I’ve enjoyed most of Natalie D. Richards’s YA thrillers – what did I think of this one? Read my review of What You Hide!
What You Hide by Natalie D. Richards
To be published on December 4, 2018 by Sourcebooks Fire. ARC for review from publisher.
Synopsis from Goodreads: Spencer volunteers at the library. Sure, it’s community service, but he likes his work. Especially if it means getting to see Mallory.
Mallory spends a lot of time keeping her head down. When you’re sixteen and homeless, nothing matters more than being anonymous. But Spencer’s charm makes her want to be noticed.Then sinister things start happening at the library.
Mysterious symbols and terrifying warnings begin to appear, and management grows suspicious. Spencer and Mallory know a homeless teenager makes an easy target, and if they can’t find the real culprit soon, they could lose more than just their safe haven…
Review of What You Hide:
For me, the strength of this one was the characters – and the setting. Which isn’t necessarily the BEST thing to say about a thriller/suspense novel lol.
But if you go into this thinking it’s more of a contemporary rather than Richards’s usual thriller-y stuff, you might like it just fine.
Spencer comes from a close knit and accomplished family, but he’s feeling a little lost. After a brush with trouble, he has to do community service in the town library. Mallory’s in a tough spot. Her mom is pregnant and the baby’s father is controlling and borderline abusive. So she spends a LOT of time in … you guessed it … the library.
I really liked both Spencer and Mallory. Spencer’s situation was one that I think a lot of teens can relate to – pressure from his family to go to a great college and down a pre-determined path. Mallory’s situation felt realistic and pretty scary to me. I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop.
Loved the library setting, which I thought was used really effectively.
There was also a mystery going on in the library which, for me, was the least-compelling part of the story. I also wished the two storylines – the Mallory – Spencer relationship and the library mystery – had more connection than they did.
I think this might have worked better for me as a contemporary with the suspense part more connected to the main storyline. But it was worth reading for the parts I did like!