Hideout

by Lorraine Orman

In Hideout Lorraine Orman tells the contemporary story of an older sister's attempt to rescue her younger sister from their abusive home life. The older sister, Roz, organises for the two of them to run away and hide at a friend's bach at the beach. The eldest of the two takes on a self-elected maternal role which in turn becomes more than she can manage.Roz is a likeable character and the adventure element of these two on the run, and having to fend for themselves, will appeal to young teens. Orman places her characters on the coast not far from Wellington, and transports her readers to this wild and windy place with skill and flair. She writes convincingly of the power of the sea and its attendant mysticism, the beach and the weather. There's plenty of nail-biting suspense in this compelling, well-crafted, psychological drama.

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 2007

About the author

Lorraine Orman has written 10 books for children and teenagers, published in both New Zealand and Australia. Her first book for teens, Cross Tides, won the Best First Book Award in the 2005 NZ Post Children's Book Awards. Her most recent books are Haunted, published by Walker Books Australia, and a reprint of an earlier historical book which is now called Here Come the Marines, published by Scholastic NZ - about the US troops coming to NZ in 1943. In 2013 she published her latest teenage novel, called Touchstone, as an e-book (available from Amazon, Smashwords, and online bookstores). Lorraine also reviews NZ children's books for http://kidsbooksnz.blogspot.com, and uses her Goodreads blog to review overseas YA titles.

Reviews

[Nicole Mettam · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. I choose to read this book because it was at a sale somewhere, also the story was set in New Zealand so I gave it a go.

2. A character I found interesting Don Nepia. His mysterious and calm peronality was intriguing and his knowledge about Kapiti Island was fascinating. He seemed like a fairy-godmother how he was always there to rescue Roz and Dawn when they got into trouble and he respected the fact that they had their own reasns for running away from home. He was hard to figure out, but once Roz got to know him I relised he was just a down-to-earth guy who lived a quiet life. Near the end of the book he made things come clear, not only for Roz but to me, about the voices from Kapiti Island, Aunt Lovey etc.

3. A quote I liked from the book was "Roz I'm glad she talks to you,' he said, stroking the smooth curves of the carving. 'She talks to me, too. She tells me to follow my heart." This is when Don tells Roz about what Aunt Lovey says to him. I found this interesting because of the situation Roz and Dawn are in and what they were running away from could all be fixed/decided if they just followed their hearts.

4. This book made me think very deeply about fate, and it made me wonder if certain people are really meant to be in our lives, sometimes for the better or for the worse. It also made me think about the bond between sisters and how far you would go in order to protect them and do the best thing for them.

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, quick read. Decent story. Felt the love interest part was unnecessary. Delete that character and little to nothing would change.