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26th out of 136 books
—
554 voters
Hidden
by
Helen Frost
When Wren Abbott and Darra Monson are eight years old, Darra's father steals a minivan. He doesn't know that Wren is hiding in the back. The hours and days that follow change the lives of bothgirls. Darra is left with a question that only Wren can answer. Wren has questions, too.
Years later, in a chance encounter at camp, the girls face each other for the first time. They...more
Years later, in a chance encounter at camp, the girls face each other for the first time. They...more
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published
May 10th 2011
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
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Very likely this author's books are just never going to connect with me. I didn't loathe it the way I loathed Diamond Willow, but I didn't think it was very good. It seems to me a bad sign when you have to explain the new poetic form in the back of the book in order for readers to see what it is you're trying to do--god help me, this concept worked better in Diamond Willow--but after I went back to read the secret messages, I didn't think they added to the story anyway.
I think it's great that th...more
I think it's great that th...more
This book was really good I loved the way it was written in the form of a poem for most of it but I didn't like the ending I felt it left on a cliffhanger and I just want to read more.
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Book #47 Read in 2013
Hidden by Helen Frost (YA)
This is a young adult verse novel. When she was eight, Wren was hiding in the backseat when her mother's car was carjacked. The thief did not know that Wren was in the car when he took it. When he gets home, Wren hides in the garage until she can escape safely. The thief's young daughter knows Wren is in the garage and leaves out food and drink for her. Her name is Darra. Darra's father is arrested and sent to prison. Years later, the two girls meet...more
Hidden by Helen Frost (YA)
This is a young adult verse novel. When she was eight, Wren was hiding in the backseat when her mother's car was carjacked. The thief did not know that Wren was in the car when he took it. When he gets home, Wren hides in the garage until she can escape safely. The thief's young daughter knows Wren is in the garage and leaves out food and drink for her. Her name is Darra. Darra's father is arrested and sent to prison. Years later, the two girls meet...more
Frost, Helen. Hidden. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011. Print.
A young girl is accidentally kidnapped in a carjacking. After escaping the book flashes forward to a summer camp where the hidden girl meets the daughter of the man who kidnapped her.
This is one of those books that is always checked out, so when it came in the other day, I snagged it up to see what the fuss is about.
Students are enamored with this book because they can hear both sides of the story from the two narrators. The poetr...more
A young girl is accidentally kidnapped in a carjacking. After escaping the book flashes forward to a summer camp where the hidden girl meets the daughter of the man who kidnapped her.
This is one of those books that is always checked out, so when it came in the other day, I snagged it up to see what the fuss is about.
Students are enamored with this book because they can hear both sides of the story from the two narrators. The poetr...more
You are 8 years old, waiting in the car while your mom is inside at the gas station. You suddenly hear a gun shot, the car door opens, and a voice yells for the car to turn on. But its a deep, angry voice. It definitely does not belong to your mom. You hide in the backseat, and the stranger drives away to what must be their house, unaware that you are hiding in the backseat. Finally, the stranger goes inside of the house and you are left alone, trapped in the garage. That night, there's only on...more
Wren was in the back of her mom's car when she was getting gas. At the same time there was a burglary and during the comotion, someone jumped in the car with Wren and drove away. But, the man didn't know she was there. For 2 weeks, Wren hid in the garage finding out that the man had a wife named Stacy, and a daughter named Darra. Years later the after the man was put in jail, Darra and Wren went to the same summer camp. That's when the crazy things started to happen.
Imreally enjoyed this book...more
Imreally enjoyed this book...more
I thought this book would be a bit contrived, but it didn't end up being at all. The story is of two 14 year old girls at the same camp who realize they know each other. One, Wren, had been accidentally kidnapped by the other girl's father when she was 8 when he carjacked her mother's car. Now here they are together and share their feelings about each other through free verse and a new type of poem invented for this book. This was my one criticism of the book. There is a note about the poetry fo...more
BOOK TALK: Wren Abbott is 8 years old and laying down in the back of her mom's car while her mom runs in to the gas station. Suddenly there's the sound of a gunshot and a strange man jumps in the car and drives very fast and very far. He hasn't seen Wren, who is still in the back seat, hiding and barely daring to breathe when the man parks the car in a dark garage and locks the garage door behind him.
Darra is the car thief's daughter and the only one to guess that the missing girl from the news...more
Darra is the car thief's daughter and the only one to guess that the missing girl from the news...more
Eight-year-old Wren is accidentally kidnapped when her mom's car gets stolen. Cowering in the backseat of the car, she escapes detection and hides in the garage of the thief's home. The man has a daughter Darra, also eight, who leaves food for Wren and tries to work out her own plan to help Wren escape. After two days, Wren wriggles out through the pet door and finds help.
Fast forward six years. Darra and Wren end up at the same summer camp and neither is quite sure how to handle what she knows...more
Fast forward six years. Darra and Wren end up at the same summer camp and neither is quite sure how to handle what she knows...more
Reading Level: Grade 6-8
When Mrs. Abbott went into the gas station to pay for the gas, her eight-year-old daughter Wren asked to stay in the car to listen to music. It was the biggest mistake either of them would ever make.
When shots rang out, Wren hid under a blanket on the floor of the van. She was relieved when her mother came back and started the car until she smelled the smoke...her mother didn't smoke cigarettes. Wren froze. She stayed under the blanket during the long drive. She remained...more
When Mrs. Abbott went into the gas station to pay for the gas, her eight-year-old daughter Wren asked to stay in the car to listen to music. It was the biggest mistake either of them would ever make.
When shots rang out, Wren hid under a blanket on the floor of the van. She was relieved when her mother came back and started the car until she smelled the smoke...her mother didn't smoke cigarettes. Wren froze. She stayed under the blanket during the long drive. She remained...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
15 May 2011 HIDDEN by Helen Frost, Frances Foster Books/FSG, May 2011, 160p., ISBN: 978-0-374-38221-6
"Whoosh!
What do you do when all of a sudden your dad is gone and the
rest of your life is nothing
like it was before. We had plans
to go back to the lake -- we'd be going back every summer!
Dad and Mom had already saved up almost
all the vacation and money they needed.
And then, whoosh! First Dad lost his job, and 'started a business' -- I
pictured him fixing cars for people,
with his business partner,...more
"Whoosh!
What do you do when all of a sudden your dad is gone and the
rest of your life is nothing
like it was before. We had plans
to go back to the lake -- we'd be going back every summer!
Dad and Mom had already saved up almost
all the vacation and money they needed.
And then, whoosh! First Dad lost his job, and 'started a business' -- I
pictured him fixing cars for people,
with his business partner,...more
This reminded me a little bit of April Henry's "Girl Stolen" from the beginning, though that shifts when the story goes from Darra and Wren being 8 to them being 14.
The verse format is spot on. I think Frost is a master at this style, as it's seamless and the story works with it. She doesn't try to cram a story into the form or vice versa.
That said, I guess I wanted more. I get what's at stake and the tension but I could have used more. This is a sparse book at 140 pages, and I don't know how...more
The verse format is spot on. I think Frost is a master at this style, as it's seamless and the story works with it. She doesn't try to cram a story into the form or vice versa.
That said, I guess I wanted more. I get what's at stake and the tension but I could have used more. This is a sparse book at 140 pages, and I don't know how...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
When Wren and Darra meet in summer camp, a flash of recognition touches them both. What they cannot bear to discuss as young adults is the experience that united them as children: Darra's father, now in prison, in stealing a family car unwittingly kidnapped Wren. As Wren hid in his garage, terrified beyond measure, Darra realized what had happened and left food out for her. After several days, Wren finally escaped and was found by police, who then tracked down the man who had accidentally trauma...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I loved the premise of the book when I read about it online. When I received a copy for review I was thrilled. The story is told in poetry and alternating points of view. You have Wren's story about being inadvertently kidnapped by Darra's father. Then you have Darra's story. It is obvious that they blame each other for what they perceive to be the truth. It isn't until they end up at the same camp that they learn each other's stories. At first they try to ignore each other. When they are finall...more
2 likes · like · see review
Helen Frost takes subject matter that could easily turn into some sort of pot-boiler, kidnapped-girl melodrama and instead creates a really nice verse novel about kids becoming friends despite the horrific decision-making of one adult that changes both of their lives.
When she was eight years old, Wren was unintentionally kidnapped when a man stole her mother's car while trying to flee a crime scene. He didn't realize a little girl was hiding in the back of the car. His daughter Darra, also aroun...more
When she was eight years old, Wren was unintentionally kidnapped when a man stole her mother's car while trying to flee a crime scene. He didn't realize a little girl was hiding in the back of the car. His daughter Darra, also aroun...more
teen fiction (in verse); unintentional kidnapping trauma + new girl at summer camp hoping that no one finds out her dad is in prison for said kidnapping. Told in the voices of the kidnapped girl (Wren) and the girl whose dad kidnapped her (Darra). Each voice has its own form of poetic verse; it's not terrible poetry but Darra's voice just looks like randomly broken
up sentences
which turns out to be for no reason
other than that the author wanted to hide
sentences
in the words at the end of the longe...more
up sentences
which turns out to be for no reason
other than that the author wanted to hide
sentences
in the words at the end of the longe...more
1 like · like · see review
I'm not a huge fan of novels in verse, though I do appreciate how quickly I am able to read them. But the premise of this one really intrigued me. At eight years old, Wren is accidentally kidnapped when a man steals her family car with her in it. Locked in his garage, she hides for days, secretly being aided by the man's daughter, Darra, who wants to help Wren escape in a way that won't incriminate her father. But before Darra can act, Wren escapes on her own, and Darra's father is sent to priso...more
Chris Bancells
Frost, H. (2011). Hidden. New York: Frances Foster Books.
Poetry
Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominee (2012-2013)
Print
Selection tools consulted: School Library Journal, WorldCat, Maryland Association of School Librarians Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominee list (2012-2013).
