Hidden

Hidden

Helen Frost is a master of telling complex and emotionally
authentic stories through the medium of poetry. Her narrators emerge
as distinct and empathy worthy beings. In her Hidden two teens, each
of whom has reason to feel that the other ruined her life, must
confront their past and the ways it has shaped their present.
A man steals a mini van, not realizing a little girl waiting for
her mother has dived to the back seat floor and covered herself with a
blanket. Not knowing if she can trust anyone, the child, Wren, stays
hidden in the man's garage--hungry, cold, and terrified. A child her
age, Darra, the car stealer's daughter, learns of her existance and
covertly provides food and water. She has a plan to help Wren escape
and protect her dad. Before she can do this Wren gets away on her own
and leads the police to the garage.
Six years later Darra desperately misses her family as they had
been. Her dad is in prison. Her parents are divorced. She feels
like the life she has is nothing. Wren carries the scars of her
experience. She remembers her trusting, happy childhood self "the way
you might remember your best friend who moved away."
The girls have become cabin mates at camp. Each recognizes the
other immediately.
The more I read books like Hidden, the more I am convinced of
their need. Older kids for whom reading is a challenge deserve
material with emotional depth and credence and age interest that does
not have "dumbed down" written all over it. Pages solid full of dense
paragraphs can be intimidating. Think back to your absolute worst
school subject (for me, organic chemistry) and try to remember how you
felt each time you opened the textbook.
On a personal note, when I got back home and started making a grilled
cheese sandwich Adam realized he wanted one. That made me so happy.
And later the kids and a friend were home to eat my spaghetti and
brownies for supper.
A great big shout out goes out to all the kids for whom reading is a
challenge who don't give up and the teachers who give their all to
help them make sense of the written word.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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