Hideout Hardcover – January 10, 2017

A compelling story that holds the interest of 5th-8th graders. Be warned that there are a couple references to beer (adults), marijuana (18year olds selling it), and a few instances of curse words.

Sam struggles to come to terms with something awful that happened to him and his friend Grover at school. He feels humiliated and confused about a lot of things, including whether he even wants to be friends with Grover anymore. To cope, Sam takes his new boat, the Bream Chaser, out to explore the bayou around where he lives. To his surprise he finds a boy around his own age living in a run down old camping cabin. Davey is waiting for his father and brother to join him, but he's not supposed to be living in this area and swears Sam to secrecy. Sam likes it out in the swamp, it allows him to forget for a while his humiliation and the fact that the prettiest girl in school witnessed it. But things go downhill as Sam continues to lie to his parents and Davey's brother turns out to be a jerk who Sam suspects may also be a thief. Things come to a head when Sam determines that he needs to get Davey away from his brother but gets stranded in the swamp. I now have a new author to add to my great survival story writers list. He's right up there with Gary Paulsen and Will Hobbs. There is a bit of swearing and a tiny bit of profanity. Key's descriptions of the swamp were especially good, I almost felt like I was there. Hideout makes for both a great adventure story and a great coming of age story.

This book was intriging. Suspensful heart braking, touching, You name it. Hard to put down. It seemed so real.

It was a great adventure book. Grandson said he liked it better than the adventure books he had already read.

I read this with my 10 year old son this summer. It is very well written and kept my son interested, even though he has a short attention span. Great story full of adventure and teaches many good lessons. I enjoyed reading it just as much as my son. Highly recommend.

This book is on our school district's summer reading list. I enjoyed it very much - it has a great combination of adventure, mystery, and suspense, perfect for middle schoolers!

if you want your young reader to really READ this is a great book. Watt Key knows how to keep young readers turning the page to see what happens next while making them feel part of the story... They will learn something along the way.

I'm older than the targeted audience, but I love Watt Key's books. I just read this one, and it did not disappoint! It's a realistic story about friendship, family, and finding home.

I read this to my 11 year old son at bedtime. He loving this book, as do I, it is exciting to read and well-written. We are nearly at the end and I am glad there are two more books by Watt Key we have not yet read! My son loves real-sounding adventure stories featuring a kid his own age as the protagonist.Watt Key's books, Alabama Moon etc, are just perfect for him, there is adventure, personal challenge, relationships, friendships, within, but above all they are a good read.For kids who don't get on with Harry Potter, Philip Pullman, the non-real stories, Watt Key's books are perfect!So nice to read aloud something NOT by David Walliams and his celeb ilk - I find those just badly written. Watt Key writes well, treats his readers as intelligent equals! Love this book.