These Things Hidden
by Heather Gudenkauf
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 337
Rating: 4/5
Read: Nov. 23 – Dec. 7, 2014
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly count: 49
Format: Print
Source: Personal Copy
Series: N/A
Blurb: When teenager Allison Glenn is sent to prison for a heinous crime, she leaves behind her reputation as Linden Falls’ golden girl forever. Her parents deny the existence of their once-perfect child. Her former friends exult in her downfall. Her sister, Brynn, faces whispered rumors every day in the hallways of their small Iowa high school. It’s Brynn – shy, quiet Brynn – who carries the burden of what really happened that night. All she wants is to forget Allison and the past that haunts her.
But then Allison is released to a halfway house, and is more determined than ever to speak with her estranged sister.
Now their legacy of secrets is focused on one little boy. And if the truth is revealed, the consequences will be unimaginable for the adoptive mother who loves him, the girl who tried to protect him and the two sisters who hold the key to all that is hidden.
Review: So after I finished the book that I had been reading when we moved out, I realized that I had failed to hold out any other books to read until we moved into our new house and the movers brought all our stuff back. The horror! So of course I had to go to the bookstore and buy something to read! This is what I happened to come across. I had seen this book mentioned in (I believe) a Paperbackswap newsletter. I don’t know how I missed it when it was released in 2011, but somehow I did.
I had no preconceived notions going into this book. I had seen no buzz about it online. I had not read review after review of it from various bloggers. I did something the old-fashioned way. I chose a book in a bookstore that intrigued me and I read it. I cannot tell you how long it had been since I had done that. My reading has been so structured and scheduled for so long that it was really strange to do something so out of the ordinary for me.
I was just glad that the book was a great read and not a dud! Ha!
Overall I liked it. I had no idea really what was coming when it finally happened. But really thinking back on the way things unfolded, it really should not have been as much of a surprise as it was for me. I liked that the book was told from multiple character viewpoints. I felt like it really made everything come together so much better. You got all of the innermost thoughts and feelings of so many characters. It was an interesting way of setting up the book in my opinion.
Some of the characters in this book are doozies, to say the least. You’ve got a wide variety – the one fresh out of prison, the sister who has some obvious mental issues, the parents who pretty much checked out when their kids were found to be imperfect. And that’s just all in one family. There are plenty other dysfunctional characters within the book!
The storyline was interesting. I felt like the author did a really good job with it to be honest. Because it could have been pretty dull … teenage girl gets pregnant, gets rid of baby and *thinks* life will go on as normal. It doesn’t. Girl gets out of jail 5 years later and tries to reconnect with her family and society in general. But all is not as it seems. And that’s what makes this story so much more interesting as it unfolds before your very eyes. I liked it. A lot.
So I guess I found a gem in this one. I would definitely recommend it!
Tales of a Book Addict 