Hidden

Bibliographic information:
Frost, Helen. Hidden.  2011.   New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.  ISBN 0374382212.

Summary:
8 year old Wren is accidentally kidnapped when a man steals her mother's mini-van, unaware that she is inside.  Once the van is locked inside his home garage, the thief's own 8 year old daughter, Darra, discovers Wren there and sneaks her some food while she remains hidden for two days before escaping.  Six years later the girls, now both 14, meet again at summer camp.  Finally face-to--face with each other again, they end up realizing that, though they've blamed each other a lot over the years, neither of them is at fault.

Critical Analysis:
The narrative alternates back and forth between Wren and Darra, telling the story of each separately before they meet up and interact so many years after the event that shaped both of their lives.  We read of the events at the convenience store (the shot fired, a man stealing the van with Wren inside) and Wren's subsequent (inadvertant) captivity and escape.  All of this is from her perspective.  Once she is free and Darra's father is arrested, the story is told from Darra's point of view.

The emotional impact of this novel in verse is hard-hitting.  How each of the girls feels during and after the events is really poured out to us as readers.  On thinking back to what happened, Wren says "I think about that little girl the way you might remember your best friend who moved away."  The emotional distance she has had to put between herself and the kidnapping is what has helped her cope.  At one point Wren also says: "I have to find a way to tell her (Darra) I don't want to talk about what happened without it sounding like I'm still messed up about it.  Because I'm not.  I got over all that long ago.  Really.  I'm fine."  Sounds like she doth protest too much because she still is very much affected by it and Darra's presence.

Darra, on the other hand, initially seeks to blame everyone but her father for what happened.  See says that if Wren "hadn't led the cops to our house that morning, Dad would probably still be home with us" and they could be heading out to the lake again as a family.  She even blames her dog, Bilbo, saying "What kind of dog betrays its own family?" because he had found Wren's missing shoe that was used as evidence that she'd been at Darra's house. 

The connection that the girls eventually make at camp is healing for both of them.  At first, Darra panics and wants to leave but decides that, if she does, she'll "never get to know her - the girl from back then, those two days on TV, trapped in our garage.  But more: who she is now."   It's very moving when we read how Darra insists that her father is not a monster and how she loved him as much as anyone else ever loved their father in spite of the yelling and hitting.  Wren says she often wondered if it was better for Darra and her mother after West was incarcerated and that she told herself what she "had to believe.  Yes. They were.  Now Darra is telling me I'm wrong."

The girls come to see the situation from each other's point of view and develop true empathy for one another.  The fact that the narrative ends with them being friends demonstrates a powerful message of love and forgiveness to readers. 

This novel in verse is very much unlike what we typically think of as poetry.  It doesn't rhyme and doesn't have a special beat or rhythm to the words.  Matching sounds and unusual sound effects are not part of this book.  It's a narrative in verse form.  It tells the story without ever really seeming like it's poetry and the words are so powerful and have so much impact that the reader can't help but be affected during and long after reading them.

Book review excerpts:
"This original blend of crime tale, psychological study, and friendship story is a page-turner that kids will love. There are a few plausibility issues, but there are many more strengths. Wren's captivity in the garage is truly suspenseful, and the various interactions of the kids at the sleepover camp are a study in shifting alliances. The book also touches on some deeper issues, like how you can love a parent who is sometimes abusive, and how sensitive kids can blame themselves for things that aren't really their fault. Smoothly written, this novel carries a message of healing and hope." —Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL --Lauralyn Persson (Reviewed June 1, 2011) (School Library Journal, vol 57, issue 6, p116).

"...Frost's lyric narrative resolves movingly by alternating between the two protagonists. Frost's tale exhibits her trademark character development that probes the complexities of intimate relationships. Here Wren's touching statement, 'I was a happy little girl / wearing a pink dress,' eventually leads to Darra's private admission to Wren: 'None of it was our fault.' Both tender and insightful, this well-crafted, fast-paced tale should have wide teen appeal." (Poetry. 10-16)(Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2011).

Awards:
ALA Notable Children's Books - Older Reader's Category: 2012

Connections/Further activities:After reading aloud selected passages from the book, ask participants to think of someone they feel has "wronged" them and then to think about what it might be like to have to face them and understand the situation from their perspective.  If anyone volunteers to speak about their particular scenario, it could open up a powerful discussion about understanding and forgiveness.

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