Family Book Club: Hide and Seeker

Cover of the middle grade book Hide and Seeker, written by Daka Hermon

Title: Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon

Reading level: middle grade

Synopsis: I went up the hill, the hill was muddy, stomped my toe and made it bloody, should I wash it? 

Justin knows that something is wrong with his best friend. Zee went missing for a year, and when he came back, he was . . . different. Nobody knows what happened to him. At Zee's welcome home party, Justin and the neighborhood crew play hide and seek. But it goes wrong. Very wrong. And one by one, everyone who plays the game disappears, pulled into a world of nightmares come to life. Justin and his friends realize this horrible place is where Zee had been trapped. All they can do now is hide from the Seeker as they race the clock to figure out a way home.

Categories: horror, urban legend, friendship, grief

Questions: 

  1. What's your favorite scary story or urban legend?
     
  2. Which of the characters in the story do you relate to most? Leader Justin, super smart Nia, musical Lyric, loyal Quincy, fearless Carla, or graceful Shae?
     
  3. What's your greatest fear? How do you think you would battle it if it came to life?
     
  4. Through this whole adventure, Justin is working through his grief over his mom dying. How do you think he's progressed by the end? What do you think helped the most?
     
  5. While they're playing hide and seek, we see Carla's greatest fear is turning into a mean person. How do you think that fear manifested in her personality?

Activity: It's almost Halloween! Justin and his friends decide to play hide and seek based on facts they find on ice cream treats—and what could be more Halloween than a mix of spooky and sweet? Head to a grocery store and pick up your favorite ice cream flavor, then make your way to the candy aisle. What's going to top off your scary sundae? Some crumbled Oreos for graveyard dirt? Wriggly gummy worms? If you want to amp up the fear factor, turn off all the lights at home and enjoy your creepy creation by candlelight, swapping scary stories as you go. 

Thank you so much to Red Balloon Bookshop for partnering with us on this series! If you'd like to see all of the Family Book Club picks in one place, check out their FBC page.