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BOOK INFO
Title: What You Hide
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publish Date: December 4, 2018
Genre: YA Mystery
Series: na
My Rating: 3/5
BOOK BLURB
Mallory didn’t want to leave home, but it wasn’t safe to stay. So she sleeps at her best friend’s house and spends the rest of her time at the library, doing her online schoolwork and figuring out what comes next. Because she’s not going live in fear like her mother.
Spencer volunteers at the library. Sure, it’s community service for a stunt he pulled, but he likes the work. And it’s the perfect escape from his parents’ pressure to excel at school, at ice hockey, at everything. Especially after he meets Mallory.
Then there is a tragic death at the library. Suddenly, what was once a sanctuary turns sinister. Ghostly footprints, strange scratching sounds, scrawled messages on bulletin boards and walls… Mallory and Spencer don’t know who or what is responsible, but one thing is for sure:
They are not as alone—or as safe—as they thought.
MY REVIEW
Mallory is sixteen and has a difficult home life. Her stepfather is controlling, and a little disturbing. She wants to get her and her mother away from him, but it’s hard to convince her mom to leave. Mallory decides to go on her own, and ends up being homeless while she spends her nights with friends and her days at the library. Spencer, also a teenager, comes from an affluent family, but still feels lost and unsure about his future. He’s a little rebellious, and, after getting into some trouble, ends up doing community service at the library. When he meets Mallory, he is immediately drawn to her.
What You Hide is told from the alternating viewpoints of Mallory and Spencer. Both are struggling with personal issues in their lives – Mallory has a troubled home life and Spencer feels pressure from his family about his future. They are from completely different backgrounds, but are attracted to one another.
What You Hide is a contemporary young adult novel with a little romance and suspense. The two main characters are clearly drawn to each other, but, of course, things are complicated. The suspense part deals with happenings at the library. After a mysterious death at the library, strange events start occurring. Someone is leaving messages around the library, unknown footprints are found throughout the library, and occasionally strange sounds are heard. Mallory and Spencer both encounter some of these strange events, and are curious as to who could be behind them and why.
This YA book combines romance and mystery in an interesting coming of age story. The main characters are very different – Mallory is homeless and struggling, Spencer is rich and privileged. This is a light read with some darker elements. I enjoyed the coming of age story, but the mystery wasn’t gripping.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This sounds great!!! Hard to imagine it being a light read but you did say it had those darker elements! A good coming of age story 💕
Thanks! It’s light because it doesn’t go too deep into the darker stuff, and there is no sex or violence. It’s a good YA story. 😊
I’m sorry that you were disappointed with this.it will get better. You’ll find a better book
I enjoyed it as a coming of age story, but I was hoping for more mystery and suspense.
Yeah YA is like that sometimes
YA is a hit or miss genre for me so I depend on my friends to steer me to those I’ll most likely enjoy. Thanks for a really good review, Darinda!
Thanks, Jonetta! This one is definitely for readers of YA that like contemporary coming of age. I was hoping for a mystery.
A controlling, disturbing stepfather is a great story inspo! I love suspense in YA novels!Too bad it wasn’t gripping great review!
Thanks! Mallory’s story dealing with her home life was the best part of the book.