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The Hidden Code
Eleven years ago, Hannah Hawkins’ parents disappeared while traveling abroad. Presumed dead, Hannah and her uncle are shocked when a letter from her mom arrives right after Hannah’s sixteenth birthday. By piecing together cryptic hints from the note and other clues left behind, Hannah realizes her parents disappeared while trying to find the mysterious Code of Enoch. An artifact they believed could hold the key to curing disease—or creating it—Hannah’s parents had been determined to destroy the Code, no matter the cost. Now with the help of her uncle, her best friend, and another cute but not entirely trust-worthy guy, Hannah sets out to discover what happened to her parents and if the Code of Enoch is real.
322 pages, Hardcover
First published September 10, 2019
25 people are currently reading
195 people want to read
About the author
P.J. Hoover
41 books393 followersP. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. P. J. is a member of THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS & SCOUNDRELS. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing Kung Fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 18, 2020
As soon as P.J. Hoover announced that The Hidden Code was being released as an audiobook, I knew I had to get it. I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time. 🎧🤗
Original Review:
The Da Vinci Code meets The Conspiracy of Us meets National (International?) Treasure. 3.5 is my official rating but I'm rounding up because I enjoyed the book.
Hannah's scientist parents disappeared 11 years ago looking for the mysterious Code of Enoch. We don't know much about it except that it can save or destroy the World and it's somehow tied to the legend (and similar legends) of Noah's Arc. Hannah literally stumbles into a clue that maybe her parents can be found. She and her childhood friend Ethan set out to find them and the Code with the help of her uncle and artist best friend, Lucas.
I absolutely love adventure/hidden societies type stories. The Hidden Code was no exception. Though, there are a few things I wish we had had more of. I feel like not very much of these legends or the Code was explained enough. I think a lot was glossed over, especially some of the more serious aspects, and the story almost wraps up too ‘neatly’. I did really like the fact that science and art had to work together to figure things out. I will be preordering the finished copy.
BEWARE SPOILERS:
📚✉🎨🗺🧗♂️🔦📱♾⚱🍀🚫🌳💞
***Thank you so much to P.J. Hoover for sending me an arc!***
Original Review:
The Da Vinci Code meets The Conspiracy of Us meets National (International?) Treasure. 3.5 is my official rating but I'm rounding up because I enjoyed the book.
Hannah's scientist parents disappeared 11 years ago looking for the mysterious Code of Enoch. We don't know much about it except that it can save or destroy the World and it's somehow tied to the legend (and similar legends) of Noah's Arc. Hannah literally stumbles into a clue that maybe her parents can be found. She and her childhood friend Ethan set out to find them and the Code with the help of her uncle and artist best friend, Lucas.
I absolutely love adventure/hidden societies type stories. The Hidden Code was no exception. Though, there are a few things I wish we had had more of. I feel like not very much of these legends or the Code was explained enough. I think a lot was glossed over, especially some of the more serious aspects, and the story almost wraps up too ‘neatly’. I did really like the fact that science and art had to work together to figure things out. I will be preordering the finished copy.
BEWARE SPOILERS:
📚✉🎨🗺🧗♂️🔦📱♾⚱🍀🚫🌳💞
***Thank you so much to P.J. Hoover for sending me an arc!***
July 29, 2021
Hannah Hawkins' geneticist parents disappeared 11 years ago. When Hannah attends one of her uncle's linguistics lectures at Harvard, she observes her uncle receiving a strange envelope in the middle of the lecture. It turns out to be a letter from her mother. But it is dated 11 years ago. Hannah starts asking questions about just what her parents were doing on that trip when they disappeared, and she eventually learns that her parents were tracking down something called the Code of Enoch. Her parents, another couple called the Olivers, her uncle, and one other man all were convinced that artifacts called Deluge Segments if all combined will lead to the Code of Enoch. Ethan Oliver was also attending her Uncle's lecture and catches Hannah in the act of looking at one of the Deluge Segments. He wants to find the Code of Enoch for his own reasons. Hannah has spent too many years without her parents. She is determined to track them down and know for sure if they are alive or not. Her uncle will never let her go along, and Ethan is going to blackmail his way into going if he has to. But what will they find at the end of their search?
This was an adventurous worldwide scavenger hunt with some fantasy elements (primarily the Deluge Segments and Code of Enoch). Hannah is likable. The artifact hunt is exciting Indiana Jones type stuff. And even Ethan grows on you. The culmination of the hunt reminded me quite a bit of Journey to the Center of the Earth in parts. Hoover doesn't mess around with unnecessarily prolonging any tense situation. Sometimes I liked that, because the resolution comes quick. Sometimes I felt it made things feel rushed. The entire book is a pretty quick read for young adult thanks to the adventure and a decent sized font and spacing of text. Hand this to those who like round the world scavenger hunts for fantasy relics.
Notes on content: 2-3 minor swears. No sexual content beyond a prolonged kiss. There are 3 deaths and one serious injury, but none of them is described much (some are just stated and not described at all).
This was an adventurous worldwide scavenger hunt with some fantasy elements (primarily the Deluge Segments and Code of Enoch). Hannah is likable. The artifact hunt is exciting Indiana Jones type stuff. And even Ethan grows on you. The culmination of the hunt reminded me quite a bit of Journey to the Center of the Earth in parts. Hoover doesn't mess around with unnecessarily prolonging any tense situation. Sometimes I liked that, because the resolution comes quick. Sometimes I felt it made things feel rushed. The entire book is a pretty quick read for young adult thanks to the adventure and a decent sized font and spacing of text. Hand this to those who like round the world scavenger hunts for fantasy relics.
Notes on content: 2-3 minor swears. No sexual content beyond a prolonged kiss. There are 3 deaths and one serious injury, but none of them is described much (some are just stated and not described at all).
May 23, 2023
I'll start out by saying that this is not a bad book. It has a good base and it works well as a silly book to pass the time. A younger and less critical reader would eat it up. I, however, am not that reader, so let's get into it:
1. This does not feel like a YA novel. At least not in the beginning. For the first ¾ of the book it reads very much like a middle grade novel: cut-out characters, simple prose, fairly low stakes, etc. It's only in the last fourth that things pick up content wise, but even then it's a bit rough. The romance is fine but definitely rushed. Hannah and Ethan escalate the relationship a bit to quick for my taste but you do you ig. The deaths are what I have an issue with. The death of Hannah's father is definitely the most shocking, so much so in fact that it feels entirely for shock value. I'll go into more detail later, but as an author, if you aren't going to explore the effects that death has on your characters in a way that makes sense and is fulfilling, DONT KILL OFF CHARACTERS. In the end, it feels contrived and only serves the story by heightening stakes that should have been higher the whole time and creating shock value just for the sake of shock value.
2. There are so many chapters in this book that just fill space and in the end contribute nothing to the plot. It feels like we spend 8 million years going through how many exotic pets our main girl has when I genuinely couldn't care less. I'd shoot King Tort myself if it meant she shut up about him for a minute. She is also forever going to different coffee shops and it takes paragraphs to describe the near-orgasms she has while drinking the stuff, even tho it's not like she's never drank coffee before.
3. Step back people: Hannah Hawkins is 💫✨Not-Like-Other-Girls✨💫 And thank goodness for that because I simply couldn't stand reading a book about a girl who likes traditionally feminine things, or has female presenting friends, or isn't nearly perfect in everyway but she's quirky so she's weird and no one likes her. I also highly enjoy her condescending comments to her friend Lucas: "Sometimes I forget not everyone reads scientific journal articles" why not insert a hair tuck and a conversation about how girls are too much drama here while we're at it? I kid you not, there's a scene where Ethan notices her collection of brains that she keeps for science and in her inner monologue says something to the effect of "maybe that's why I don't have many friends or I've never had a boyfriend. A dozen jars of brains on my shelves are just too much for some people. I'm so weird 🤪"
~Going along with how different she is, our girl has privilege in spades, the biggest aspect being her generational wealth. (I also can't for the life of me remember where it comes from. Like it might be explained in the book but her parents were biologists and her uncle is a linguist so the money just seems to pop out of nowhere) This makes the stakes of the story really low because A) we spend half the beginning of the book going on about how fancy her house is and how cute her exotic pets are and how poor Lucas is compared to her and B) because our girl can just jet off across the world with no consequences. Last minute flight to Turkey? Done. Cosplaying as poor by staying in shady hotels? Of course. Top of the line climbing gear, signal enhancer and a new phone at the drop of the hat? Obviously.
