In Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak, the main protagonist is a girl named Mallory Quinn who was an All-State track runner committed to Penn State before having her life destroyed by a crippling addiction to painkillers. Mallory goes through extensive rehab and lands a job as a babysitter in an affluent suburban town in New Jersey called Spring Brook. At first the job seems perfect, the parents Ted and Caroline Maxwell are caring and treat Mallory as if she were their child. Teddy, the young boy that Mallory is babysitting is super cute and the two spend their time playing games, reading stories, and making food. The first time that Mallory notices that something is off with Teddy is his attachment to his imaginary friend, Anya. Caroline is a doctor and brushes off the imaginary friend claiming that many gifted kids have imaginary friends because of their wild imagination. Mallory accepts this and tries to ignore Teddy’s strange behavior with his imaginary friend, but things get even weirder. Teddy loves to draw and during his ‘quiet time’ he begins to draw strange scenes of a dead woman being dragged into a forest. Mallory decides not to tell Teddy’s parents, instead guessing that Caroline is right and that Teddy just has a wild imagination. But, things get weirder when Mallory learns about the history of the house that she is living in. Right after World War II a young artist named Annie Barret was murdered in the Maxwell’s house and her body was never found. Mallory then becomes convinced that Anya, Teddy’s imaginary friend, is the ghost of Annie Barret, and she must somehow tell Caroline and Ted without making them think she is crazy.
This book truly kept me on the edge of my seat and the many plot twists it contains kept me guessing. For anyone who wants to read a thrilling book that is also very easy to read, I recommend Hidden Pictures. This book is 400 pages and may seem long but it goes by quickly as it keeps you wanting to read more. Rekulak does a good job of allowing the reader to feel invested in the story; by the end, I felt connected to Mallory. So, I recommend Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak as I sincerely enjoyed reading this book.
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