“All That Is Hidden is a beautiful novel, the kind of book that sweeps you up in its story, makes you fall in love with its characters, and breaks your heart along with theirs.” — Writer’s Digest

Are secrets worth the price they cost to keep?

Ten-year-old Tina Hamilton finds out the hard way. 

She always knew her father had a secret. But all of God’s earth to Tina are the streams for fishing, the fields for planting and harvesting–a world snugly enclosed by the blue-misted Smokies. Other than the seasons, nothing ever changed.

Until the summer of 1968.

Tina’s life changes forever. Trouble erupts when northern exploitation threatens her tiny southern Appalachian town.

Some folks blame the trouble on progress, some blame the space race and men meddling with the moon’s cycles, and some blame Tina’s father.

A past he has hidden catches up to him as his secret settles in like an unwelcome guest. The clash of progressive ideas and small town values escalates the collision of a father’s past and present.

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My Review:
I absolutely loved this book. The author has given us two wonderful main characters: ten year old Tina Hamilton and her brother Nick. Set in the year 1968 in a small southern Appalachian town, we view the events that take place through Tina’s point of view.  Tina’s lived a very secure life growing up in a loving family and the support of her friend and extended family.  She’s at home roaming the woods near their home as she is playing on the baseball field playing with her brother on their baseball team.  However, significant changes are coming that will change the dynamics of life in their community as well as for Tina’s family. As these changes take place, secrets are revealed that affect Tina and her entire family. Tina and Nick discover that once you discover “all that is hidden”, you have choices to make about how you react to the implications of those revealed secrets.

The author did an excellent job with the pacing of the story in allowing us to get to know both Tina and Nick very well before the changes begin happening in the story.  I was able to fully understand the impact of these events on them, as well as their struggle to find forgiveness and understanding for those who made decisions that affected them personally. There’s secondary story about Tina, Nick, and a bully that, although it added some drama, seemed to be a minor distraction from the main emphasis of the book.  However, the ending of this book brought tears to my eyes in the best of ways.  That ending was perfection and not at all what I expected. (I have to admit that I read that a couple of more times before I would put the book down.)

If you are in a book club, this would be a wonderful book for discussion.  All the secondary characters are interesting, especially Tina’s parents, and each would easily have their own discussion point.

I voluntarily received a copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

About Laura DeNooyer-Moore

As a Michigan native, Laura earned a BA in Education and Fine Arts at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, then taught school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for nine years. She pioneered the middle school and high school art program, wrote curriculum, taught creative writing, and coached volleyball.

Over twenty years later, Laura started her own teaching and tutoring business from home, working with home schoolers the past sixteen years. Between these two teaching jobs, she and her husband raised four children. In her spare time, Laura wrote and published her first novel and received awards for other stories.

Storytelling through novels is her passion, especially character-driven stories featuring complex relationships, whether historical fiction or a fairy tale setting.

Laura has contributed to The Baum Bugle periodical and hosts a blog to encourage creativity and spur imagination, wherever they are found. https://lauradenooyer.com

Critical Acclaim for 2012 novel All That Is Hidden:

“This novel captures a vivid sense of life in a family-bonded community in the Appalachian mountains, one in which many readers will see themselves growing up through Little League baseball and major league heroes at a time and place when children spent more time out ranging in the fields and woods than in front of electronic gadgets. The story gives such a strong sense of family interactions that you’ll feel you’ve been invited to a reunion, rich in good food and conversation that often makes you laugh–but also presses on some deep wounds. Central is the clash of progress with a small tight-knit community in which people can be deeply concerned with the work and interests of their neighbors.”

–Dr. Steve Eberly, Western Carolina University

“All That Is Hidden is a beautiful novel, the kind of book that sweeps you up in its story, makes you fall in love with its characters, and breaks your heart along with theirs when they go through suffering. The “secret,” or, more accurately, secrets, of the first line of this book are artfully hidden throughout the novel, making their ultimate revelation both truly shocking and truly poignant. Tina is a very good narrator, but it is her father and his character who steals the novel–his life story is both original and compelling, and the pain and grace he experiences drew tears to this reader’s eyes.”

–Writer’s Digest

“This richly layered story is a most rewarding read . . . The gentle power of this book gains momentum until it reaches a dramatic and moving end.”

–Ann Emanuel, Commuter Week