The Hideout

by Eve Bunting

Twelve-year-old Andy feels he would be better off with his father in England than in his San Francisco home with his mother and her new husband. To raise the money needed to finance his trip to England, he stages his own kidnapping, but the plan backfires when someone decides to make the kidnapping a reality.

Genres: Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade

133 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Also known as Evelyn Bolton and A.E. Bunting.

Anne Evelyn Bunting, better known as Eve Bunting, is an author with more than 250 books. Her books are diverse in age groups, from picture books to chapter books, and topic, ranging from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Eve Bunting has won several awards for her works.

Bunting went to school in Ireland and grew up with storytelling. In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I’m a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen.” This storytelling began as an inspiration for Bunting and continues with her work.

In 1958, Bunting moved to the United States with her husband and three children. A few years later, Bunting enrolled in a community college writing course. She felt the desire to write about her heritage. Bunting has taught writing classes at UCLA. She now lives in Pasadena, California.

Reviews

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute story about a twelve-year-old boy who longs for his absent father and resents his new stepfather. His plan to run away from home dangerously backfires, but he does find out who really cares about him ... and, who could care less.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twelve-year-old Andy runs away from his home in San Francisco and sees a rich woman drop a key outside a five-star hotel. He scoops up the key and has a hideout in the fanciest hotel suite he's ever seen. But he has to be careful to dodge housekeeping, and make sure no one can tell he's been in the room. How is he going to get enough money to go be with his dad in England?

It's an adventure story that's by turns fun and scary. With some good character development to boot.

[Khaliah · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a great book it will have you on the edge of your seat when andy almost gets caught 2 times when he was in the hotel room because you dont know if hes going to get caught so you have to keep reading the book to find out if he gets caught and you have to keep reading to find out if his mom finds him

[Hope Broadway · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Eve Bunting. This was a good story. And there was a timeless quality about it, but on the flip side, this would not have happen today. I never read this when I was younger, I found it recently, when I went looking for other Eve Bunting stories. I would recommend it. She's a good author.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite story by Eve Bunting but I can see how it might appeal to kids who dream of "running away" to something better.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, but not as much as some of Eve’s other works.

[Jessi Chaffin Walker]

OWN

[Brittany]

I don't remember much about this, but I know I read it.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andy knows his mother and her new husband didn't need him around. If only he could find a place to hide until he can catch a plane to England. And then, something incredibly lucky happens. The hotel room key fell to the ground unnoticed. He now has the perfect place to hide. And he has Leah, who keeps him connected through her Ham radio. But things get out of control when Andy decides to stage his own kidnapping.

[Johan Gomez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it was a great book because the book is about whether Andy is going to get caught by the janitor because he is hiding in a hotel. Also, he ran away from his step father because he wanted to go with his biological father in England. The interesting thing is that he hides in the biggest room in the Hotel and he needs to take care of himself until his dad comes back from a business trip, and he has no food or money so he needs to figure it out a way to survive. I like this book because it's full of adventures.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andy is tired of the way his step-father, Paul, fawns over Andy's mother. It seems that, since their marriage, there is no room for Andy in their lives. Andy decides to run away to live with his father in England. He takes some money from Paul and heads downtown. Sitting outside of the Countess International Hotel, Andy sees good fortune fall in his lap. As an older couple leaves the hotel, the man exchanges his key and a big wad of money for the dog the doorman in carrying. The key falls unnoticed. Andy picks it up, finds the room, and lets himself in. He intends to stay there for three weeks until his father is back from his current archaeological dig. The first night his sleep is interrupted by Fred, a bellhop, and his date who enter the room with a duplicated key. Sleeping in a chair, Andy is startled out of sleep and dives under the bed leaving his shoes behind. They have very distinctive Superman laces. Fred sees them, but Andy is able to avoid detection for a few days. He goes home to "see" his mother and contacts his friend, Leah. Leah meets him across from the hotel with clean clothes and food. She also gives Andy her Easi-Talkie and tells him that she will keep a certain channel open so he can contact her any time. When Fred comes back to see if the runaway listed in the papers as having shoes with Superman laces is hiding in the room, he catches Andy. Fred also finds the ransom note that Andy had written to his mother hoping to get enough money for a plane ticket. Andy had decided not to use it, but Fred likes the idea of ransom money and takes Andy to a remote park. While Fred goes to deliver a ransom note of his own, Andy contacts Leah and is able to give her enough information for the police to find him before Fred comes back. Paul is with them. Earlier, Andy realized that he was wrong in thinking that his mom left him for Paul. His mother hadn't left him, his father had. Now Andy realizes that Paul loves him, too.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Gale · Rating 3 out of 5]

BETRAYED BY SUPERMAN SHOELACES!

Pre-teen Andy is disgusted with things at home; his mom has remarried Paul (whom he privately calls "Paws"). His real father is out of reach--not only because he lives in England, but because he is away from home for months at a time on archaeological digs. The boy's best friend is Leah, a girl who is an avid CB'er.

Andy gets so fed up with his home life that he decides to run away--which is not hard when you happen to live in San Francisco. Hanging out by the lobby of a swanky hotel, without any specific plan in mind, Andy spots and appropriates the fancy key to a plush, rarely-used suite. Just what he needs--his own private retreat where he can wait in safety until he can contact his father, somehow, to request plane fare. But every kid's dream come true--except for Room Service which would blow his Invisible cover--turns into a nightmare.

Who cares if his mom and step father are worried sick about his disappearance? Can he exist for three weeks on room service leftovers in the halls; can he sleep and hide without leaving any trace; can he slip through the lobby without being recognized in the same clothes? Andy never considers the risk of being kidnapped, until the ransom note he writes in bitterness falls into the wrong hands. Then he must face some hard truths about his own selfishness, his prejudiced view of Paul and his childlike faith in a father who was never really there for him. Elementary and junior high kids will enjoy this story of adolescent resourcefulness and survival on the fringe of adult society.

(May 7, 2013. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)

[Amber Deaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is about a boy who felt as if his mom didnt love him because of her new boyfriend, so he runds away from home and secretly lives in a hotel with a celebrity, the celebtiry does not know that he is hiiding inside of the same hotel room, and he keeps in touch with his best friends (which is a girl) to provide food and clothes for him annd brings it to the hotel at the end of the book he goes back home ,

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feeling unloved by his mother and new stepfather, Andy hides out in a luxurious San Francisco hotel and thinks about staging his own kidnapping to obtain ransom money to pay for a trip to England to see his father.

[Swan Bender · Rating 3 out of 5]

narrated by Johnny Heller. My children enjoyed this story of a 12 year old trying to find his place in his family after his father leaves him and his mother remarries. The ending is quite good when the boy realizes he has a father in his mother's new husband.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good so far I can see everything in my mind that is happening in the book. it turned out very well a odd and very surprising ending. I liked this book it made me feel scared when the boy ran away but i liked the action from when he found the master key and made a hideout with his friend.

[Addison Children's Services · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to add this one to my bib, but the reviews weren't that great, so I read it instead. I thought it was cute. Andy runs away from home and lucks into a key to the penthouse suite. It's the best hideout ever. Unfortunately he is discovered, then kidnapped.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feeling unloved by his mother and new stepfather, Andy hides out in a luxurious San Francisco hotel and stages his own kidnapping in order to obtain ransom money to pay for a trip to England to see his father.

[Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

what i learn was that some books are fun.

[Debbie]

Andy runs away and hides in the seldom-used Tower Suite at a hotel

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Improbable.

[Krystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because you never know what is going to happen next. and this book is awsome.