"Hide" by Kiersten White

Hide (May 24, 2022) by Kiersten White.

All Mackenzie (Mack) Black has to do is hide, and she is an expert at hiding. The prize for winning the hide-and-seek competition is $50,000, which is a lot of money, especially for Mack, who’s been living in a homeless shelter and can fit her life in one bag. After a family massacre committed by her father years back, Mack is alone, and endures much guilt over remaining alive. When she meets the 13 other competitors, she plans to stay invisible, because that’s what Mack is good at. They’re deposited at an abandoned amusement park (the Amazement Park). Nights are safe, but they must hide during daylight hours. They figure out that two players will be “out” each day, but discovering what it means to be out takes on new meaning soon enough. Mack is with an eclectic group that  includes the kindliest gas station attendant in Idaho, a lesbian veteran and a young man banished from his father’s religious sect, though all 14 are similar in their financial struggles. Who or what are they hiding from? What does Linda know? Is it coincidence that last names are shared with names found throughout the park like Callas, Nicely and Stratton?

            “Hide” is White’s first foray into adult fiction, and it positively pulses with dread. And death. In this paranormal horror novel, no one’s a teenager, but they all read somewhat younger, perhaps due to the emotional trauma each has experienced on some level or because the author has written many young-adult novels. The setting and the atmosphere of the book give the feeling that it’s a struggle to exist in a merciless world where thorns don’t only prick, they cause torrents of blood. Although classified as horror, I did not find it to be scary. That said, I wouldn’t recommend this story to younger YA readers, as there are occasional expletives that parents may not want in their children’s literature, nor would I recommend this to adults who want big-time horror feels. But the prose is simple, making for a quick read that is fast-paced. Life is not fair, and this story makes that abundantly clear. You’ve got those at the top and those that are treated as disposable. While the millennial horror is at a minimum in this story, it doesn’t stop the story from reeking of rotting things and death.

            Come out, come out, wherever you are …