Hide by Kiersten White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
One of my all-time favorite tropes is a competition, so when I heard the synopsis for Kiersten White’s Adult Debut, Hide, I instantly added it to my TBR.
In this story we follow fourteen contestants competing in a Hide-and-Seek contest at an abandoned amusement park.
Seemingly selected at random from some sort of need-based selection process, the fourteen individuals are complete strangers and come from locations scattered throughout the United States.
From the very start the contest is shrouded in mystery. The only things they really know are that it is hosted by a sporting goods company and the prize is $50,000.
We follow multiple different perspectives as the contest begins and a Hunger Games-type vibe falls over the narrative.
With two contestants getting caught and out of the game each day, the tension increasingly mounts. Additionally, it’s not clear at all who, or what, the Seekers are.
The main individual we follow is a young woman named Mack, who has a very violent, traumatic past. As she sees it, her biggest gift is her ability to hide. She’s been doing it her whole life.
The things Mack observes as she hides chill her to the bone. This game may be more dangerous than anyone initially anticipated.
It’s taken me a long time to come to grips with how I feel about this book. I liked some aspects and I really disliked some aspects. Therefore, it made sense to give this a 3-star rating; just slice it right down the middle.
I’m disappointed, but I’m not mad.
The writing was a little wonky for me from the very start, but I was intrigued to see where it was going regardless.
There were so many perspectives and characters. Additionally, it jumped around a lot, it was hard to engage with any of the characters or what they were feeling. Mack, who was the person whose perspective you read from the most, didn’t do it for me. I hated being in her head.
Also, there was a plot device used to help explain the background of the contest which generally I like, but here, the execution of it, I just felt like it was too convenient. I didn’t enjoy it.
Further, I promise this is it for complaints, the horror aspects were kept too obscure. I wanted more. I liked the build and tension initially.
The not knowing was sort of like when you first started watching Lost and you knew something was in the jungle, but you could never tell what it is. I liked that, but eventually as you discover the truth behind the park, it could have gone deeper into those elements.
Overall, this is a good book and I know a lot of Readers will love it. I was expecting a bit more, but even though this was a slight miss for me, I will continue to pick up anything White writes.
Thank you to the publisher, Del Rey Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity!