Hide and Seek

by Katy Grant

Fourteen-year-old Chase lives with his mother, stepfather, and two siblings in the high country of Arizona, where they rent cabins and run a convenience store—both tourist-driven business that aren't doing very well. The family is considering a move back to Phoenix, where Chase's father lives and there are better opportunities both for parents and children. Chase, however, loves the high country and doesn't want to leave. In particular, he loves geocaching, a sort of a treasure-hunting game involving a GPS. While on a geocaching expedition, he encounters two young brothers, camping in the wilderness with their father. Something's not right, that much he can tell. He's curious enough to return repeatedly, hoping to figure out what is going on and how he can help. Eventually, he learns the brothers were kidnapped by their father from their mother, who has legal custody. Just as Chase's family is trying to decide what to do with their future, he has to decide what role he's going to play in the life of his new friends, Jack and Sam.

Book Details: Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 8/1/2010 Pages: 240 Reading Level: Age 9 and Up

Genres: Adventure, Mystery, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens

230 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Katy Grant grew up in Tennessee and decided at age eight she wanted to be a writer after reading a biography of Louisa May Alcott. (But for some strange reason she never got around to reading Little Women until she was an adult.) For many years she taught composition and creative writing courses at university and community colleges. She currently lives in Arizona with her husband Eric and enjoys spending time with her two adult sons.

Reviews

[Cory R · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hide and Seek wasn't a very good book. The plot with the geocache and the missing children was alright, but most of the main characters, like Chase and his dog named Dexter, were cheesy and didn't really seem real. The setting, in Arizona, was fine, but the whole situation Chase seemed to be far fetched. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone my age, but someone a little younger might like it except for the fact that it might be a little long for their age.

[Eric Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

The points of view in the book are very realistic. The plot does a very good job of introducing readers to the activity of Geocaching. It also shows the dilemmas we all face when dealing with a serious matter and the potential consequences. In the end, Chase (the main character) does the right things. Everyone who reads the book would probably agree that that there might have been better ways he could have gone about it. However, it is going down that path that teaches readers the lesson about getting the help of others in situations where things could become dangerous or out of their control.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great! It was exactly what I was looking for in a book. I didn't want it to end, the ending was really sad how he had to leave them and named a geocache after them. If you are into some crime and mystery you would love it. The whole entire book was so exciting and secretive. Its amazing!!

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chase may be envied by other children of divorce because his parents get along, and considers that he has two dads. Both play a part in his upbringing, so he is shocked to find two boys in the woods who say they are 'camping' with their father. The realistic plot is believable, but is it too predictable? I wonder at what point most youngsters would tell their parents. We know his GPS will be a factor, and that at a critical point, the batteries will fail. This foreshadowing and suspense kept me reading and other minor developments added to the suspense. Chase was aware when the situation got out of control, but it was too late.
His final reflections about his experience and how his life would be changing show the reader that he grew and learned, and is also aware that he has more growing up to do.

[Kim Burean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chase takes his new GPS out geocaching. In a cache he finds a note that says, "We need food." He spies two boys and befriends them. He has suspicions that their dad may have kidnapped them. He doesn't tell anyone, but tries to intervene on his own.

This is an exciting book about a boy who is trying to do the right thing. He wants to handle the situation by himself, but the whole time I was screaming at him in my head to tell his parents and get help.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice solid story that does a good job highlighting the struggles of a young boy as he tries to become an adult. The drama is relatively plausible and doesn't feel contrived for the sake of drama.

The story also deals with the issue of a noncustodial parent kidnapping his children without dwelling on the reasons behind the action so be prepared to discuss the topic with younger readers.

Overall good book.

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The story flowed and I liked the part where the boy is stuck in the desert and he finds a circle k. Circle k actually had a commercial where these guys where walking from a the parking lot into the store and where totally over exaggerating the heat. They where making it sound like they where stuck in the desert. Anyways I thought this was a really good book. It had lots of suspense and I liked how the main character was young. I give it a five.

[Katie Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. it is very interesting, adventurous, and mysterious. It is about a boy that loves geocaching and goes one day and finds 2 boys that need help because they got kidnapped from their dad. Every day they go secretly to meet the boy and his dog and he gives them food. Then one day the dad finds out that the boy has been coming and tries to shoot him. The boy has to find out how to sneak away and get home when he is two hours away at midnight in a forest with no location available.

