Pages:
293
Publisher:
Walker Books
Release
Date: 7th
March 2013
Edition:
UK proof,
review copy
When
Lissy meets a mysterious and strangely wonderful boy on her way to Hopesay
Edge, she is deeply unsettled by their encounter.
She
discovers that the boy, Larkspur, is a member of the Hidden, an ancient group
of elven people, whose secrets lie buried at Hopesay Reach. Before long, Lissy
and her brother Rafe find themselves caught b a powerful magic and fighting to
escape a bargain that can never be broken...
I have pretty mixed feelings
about Hidden Among Us and I’m not get
sure whether the positives outweigh the negatives so I’m hoping I’ll make up my
mind in the duration of this review!
I really enjoyed the different
approach to writing about the fae. I mean, they’re not even called fae, they
are the Hidden for a start! Their world is also very different; it’s dank, dark
and damp instead of the usual setting of a bright and magical space full of magic
and wonder. It nicely reflected the fact that most of the Hidden we met were
pretty evil and that the love interest wasn’t one of them.
The multiple perspectives in Hidden Among Us was a surprise to me and
while I enjoyed seeing the events of the novel from all angles, I found it
confusing at first. I wasn’t sure who anybody was or their relevance to the
story as it wasn’t really explained or clearly hinted at, especially Joe – he seemed
completely out of place at first. I actually came to prefer any narratives that
weren’t Lissy. She irritated me and I thought she was whiny and a little
selfish.
I think I could have handled
the confusion and Lissy if it was executed a little differently. The prose was
often clucky and clichéd which really put me off. It was frustrating as the
story is so unique and I love the idea and every so often I stumbled in to a
really beautiful phrase and they two extremes just didn’t mesh very well.
Regardless of the problems I had
with Hidden Among Us, the novel
maintained a creepy and unsettling atmosphere and it’ a really brilliant idea.
Thanks to Walker for sending me
a copy to review.
Sophie
I really like the look of this one, but if I manage to get hold of a copy, Looks like I'll have to be careful! Nice balanced review though :)
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