Frost, Helen. Hidden. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. ISBN: 0374382212

Frost takes an unlikely premise and spins a warm tale of friendship, healing, and understanding, and does so without compromising a realistic middle grade perspective.

Books written in fluid, poetic formats sometimes have trouble with flow and scene building. This is not the case for Hidden, which grips the reader tightly with fast-paced suspence from the first page, and then deposits us in a summer camp setting—complete with cliques, humor, boys, counselors and traditions.

Wren, hiding in the back of her mother’s car as an 8 year old, is accidentally kidnapped during a store robbery and carjacking gone wrong. The beginning of the book details her encounter with precise words and pauses, while also introducing us to the opposing protagonist, Darra. Darra is the same age as Wren, but on a far different sphere of the social spectrum.

Wren escapes, and Darra’s father goes to prison.

Fast-forward to summer camp at age 15 when the two girls cross paths for the first time. Wren must suddenly deal with repressed emotions. Darra must deal with her sense of loss and the blame she placed on Wren for her father’s arrest. All of these elements come to a head when the girls learn Darra’s father will soon be released from prison.

This story is beautiful. There is a realism that is not overly dramatic or sappy. The girls act like 15 year olds, and must learn what it means to walk in another person’s shoes. The summer camp setting keeps the tone light and often playful. A perfectly scenic and thoughtful summer read.