HIDDEN WORDS
A Novel by Award-Winning Author Christine Roy
Some secrets don't stay buried. They wait for the right mind to hear them.
In 1994, on the rocky shores of Cape Ann, Massachusetts, Ben Barrows begins his senior year at Masters' Preparatory like a dead man walking, half his friendships already over, just not yet buried. Then Dana Kirkland arrives: a new student, a rival dancer to his powerful ex-girlfriend, and the one person who might save him. Together, Ben and Dana try to hold on to love against a tidal wave of pain and treachery neither of them saw coming.
In the present, Joey Barrows is drowning in grief. As he crosses the graduation stage, a terrifying gift awakens, the unspoken words of everyone around him, pouring uninvited into his mind. When Joey discovers his distant, unstable father shares this same curse, the door to a devastating past swings open, releasing secrets, obsession, and ghosts that refuse to stay silent.
Told across two timelines, Hidden Words is a gothic, speculative mystery about the inheritance of trauma - and the terrible cost of truths left unspoken.
Perfect for fans of We Were Liars, Black Swan, and The Turnout.
Hidden Words deals with mature themes including trauma, family abuse, and sensitive interpersonal relationships. Recommended for mature young adult and adult readers.