Don’t let the Seeker find you! Twelve-year-old Zee is back now. He disappeared for a year and nobody knows where he went or what happened to him. Not even his best friends Justin, Nia, and Lyric. But ever since Zee has been back, he’s been… different. After Zee freaks out at his friends playing hide-and-seek at an odd party in his backyard — the first time his friends are back together since … together since his reappearance — strange things begin to occur. Everyone who played in the game has a mark on their wrist. And then they disappear.
The kids are pulled into a shadow world — the Nowhere — ruled by the monstrous, shape-shifting Seeker. Justin and his friends will have to band together and face their worst nightmares to defeat the Seeker or lose themselves to the Nowhere forever.
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I will never play hide and seek again. Awesome book though but scared me.
3.5/5
This is my first time reading something by this author, and I had a good time!
This spooky middle grade novel is about a kid named Justin. His friend Zee has been gone for a year and just came back, but he’s different. He mumbles and keeps repeating odd cryptic rhymes. To pass the time until Zee’s birthday party starts, Justin and several friends play a game of hide and seek in Zee’s backyard, but something strange happens and now a sinister force is hunting Justin and his friends down. Can they stop the monster before its too late?
Overall, I think this was a solid read for a younger audience.
I enjoyed the comradery of Justin and his friends Nia and Lyric. Quincy and Carla gave some much needed tension to their party, and their dialogue felt believable for kids. Justin had some good character progression throughout (his mom passed away) coming to terms with reality and coming to see how his friends were his family. It was a nice message.
The plot was a lot of fun. Basically you play hide and seek, but if you don’t play by the rules some creepy force comes after you and your friends. I liked the twist on things, and particularly enjoyed the Nowhere and how things worked there. Things were spooky, but not too scary for middle grade kids.
As far as cons, it’s a bit tough to pinpoint exactly where my disconnect with this book stemmed from, but overall I feel that the first part of the book dragged a little bit. There weren’t a lot of answers there, and the figuring out of things came a bit late and sudden in my opinion. Other than that, this was a lot of fun, and I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for future publications by this author.
If you love Halloween, definitely give this one a go!
Hide and Seeker did something that a book hasn’t done in a long time. It made me stay up way past my bed time to finish it. Middle-grade readers could be legitimately scared or disturbed by the fears expressed and manifested in the story. The characters are well-written, and the bond between the three main characters is beautifully expressed. The story is reminiscent of the Small Spaces series by Katherine Arden, but in my opinion may be better. The ending gave a continuing series vibe, which I would be excited to hear is true.
My only complaint was that I went to the Author’s website and she doesn’t have any more books out…yet. Once again, I bought this book because of the cover and man, this one does not disappoint. It grabs hold immediately and does not let go.
The characters are alive, and that’s another issue, because you can’t look away when you see what happens to them. You’re in whether you like it or not, and you might not, as this story is fantastically creepy. The creatures and nightmares are spectacular. This is the kind of horror I adore.
Don’t wait for Halloween to come around again. Get this one today. More proof you don’t need Netflix with books like this.