great day!
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I loved Something Wicked This Way Comes, but not everyone’s gonna like the same book. Hide and Seeker sounds fun.:-)
I think it was just the way it’s written. I may give it another go at some point, just not right now. Yeah, it was a nice departure from grad school assignments. Responsibility, booo!
It does sound like fun, and also like a YA book. I’ve found, in my personal opinion, that YA and horror is something that needs to be blend together carefully. It’s not really contradictionary, but it’s not a natural match IMHO.
Still, it’s a very nice touch to see a book for this age range that is NOT Yet Another Fantasy Novel
Hi Stefan, this definitely falls under Ya Horror, and I definitely agree that’s it’s a tricky mix to pull off. It’s not the best Ya Horror book I’ve read thus far, but it was still pretty entertaining. Definitely worth a shot if you’re curious to try it out. I tend to veer away from YA fantasy these days.
I’m with you! I try to steer clear of ya fantasy. The last ya book I’ve read was about wrestling (and it was surprisingly good).
But I think I’m overfed with fantasy these days. I make exceptions for Urban Fantasy and maybe some really dark fantasy.
Oh, that sounds interesting!
For me, theres just too many books to read, so I’m more narrowly focused on horror or anything with a darker lens these days since it’s what I tend to write.