Hide and Seeker

by Daka Hermon

Overview

One of our most iconic childhood games receives a creepy twist as it becomes the gateway to a nightmare world.

Don't let the Seeker find you!

Twelve-year-old Zee is back now. He disappeared for a year and nobody knows where he went or what happened to him. Not even his best friends Justin, Nia, and Lyric. But ever since Zee has been back, he's been... different. After Zee freaks out while playing hide-and-seek at an odd party in his backyard — the first time his friends are back together since his reappearance — strange things begin to occur. Everyone who played in the game has a mark on their wrist. And then they disappear.

The kids are pulled into a shadow world — the Nowhere — ruled by the monstrous, shape-shifting Seeker. Justin and his friends will have to band together and face their worst nightmares to defeat the Seeker or lose themselves to the Nowhere forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338583632
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/15/2025
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 7.62(h) x (d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Daka Hermon was born in Tennessee and spent her childhood huddled under a blanket with a flashlight reading and writing fairy-tale and fantasy stories. She works in the entertainment industry, and is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She loves peach sweet tea, chocolate, cupcakes, and collecting superhero toys. Daka lives in California and can be found online at dakahermon.com and on Twitter @dakadh.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/26/2020

Zee, sixth-grader Justin’s best friend, has been missing for over a year—404 days to be exact. Now he’s home, and his mother, Mrs. Murphy, is throwing a party. Invited along with Justin are other close friends Nia and Lyric, as well as the neighborhood bully, Carla, and her twin brother, Quincy. While waiting for the guest of honor, another neighborhood kid, Shae, arrives and suggests that they play hide-and-seek. The game devolves into a flurry of rule-breaking soon interrupted by the arrival of a changed, scarred Zee, who conveys a cryptic message: “One day soon you’ll leave from here and fight against all you fear.” When the game’s players develop a mysterious mark and begin to disappear one by one, Justin and his friends must find a way to defeat a chilling foe in a world made up of their darkest fears. Hermon’s standout debut offers spine-tingling prose that pulls no punches; nuanced depictions of grief, friendship, and fear; engaging characterization that makes readers root for its largely Black cast; and a reassuring ending that leaves room for future installments. Ages 8–12. Agent: Emily Keyes, Fuse Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2020-05-17
Justin and his friends play their last game of hide-and-seek at their friend Zee’s not-so-welcome–home party.

Zee had gone missing one week after Justin’s mother passed away just one year ago, and the party is celebrating his return. But the emaciated Zee is acting strangely, mumbling rhymes about a Seeker that will take them all. Shortly after the party, one by one, Justin’s other friends begin to disappear. It doesn’t take long for the remaining members of the crew to figure out that Zee’s strange behavior may be connected to the disappearances. Justin, Nia, and Lyric set out on a trail of clues and possible suspects, hoping to find their missing peers. No sooner do the details of the mystery begin to come to light than Justin, the last of the group, is unwillingly transported into the realm of Nowhere. In this parallel universe, the Seeker keeps children hostage, feeding off of their fears. This dark nail-biter, set in a small Tennessee town and featuring a largely African American cast (Lyric is the only white kid), weaves a creepy spin on a childhood game that quickly slips into a Stephen King–esque tale of horror. Can the children trapped in Nowhere gather as allies to evade the Seeker and get home?

A chilling debut—like the Seeker, a tale that doesn’t let you go. (Horror. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews