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A review by pagesplotsandpints
Hide by Kiersten White
2.0
Read Completed 10/21/24 | 2 stars
MINOR SPOILERS further down
This really wasn't good. It doesn't have a good rating, but I did like Kiersten White's storytelling style in MISTER MAGIC (even if I didn't love the ending) and I was hoping to latch on to something like that here, but nope. This just didn't work for me in any way at all.
<b>Firstly, there were too many characters.</b> Right off the bat, I didn't care about any of them. Mackenzie is really the main character here, but in third person and getting WAY too many POVs, I didn't get to know her enough and she wasn't developed enough as a real personality for me to connect. As for every single other character, I couldn't have cared less. We spent so little time with them that I was immediately drifting and losing focus.
<b>I was really hoping to connect with the writing style, but it really came off as rushed and almost like it was a YA novel, but not even a good YA novel.</b> HIDE kind of had vibes like THE HUNGER GAMES meets SQUID GAME in the beginning, but I liked the human elements in those series much more. Kiersten White DOES come from a young adult background, but this just didn't feel adult in any way, really. The characters were underdeveloped and immature and I felt like it spelled too much out for the reader. The plot was practically non-existent and we spent most of the time just running around. It was more action-driven and yet there was too much time showing how the characters were just all over the place with each other than actually feeling suspense.
<b>Nothing happened.</b> Sure, action-driven books don't have a lot of plot but I wasn't even feeling the suspense here. Another issue I have with a lot of horror novels is that half the time, the author never EXPLAINS why things are happening. So there is a horror / supernatural element here, and I was expecting a 50 / 50 shot of the horror element being humans killing each other, or a monster killing people. BUT WHY was the monster there? Where did it come from? There was kind of a why that it fed on specific people but also WHY was that thing?
<b>I don't like using a diary as a way to tell the most important part of the story.</b> The most interesting parts were tucked away in short, clipped diary entries. Like wait, I actually want to know what's going on here. No one gets to actually experience this or talk about it. The characters just get to find out the most important things from a book.
Really none of this book worked for me. I could probably rate it lower, and maybe thinking on it I'll change my mind, but it feels mean to rate it lower than 2 stars... I just didn't enjoy any single part of this. If this hadn't been this short, I wouldn't have finished it, but it was a quick read.
MINOR SPOILERS further down
This really wasn't good. It doesn't have a good rating, but I did like Kiersten White's storytelling style in MISTER MAGIC (even if I didn't love the ending) and I was hoping to latch on to something like that here, but nope. This just didn't work for me in any way at all.
<b>Firstly, there were too many characters.</b> Right off the bat, I didn't care about any of them. Mackenzie is really the main character here, but in third person and getting WAY too many POVs, I didn't get to know her enough and she wasn't developed enough as a real personality for me to connect. As for every single other character, I couldn't have cared less. We spent so little time with them that I was immediately drifting and losing focus.
<b>I was really hoping to connect with the writing style, but it really came off as rushed and almost like it was a YA novel, but not even a good YA novel.</b> HIDE kind of had vibes like THE HUNGER GAMES meets SQUID GAME in the beginning, but I liked the human elements in those series much more. Kiersten White DOES come from a young adult background, but this just didn't feel adult in any way, really. The characters were underdeveloped and immature and I felt like it spelled too much out for the reader. The plot was practically non-existent and we spent most of the time just running around. It was more action-driven and yet there was too much time showing how the characters were just all over the place with each other than actually feeling suspense.
<b>Nothing happened.</b> Sure, action-driven books don't have a lot of plot but I wasn't even feeling the suspense here. Another issue I have with a lot of horror novels is that half the time, the author never EXPLAINS why things are happening. So there is a horror / supernatural element here, and I was expecting a 50 / 50 shot of the horror element being humans killing each other, or a monster killing people. BUT WHY was the monster there? Where did it come from? There was kind of a why that it fed on specific people but also WHY was that thing?
<b>I don't like using a diary as a way to tell the most important part of the story.</b> The most interesting parts were tucked away in short, clipped diary entries. Like wait, I actually want to know what's going on here. No one gets to actually experience this or talk about it. The characters just get to find out the most important things from a book.
Really none of this book worked for me. I could probably rate it lower, and maybe thinking on it I'll change my mind, but it feels mean to rate it lower than 2 stars... I just didn't enjoy any single part of this. If this hadn't been this short, I wouldn't have finished it, but it was a quick read.