It Was a Short Book

By an author I've enjoyed a ton in the past. Helen Frost wrote Keesha's Place and Hidden and I loved them. But Diamond Willow just didn't do it for me. Though I am sure it would be popular with the right kind of reader. Maybe a girl who likes Gary Paulsen's survival stuff?  Diamond Willow just wasn't my kinda story.  But!  It was set in Alaska!

Man, that was great!

Hidden was wow.  I admit I judged this book by its cover and I didn't think I would like it.  I thought it looked too anime for me.  But wow.  Wow. Wow. Wow.  This book was fantastic.  I read it so quickly and then wanted to go back and read it again.  And then I read the author's note and read the "story within a story" and wow.  Again.  WOW!  What a book!  Written in verse, it goes quickly and draws the reader right in with one of the most original stories I have read in a long time. 
When Wren was eight she was hiding the back of her mom's car when it was stolen during a robbery.  She was forced to hide out in the thief's garage and plan her escape.  The thief has a daughter about Wren's age and though the girls didn't see each other during Wren captivity, they know about each other and have thought about each other over the years.  Now, five years later they come face to face at summer camp.  The verse explores their feelings as they deal with the past and the present.  What a book.  I also learned that the author, Helen Frost wrote Keesha's House which I really enjoyed as well.  This must be in the running for the Printz Award.