Hide and Seeker (2020) by Daka Hermon delves into the dark twists of a seemingly innocent game of hide-and-seek. The story begins when Justin’s friend Zee returns after mysteriously disappearing for a year. At his welcome-back party, the children decide to play hide-and-seek, but they quickly realize that this is no ordinary game. The Seeker, an eerie entity from their childhood games, emerges and turns their fun into a nightmare. As they are pulled into a terrifying alternate reality, Justin and his friends must uncover the secrets of the Seeker’s world and origin. They must face their fears and find a way to end the Seeker’s game before it consumes them all. Hide and Seeker delves into themes including The Strength of Friendship and Unity, Reality Versus the Supernatural, and Learning Courage and Resilience Through Childhood Games.

This guide refers to the 2020 Kindle e-book edition published by Scholastic Press.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of bullying, mental illness, illness, and death.

Plot Summary

Eleven-year-old protagonist Justin Vaughn attends a welcome-home party for his friend Zee, who has been missing for a year. Their friends Nia and Lyric are there, along with neighbor kids Carla, Quincy, and Shae. Zee’s mother acts uneasy and has cuts on her arms, while Shae seems to have black eyes. She suggests that they play hide-and-seek, but Zee interrupts the game, speaking about marks, life being stolen, and fears coming to life. He picks a fistfight, leaving everyone frightened. They try unsuccessfully to calm Zee down, and Justin almost has a panic attack as the group flees, leaving the game unfinished.

On his way home, Justin nearly gets hit by an ice cream truck driven by Hyde Miller, the young worker who dropped off ice cream at Zee’s party. Hyde is strangely interested in the hide-and-seek game and drives away with a haunted expression.

Back home, Justin finds a bill collector at the door. His mother, Helen, died from cancer a little over a year ago, and since then, Justin and his 19-year-old sister, Victoria, have been struggling to pay bills. Justin struggles to sleep that night and clutches a puzzle piece from the last puzzle he made with his mother. That night, he hears a sinister voice and has a nightmare.

The next day, Justin learns that Shae has gone missing. Even though she was at Zee’s party, the news reports that Shae was at a summer dance camp hours away. Nia arrives with Quincy, who reveals that Carla is also missing and had a mysterious burning mark on her wrist. They all heard the same eerie voice before their nightmares, too.

Suspecting that Zee’s riddles from the night before hold the answers, the kids visit his house, which is chaotic and filled with drawings of dark monsters. Lyric is already there. Zee, in a dazed state, tells Justin that he couldn’t play anymore—he’s sorry and wants to help but can’t face the “bad place” again. In a trance, Zee draws stick figures with their names, crossing them out one by one. Terrified, the group leaves. They consider calling the police but know that their story won’t be believed.

Quincy’s wrist develops the same dark, swirling mark, and they realize that Zee’s warnings were about their fates. They visit Rodrigo, Zee’s campmate from when he went missing, to learn more. Rodrigo describes a black hole that took Zee and mentions that Hyde, the ice cream man, recently asked him questions, too.

Worried about Hyde’s involvement, the kids break into his house and discover a wall of photos of missing kids, including Shae and Zee. They think that Hyde may be a kidnapper. They hear a dark voice warning them that they’re all next and dash out of Hyde’s house, but Quincy is dragged into a black hole in the earth.

The kids notice that Nia now has a burning mark on her wrist. They ask Hyde questions, seeing that he has the mark, too. Hyde explains that the Seeker is a monster who enforces the rules of hide-and-seek. If the game is unfinished, the Seeker hunts players and takes them to its world, Nowhere, where they must confront their deepest fears. Hyde only escaped Nowhere because he made a deal with the Seeker to help him.

Justin, Nia, and Lyric prepare for their fate. Quincy was taken with his backpack, so they plan to bring backpacks filled with weapons and supplies. Nia is captured by the Seeker and pulled into another black hole. Justin is devastated by losing her, but Lyric pushes him forward. They part ways and gather supplies, agreeing to meet in Nowhere soon.

At dinner, Justin tries to act like everything is fine around Victoria, who wants to rent out their late mother’s room to help with bills. Justin is shocked that she wants to clean out their mother’s room, but Victoria assures him that it will be healthy. She argues that moving forward will help his anxiety attacks, but he’s not ready to let go. Struggling with grief and guilt, Justin hides the Seeker information from her.

When Justin is pulled into Nowhere, he wakes in a coffin in a twisted version of his mother’s grave—a manifestation of one of his deepest fears. After escaping the coffin, he encounters a grotesque version of his mother, whom he calls “Not-Mom.” She’s decaying and chilling, and Justin is forced to relive her illness and death. Not-Mom chases him while singing chants about the Seeker.

Justin runs away and meets Mary, a young girl and Hyde’s little sister; Hyde left her behind in Nowhere. She warns Justin never to touch anyone else—people who touch in Nowhere share fears. They can’t interact with the real world either since they’re in a parallel universe and time moves differently in Nowhere. Mary has been there for nine years, but she hasn’t aged. If she ever leaves, she will be nine years older in their world.

Mary introduces Justin to Duke, a boy who has been trapped in Nowhere for 80 years and knows its secrets. Duke explains that the Seeker is more powerful because he’s captured over 300 kids now. Justin’s mark on his wrist turns into the number 399. Justin recalls Zee’s garbled warning about the number 400. When the Seeker captures 400 kids, he will invade the real world with all their fears.

Reuniting with Lyric, Nia, and Quincy, Jack strategizes with the group to stop the Seeker. The group faces many terrors—from Nia’s fear of aging to Quincy’s dread of bugs. Mary’s fear of rat-snakes and Duke’s many acquired fears, including fire and lightning, also test their resolve. They find Carla and Shae, who have rallied other kids to fight back. However, the Seeker’s relentless attacks overwhelm them, forcing Justin and his closest allies to flee and regroup.

They realize that Zee holds the key to defeating the Seeker and head to his house. They can observe him from Nowhere. From Zee’s mumblings, they learn that he broke a deal with the Seeker, which is why the monster came for Zee’s friends. Zee offers an important chant about how the danger began with hide-and-seek, and they realize that they must replay the game fairly to defeat the Seeker. He points to the tree they used as a home base in his backyard.

Justin and the others put their hands together, touching so that they can see and share their fears. The Seeker appears and unleashes their worst fears to stop them. In a climactic battle, the group supports one another to overcome the horrors of their worst fears. Justin must resist Not-Mom’s loving façade as she disguises herself as his deceased mother and begs him to stay with her. Choosing to let go of his grief, Justin escapes her grasp and becomes the last one to touch the safe tree, defeating the Seeker.

With the Seeker vanquished, the kids are transported safely back home. Justin and his friends gather with joy. They’re safe and free. Mary, meanwhile, also returns home. She visits her brother, Hyde, and suggests that they play a new game.