[Josh Newhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting entertaining preposterous but enjoyable. Beginning started a little slow, until they explained what geocaching was, and at times it did feel like a commercial for gpses... I think that it would be an enjoyable read for upper elem or maybe middle... Better than its generic cover would indicate.

[Nicholas Teeple · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. This book kept me reading because of the mysterious plot and the outcast characters in it. I liked how the setting was described and how it made the forest seem like a much cooler place than it really is in my opinion. Overall, I rated this book a 5/5 stars because of how well written it was and how it twists in obscure ways.

[Kim Gontarz]

Chase is excited to be able to Geocache but then finds a strange message on a log. What does it mean? WE NEED FOOD Who is this and why are they leaving messages? Can Chase help them or is he going to be in over his head?

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Wondering if kids might be less critical.
Geocaching. Missing children? Had a lot of possibilities to be a capture you high adventure story. Characters did not come to life and adventure became unbelievable.

[Suzan Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our entire family LOVED this new middle-grade novel about a geocaching mystery. Read my full review at:

http://greatbooksforkidsandteens.blog...

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

great story!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is really exciting and funny but sad at the same time.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning dragged a little but the middle got very exciting. Recommend this book to anyone that wants to read a middle grade adventure story.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

good so far i wonder if the have any other book like it by the same author.

[Jolie]

BL: 4.5
Pts: 9.0
Chase - 14 yr. old
Arizona Mountains
Geocaching
HELP WE NE
Jack & Sam (One and a half years missing/camping)
Mom & Stepdad own store and tourist cabins

[Knitwit · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fourth graders loved this book, I read it aloud to them. Now all of them are interested in Geocaching!

[Dolores · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real page-turner. I zipped through this one in no time. Part mystery, part adventure, this is a great boy book--but girls will enjoy it too.

[lilylovespjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting! I kept wanting to read on!

[Stephen Gallup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over summer vacation I've brought home a lot of library books for my 11-year-old. Most do not engage him, but this one did. Every day while he was reading it he talked about "geocaching." He explained that concept to me, and sounded ready to try it out himself. Then he said I ought to read the book. So I did.

Geocaching, the activity in which someone leaves a container full of odds and ends in a hidden location and other people use GPS devices to find it, seems to be a metaphor for the real story here. Jack and Sam are two little kids camping in the wilderness with a strange father who seems to be avoiding people. Chase, a 14-year-old who encounters them while tracking down a geocache, perceives that something isn't quite right about these people. He likes the boys and feels a little protective of them. He gets the impression that he'd better avoid being seen by the father, and for some reason he also avoids mentioning them to his own family. After a few days of sneaking out to their refuge with food and toys, he checks online and discovers that their father had abducted them from the custodial parent.

Like Jack and Sam, Chase too comes from a broken home. (It's a shame so much contemporary literature for young folks needs to reflect that aspect of life.) In his family, everybody gets along reasonably well. His father and stepfather are at least civil with each other, and he goes back and forth between the two households without too much friction (although we learn there's real sadness in this as far as his father is concerned).

So geocaching is a model for the much more serious search that has been under way for Jack and Sam. And Chase's family is a model for how divorced parents with kids can make the best of a bad situation, whereas the father in the other family makes choices that are destructive, and almost disastrous.

On top of that structure, I thought the story was engaging.

[Nischita · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok the funny thing about this book is that my parents took me to a children's writing award ceremony a long time ago (no clue why--we didn't know anyone there, maybe they thought i would absorb some of the "talent" by proximity?) and a kid there totally plagiarised the whole plot of this book. i remember sitting sulking over the fact that my parents thought these kids were smarter than me and hearing the kid read his story in the background and then double taking like am i hearing what i think i am... because he was describing the exact book i had read less than a month ago. down to very specific events (uncommon ones!) that happen in Grant's novel, this kid copied the whole thing. it was crazy. i thought about what i should do--this kid is getting an award for this, a MONETARY award--because he couldn't get away with such a crime! i ended up telling my parents on the car ride home. they laughed. to this day i think about this. i guess my review is that if someone thinks this book is good enough to plagiarize to win an award, it is worth reading, don't you think?

*edit 1: talent is in quotes because as you find out later, some of these kids were FRAUDS
*edit 2: this book is also what introduced me to geocaching, i actually went quite a few times after reading. looking back it is so cool that i learned a new hobby that i tried out in real life from a book! prime example of one of the many benefits of reading.

[Chelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so I remember reading this book when I was in the 5th grade. I absolutely loved it. The adventure, the detail, the suspense, everything about it I loved. I am currently in 8th grade now and I needed a book to read for my English class. I saw this book and wanted to read it, remembering how much I enjoyed it. With more advanced reading skills, I realized that the things in this book that happened are not realistic. Don't get me wrong, it's a good book, but some of the things that happen would not happen in real life, especially in the order and in the way it happens in the book. It almost seems cheesy in a way. I feel that someone of my age (13 or older) may not enjoy this book as much as a younger reader. I would recommend this book to anyone who is about 10-12 years and likes outdoorsy, adventurous, or suspenseful books. It is a chapter book, so a very young reader would not enjoy. Thanks for reading this!
(P.S. I don't have very great grammar skills so I'm sorry if you caught something in here. :) Have a nice day.)

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fourteen-year-old Chase lives with his mother, stepfather, and two siblings in the high country of Arizona, where they rent cabins and run a convenience store—both tourist-driven business that aren't doing very well. The family is considering a move back to Phoenix, where Chase's father lives and there are better opportunities both for parents and children. Chase, however, loves the high country and doesn't want to leave. In particular, he loves geocaching, a sort of a treasure-hunting game involving a GPS. While on a geocaching expedition, he encounters two young brothers, camping in the wilderness with their father. Something's not right, that much he can tell. He's curious enough to return repeatedly, hoping to figure out what is going on and how he can help. Eventually, he learns the brothers were kidnapped by their father from their mother, who has legal custody. Just as Chase's family is trying to decide what to do with their future, he has to decide what role he's going to play in the life of his new friends, Jack and Sam.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended by a student. Exciting realistic fiction -- protagonist Chase finds a mysterious message in a geocache book and tries to unravel the mystery before time runs out. Family drama, wilderness exploration, and enticing details about geocaching (plus info in the afterword about how to get started) are all great hooks to keep kids reading. Good story for kids who like mystery/adventure.

[Claire Klassen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfect read for my middle school students with just the right mix of mystery and adventure.

[Alysia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok for me. My 5th graders seemed to really enjoy it though! It kept them in suspense and it was definitely a good read aloud book.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chase just got a GPS for geocaching and outdoor exploring, so he's eager to test it out. At his first cache, he finds a cryptic note asking for help. He gradually gets involved in helping two hungry boys who are camping (hiding out?) with their dad, of whom they seem scared. As Chase befriends them and brings food, toys, he becomes intrigued, then worried.

Although I had some plausibility issues with Chase not telling his mom and step-dad sooner, or going to local authorities, this was an interesting adventure story with some great moments of suspense and solid survival/outdoor adventure details.

Later, he admits that he enjoyed having a secret, and didn't take it seriously enough until it was almost too late, so that allayed some of my plausibility issues. In real life, it can be hard to know whether to take something seriously, or are you just being alarmist (babysitter missing for 20 minutes, bag left unattended, etc!)

There are some, maybe too many, discussions of step parenting and split families--although many kids may relate to those--decisions about moving closer to dad (and leaving the countryside), changing schools, selling the family business weigh on Chase and his sibs. And the way Chase's family operates turns out to be in stark contrast to that of the boys he tries to help. In terms of story resolution, the mystery gradually becomes clear, but we never really know why the dad took his boys, or what will happen to him afterwards.

So, for kids who like the outdoors, who might relate to a thoughtful kid, and who like a very suspenseful puzzle that's not exactly a mystery...this is the book!

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story definitely had some suspense, but so much of the story was drawn out and slow going that it often took away from the main interest. I liked the descriptions of the wilderness and Chase's appreciation of it all but I found that often these parts were inserted into the story when I was getting anxious about what would happen next. And often what would happen next was just more of Chase daydreaming about elk or something.

What turned me off the most was at the end. *Spoiler* When Chase's parents are all telling him how proud they are of him and how he did the "right thing" and used his common sense, and how he's a hero because he saved Sam/Ryan's life. When in fact he put his own life in needless danger, and really put those boys lives at risk so that he could try to be a brave hero. He should have told his parents and the police as soon as he realized the boys were kidnapped. Then if he didn't want to wait around, I could buy that he went out looking for them and all the same action could have happened. But even after he's found at the gas station he doesn't reveal what happened. He topped up on breakfast, and had a heart to heart with his dad before he spilled about the boys.
To glaze over the fact that he should have trusted his parents (at least) who clearly love him, in a book for young people is irresponsible.