Hide

Hide draws on elements from several different genres, including dystopian fiction, psychological thrillers, and the horror genre. One of the key marketing points of the novel is its amusement park setting, which contrasts the expected joy of a carnival with the dark violence that the characters soon experience. This form of dissonance has become a common trope in horror fiction and cinema alike, and White is not the first to use it in her work. Recently, Mike Bokoven’s FantasticLand has gained popularity on “BookTok” on TikTok for recounting the fictional, Lord of the Flies-esque destruction of a theme park crew trapped in a storm. Duncan Ralston’s Ghostland, Stephen King’s Joyland, and Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes also use carnival settings to explore the depths of human depravity. This trope can also be seen in films like Zombieland, Hell Fest, Us, and Final Destination 3. Another noteworthy title in this vein is Stephen King’s It; although it is not set in an amusement park, it features a monster in the form of an evil clown named Pennywise, who has since entered the public zeitgeist as an iconic horror character.