This is one heart wrenching story, told by four women that do not seem to be connected besides the two sisters. I cried through most of the book, and was totally shocked by the ending, i never would have thought that it had turned out that way. ( )

It was a great read - couldn't put it down. I don't often wish for a sequel but in this case I do! Love all her books. ( )

It's a complicated story about the ties that bind us to our families and friends. The first thread in the story was that no one planned on Alison making the mistake of dating an older man or becoming pregnant. No one planned on Alison tossing her newborn baby girl in the Druid River. The second thread of the story is Claire. Faced with infertility, Claire happily adopts a baby boy whom someone has left at the Linden Falls fire station. She and her husband own a bookstore where she meets many members of the community, including Alison. Few people know that Alison is “that girl” ...the girl that killed her newborn. When Claire hires Alison to work at her bookstore, the truth begins to unravel. Two other women, Charm, a nursing student, and Alison’s sister, Brynn, play an important role in this drama. At age sixteen, Allison Glenn was sentenced to ten years in prison. After serving five years, she was released early for good behavior. Alienated from her sister, Brynn, Allison has a strong desire to reconnect, but Brynn wants nothing to do with her, nor do her parents. They disowned Allison beginning the night she was arrested for a crime so heinous that the people in the small town of Linden Falls, Iowa want nothing to do with her. Before jail Allison had hopes and plans that included valedictorian, a volleyball scholarship to college and then to law school. She was the perfect high school student until she became interested in a twenty-two-year-old man she kept secret from her parents. There was a couple of things I wanted to know more about. What were the exact details of what happened that night to end Allison in jail? It seemed there was more to the story that was being revealed. How were these characters (Allison, Charm and Claire) lives connected? There also appeared to be more there also and it also seemed to have been important. Overall, it was a really good story and there was nothing predictable about it.

Side Note
The plot is built on Iowa’s Safe Haven law, which decriminalizes child abandonment, allowing for newborns to be given up at designated Safe Haven sites and for the parents to remain anonymous. ( )

Great story told from 4 different perspectives. Birth, death, life and adoption are all covered in this one story. It has a sad ending that I didn't really see coming and had hoped for a different outcome. But overall very well written. ( )

Review: These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf. 5* 12/23/2021

This was an amazing read. The story was well written, organized, wonderful developed characters and kept flowing to the very end.

The story’s about Allison Glen and her sister Brynn who were very close in their younger years. This story unfolds from several points of view. The characters have a chance to tell their roles in the book. Allison winds up getting in trouble and was sent to prison for five years. Brynn wanted nothing to with her sister after the night of the terrible incident. Brynn was left to the public with children staring at her and whispering behind her back after Allison was found guilty of a horrendous crime. She had a hard time coping with school so her parents sent her to live with her grandmother.

There are a lot of more issues as the reader turns the pages. Brynn wanted to forget all that happened to her sister but the day has come for Allison to be released from prison. Both sisters had their own trauma’s to deal with and their family wanted nothing to do with Allison. The story is intriguing and issues going on throughout the book kept me reading to the very last page. ( )