Parents' Guide to

Every Hidden Thing

By Carrie R. Wheadon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Absorbing dino-hunting adventure has some mature content.

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Kids say (2):

This eclectic mix of Old West action-adventure, whirlwind romance, and dinosaur fossil hunting is the absorbing page-turner you didn't know you were looking for. Author Kenneth Oppel takes the intrepid spirit of his amazing 900-car train story The Boundless and throws in the often-amusing rivalry between two paleontologists, then adds a star-crossed-lovers tale between the paleontologists' only children, Rachel and Samuel. Put it all together and the story moves like a brushfire from teen flirting to Western barroom brawl to scientific discovery to Sioux raids and back. All that in just over 350 pages with not a word wasted.

The only time the reader may have to slow down and catch a breath: when the narrator changes abruptly between Rachel and Samuel. While it's great to know both perspectives, with so much going on it's hard to keep up with more than one narrator. A small quibble in an otherwise all-around great read. If Oppel doesn't have a huge fan base by now, he will very soon.

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