Review:
This is a deceptively beautiful verse novel. The plot is fairly straight forward at first glance: eight-year-old Wren Abbot is inadvertently kidnapped when West Monson steals the van in which Wren is hiding....more
Frost, H. (2011). Hidden. New York: Frances Foster Books.
Poetry
Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominee (2012-2013)
Selection tools consulted: School Library Journal, WorldCat, Maryland Association of School Librarians Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominee list (2012-2013).
Review:
This is a deceptively beautiful verse novel. The plot is fairly straight forward at first glance: eight-year-old Wren Abbot is inadvertently kidnapped when West Monson steals the van in which Wren is hiding....more
I often find myself delightfully surprised by the power of novels written in verse, because they tell more story and pack more punch than I would expect from something so slight using such few words. Unfortunately, this was not one of them. This one, instead, left me wishing the story had been told in full prose to more fully capture the depth of the drama the characters were experiencing. This one did indeed feel too slight, as though we're just getting impressions of what the characters are go...more
I start thinking about what happened when we were
little kids, both of us so scared
and neither of us knowing
what to do or who to ask for help.
Here is another novel in verse, like Diamond Willow and others. Following a storyline through poetry evokes an aesthetic pleasure in addition to enjoying the content, and like Diamond Willow , there are burried messages that convey an additional level of meaning.
"You know. What happened."
We use the words we have.
In Hidden, Frost writes from two voices rep...more
little kids, both of us so scared
and neither of us knowing
what to do or who to ask for help.
Here is another novel in verse, like Diamond Willow and others. Following a storyline through poetry evokes an aesthetic pleasure in addition to enjoying the content, and like Diamond Willow , there are burried messages that convey an additional level of meaning.
"You know. What happened."
We use the words we have.
In Hidden, Frost writes from two voices rep...more
The constant: Helen Frost will use amazing forms of poetry to tell her story. The variable: Helen Frost will jump from genre to genre as she creates wonderfully engaging, thoughtful characters and well-realized worlds. Darra’s unemployed dad has taken to stealing cars and he does not realize that eight year old Wren is tucked into the backseat of his latest acquisition. Wren manages to conceal herself in the back seat but is trapped in the family garage where Darra’s father is re-painting the ca...more
It's hard to imagine how Helen Frost thought of this rather odd plot about two girls whose paths cross twice in significant ways. When Darra and Wren are both 8 years old, Darra's father steals a minivan without realizing that Wren is hiding in the back seat. Wren ends up trapped in Darra's family's garage for almost 2 days before escaping; only Darra realizes that she is there. Darra's father eventually goes to prison for the crime, with profound effects on his family. Six years later Darra and...more
This book is on my Newbery short list! The premise is believeable and riviting. Wren and Darra alternate telling their stories. The beginning is a flashback where Wren sets up the crime. When she was 8 years old, her mother ran into a convenience store and left Wren in the car with the keys so that she could play the radio. She hears one gun shot and, frightened, hides under a blanket in the rear of the car. A man, reeking of cigarette smoke, jumps into the car and drives off, unaware that Wren...more
3 likes · like · see review
This book really pulled me in from the beginning. Eight year old Wren is running errands with her mother. Her mother goes into the store just for a minute while Wren waits in the van. Then a strange man gets into the van and takes off. Wren hides and eventually finds herself parked in this strange man's garage. For two days she hides in the garage til she finds a way out. One person does realize she is there. The strange man has an 8 yr. old daughter. They never speak or meet face to face but th...more
2 likes · like · see review
If poems had been introduced to me as a child as puzzles, maybe I would have taken to them a little more. A poem is a kind of puzzle, isn't it? Depending on the kind of poem you have to make the syllables and words conform to a preexisting format. Unless it's free verse, of course. Then all bets are off. That's what you do when you're writing a poem, but can reading one be an act of puzzle-solving as well? Earlier this year I reviewed Bob Raczka's Lemonade: and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single...more
Ages 10-14. Wren is in her mother's car when it is stolen, the thief not aware that she is hiding in the back. Inside the thief's garage, she escapes into a boat in the garage, where the thief's daughter Darra suspects she is hiding, and leaves her food and water. Wren escapes; Darra's father is sent to jail. Years later, they meet at summer camp--Darra hating Wren for sending her father to prison, Wren tortured by memories she thought she'd gotten over. As they try to avoid each other, each gir...more
Wren's mother has just run into the gas station to pay the bill. Wren stayed in the car listening to the radio. She was in the back seat and doesn't know her life was about to change forever. When the man jumped in the car and took off, he didn't see Wren so she ducked under a blanket to hide. For the next couple of days, she is trapped in the man's garage hoping he doesn't find her. But someone knows she is there. His daughter. At least Wren thinks she does. Darra leaves food and water for her....more
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I'm dipping my toes into goodreads to see how it works. Thanks for finding me here, and thanks to everyone who has read and written about my books. I love to know you're there, even if I don't come here too often to say so.
Helen Frost is the author of six novels-in-poems and two picture books for children and young adults. She lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/helenf...
More about Helen Frost...
Helen Frost is the author of six novels-in-poems and two picture books for children and young adults. She lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/helenf...
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