Natalie D. Richards

Mallory didn't want to leave home, but it wasn't safe to stay. So she sleeps at her best friend's house and spends the rest of her time at the library, doing her online schoolwork and figuring out what comes next. Because she's not going live in fear like her mother. Spencer volunteers at the library. Sure, it's community service for a stunt he pulled, but he likes the work. And it's the perfect escape from his parents' pressure to excel at school, at ice hockey, at everything. Especially after he meets Mallory. Then there is a tragic death at the library. Suddenly, what was once a sanctuary turns sinister. Ghostly footprints, strange scratching sounds, scrawled messages on bulletin boards and walls... Mallory and Spencer don't know who or what is responsible, but one thing is for sure: They are not as alone--or as safe--as they thought.

What You Hide

Well this was a ride. Trying to figure out this book was fun. I enjoyed it. I really wish I could find out more about Mallory and her life and future away from her creepy stepfather but it’s ok. I loved this book and Natalie D. Richards doesn’t disappoint again. I really enjoy her writing and how her books keep me guessing and wanting more. 

Kaitlyn Grooms

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

A spooky thriller told in two voices that keeps the pages turning while mysterious events unfold in an Ohio public library. 

Mallory, a white teenager, has had enough of her mother's creepy and controlling new husband , Charlie, who also works in IT at Mallory's high school and over the last three and a half years has eroded her mother's confidence and willpower. Mallory hopes against hope that her mom, heavily pregnant and vulnerable, will finally get up the courage to leave him. Charlie tracks their phone calls and made her mom quit her job, and Mallory is certain that he is just one step away from hurting her or her mom. When she finally thinks she has convinced her mom to see Charlie for who he is, pack a bag and run, her mother freezes at the last minute. Now Mallory is homeless, the threats of her Stepfather ringing in her ears, "You'll come crawling back. And when you do, maybe I won't be so nice. Maybe I'll show you what a monster is." Nothing will make Mallory go back, so she scrambles each day to do everything in her power not to turn out like her mom living in fear. Homeless, she camps out with her Venezuelan friend Lana, who is dealing with her own family upheaval following her dad’s and brother’s deportations, and overstays her welcome. The days are getting colder and Mallory begins spending all her time at the library taking online courses, trying to stay warm, and struggling not to panic as her money runs out. 

Meanwhile, Spencer is a transracially adopted local hockey star who is always cracking jokes and usually does well in school. It's his senior year, his grades are slipping, and one night in an atypical move, he gets caught by the police after climbing the public library and breaking a historic window. Along with a hefty bill to repair the window, he gets community service working in the library, and when he meets Mallory who is there working on a broken laptop, the connection is immediate. Spencer's family is wealthy, white, and he is more and more convinced that he doesn't want or deserve the privileged plans they have for him, the private universities and the hockey scholarships. Without specifically addressing the full complexities of his transracial background, Spencer expresses sadness at how different he is in appearance and ambitions from his adoptive family and fears telling them the truth about his ambivalence about his future. He manages his anxiety and puts off contacting colleges by focusing attention on his attraction to Mallory and trying to find ways to make her smile, as well as figuring out where she came from and why she is hanging out in the library all the time.

Just as Mallory and Spencer begin getting to know each other, things in the library become sinister. The body of a young woman is found and the library is a crime scene. Mallory swears she sees a ghostly face and thin arm pull back the drapes a the top of the library after hours. Spencer and the library staff find black oily footprints in the stacks, and hypnotic writing appears on the walls. All of a sudden, Mallory and Spencer's problems are entangled with what's haunting the library. As they both try to figure out how to move forward with their own complex lives, their secrets and the library's secrets begin to converge, allowing what was hidden to be revealed once and for all.

Kaley Catron

Intriguing for sure. Not at all the twists I was expecting it to take but thrilling and fun all the same!!

Kathryn 

Okay first thought. If you’re looking for a creepy thriller Halloween book this is not the book for you. At no point was I really freaked out by anything that was happening in this book. With that being said I really liked this book! I liked it a lot more then her last a book and I think that’s because I loved the characters in this book. I love the depth of the characters I think there unique struggles and back stories were each done really well. I also really really appreciate how Natalie Richards showed a different side to domestic abuse. I loved that aspect of this book the most. Overall this was a pretty good book and I would highly recommend. (Just not as a thriller)

shellybn

This was an interesting story. I enjoyed reading it, even though it was a young adult novel. I didn't pay close enough attention to the book description before I bought it, otherwise I probably would not have. I did buy a couple of others by Richards at the same time, and this one was enjoyable enough that I will read those as well.

Jeni Enjaian

This book had potential. Ultimately, Richards tried to tackle too much and this ends up giving short shrift to these topics. I enjoyed the book but will not recommend this book to my students, not because it's bad but...
Also, I don't think that Richards ever actually mapped out the library in her mind. She could not have based that building on a real building. I kept trying to figure out the layout but nothing made sense.

What You Hide

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