Recently released in November 2018 by Razorbill, Hide With Me, a debut novel by Sorboni Banerjee, is a captivating YA thrill ride which I could hardly put down once I had started. Clearly I’m not a young adult, and I would recommend this for both teens and adults.
This book has a bit of everything it it: romance, suspense, family issues, and thrills for days! The plot is gritty & compelling with vividly drawn characters, urging readers forward with breakneck speed. If it were a movie (which it would make a fabulous one, by the way), I would call it a “nail-biter.” Boy meets girl. Boy hides girl. Girl has just barely escaped with her life. Now boy and girl are being hunted.
17 year old Cade, star football quarterback in the small town of Tanner, Texas, has a lot to deal with. His sole focus is being the best he can be on the field so he can get out of Tanner and away from what’s left of his family. His mother left and his father has been drinking and smacking around Cade ever since. On his way home one evening, he and his dog Hunter stumble upon a young girl broken and bleeding in the cornfield. Cade’s instinct is to call for help, knowing she doesn’t have much time, but the two words she whispers, “hide me,” and terrified look in her eyes urge him to do as she asks. Someone hurt her and will be back to finish the job.
He brings Jane Doe, “Jane,” to an old barn on the far edges of his farm, one that hasn’t been used for years and a place he goes to escape when his father is using Cade as a punching bag. As Jane starts to heal and make a plan to escape North before those looking for her can find her, Cade is able to get only small details about her past. He wants to help her, but she’s like a scared rabbit, afraid to trust anyone. Jane has spent her life in foster homes. She got in with the wrong crowd, and ended up in Mexico with a boyfriend who was working with the drug cartel. Now she knows too much, and the leader of the drug cartel, vicious and ruthless Wolf Cub, wants her dead. She knows that Cade and anyone else who tries to help her is putting themselves in terrible danger. But something about the way Cade cares for her and spends time with her makes a tenderness stir in her that she’s never felt before. Talk about a predicament!
I promise you’ll love this book. The story moves along quickly, snowballing into a whopper of an ending. What an awesome debut novel; I look forward to future books by Sorboni. I can’t wait to share it with my students!
Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group for providing me with a review copy of this title.
Librarian Laura 