4. They way the Code of Enoch is introduced makes no sense. The whole spiel is essentially "Doesn't it sound so crazy that a guy could fit every species of animals into a single boat? Doesn't that sound so impossible? Yeah, that's because it is! Here's what really happened: God came down and gave them this tablet instead and it has all the DNA to every plant, animal, person, disease, EVERYTHING in it and Noah used it to bring everything back after the flood!" Like it makes no sense. The Code is presented as the more logical than the Arc even though both run into the same problem: How does it all fit? How do you write out the DNA to every living thing ever on one single tablet? And it's not like it's supposed to be more logical because the Arc needs power from God; because the Code is literally a gift from God to Noah. Also what's the point of telling the story in the Bible about a big boat when that's not what really happened?
5. The fact that Lucas is the only prominent person of color in the entire story and he doesn't even get to come on the adventure absolutely stinks. He was one of the few characters that seemed like he could have more potential than a cardboard cutout if he had time to shine.
6. Speaking of Lucas, is drawing on chalkboards in coffee shops an actual job? Like maybe I'm just stupid and dragging on this book more than I should, but since when do we need to hire a separate person to draw on the little chalkboard outside?
7. I genuinely forgot about the middle of the book. They spend a good chunk of the book in Turkey meeting people and gathering clues (I think) and I can't remember any of it because it was so boring and contributed nothing to the plot except getting rid on the uncle so that Hannah and Ethan can have alone time in the cave. There was also something about the stupid rivalry between Hannah and another girl that added accelerant to the Im-Not-Like-Other-Girls bonfire and generally made me annoyed but I don't remember enough about it besides the way it made me feel to go into it any further.
8. Ethan's gaslighting throughout the book is infuriating. Hannah will be like "hey I saw a sketchy guy in the shop we bought our cave supplies" and Ethan will immediately be like "what are you talking about that's crazy I didn't see anyone huh no one is there you are just being dramatic" and then later when they are actually in the cave she hears a noise and tells Ethan, who responds, "no one is down here Hannah don't be crazy you are just hearing things" and then they wake up the next morning and can't find the map so instead of trusting Hannah he just goes "you lost it didn't you 😡"
9. I'm sorry but the scene where they make out in the cave so hard that they crush the centuries old jars makes me want to jump off a cliff. It goes against the already extremely flimsy character we have set up for Hannah. I thought she was into history and artifacts and preservation and such but evidently kissing boys is ranked higher on her list of priorities. Also that just sounds genuinely uncomfortable? Laying on a crushed clay jar with a bunch of shards digging into my back while I'm trying to have a romantic moment? No thank you
10. WHERE IS THE LIGHT COMING FROM IN THE CAVE??? AM I STUPID??? DID I MISS SOMETHING??? BECAUSE IT SURE ISN'T THE SUN BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE ELSE IT IS COMING FROM
11. The way that everyone reacts to Hannah's dad getting shot is infuriating. Sure, everyone sheds a tear and feels bad, but that's it. How is the mom not at all angry at Ethan's dad for killing him?? The only emotion at all present is sadness. The entire grieving process is dumbed down to a few tears and regrets at the grave site and that's it. No denial, no bargaining, no anger, no guilt, no fear, no depression. It feels like a spit in the face to anyone who has actually lost someone. The way Ethan's dad shoots Hannah's dad and then is immediately forgiven without any consequences for his actions is horrible. Especially because he killed Scott the cave guide too (which is also never explained in detail. He lies at first that he fell from a tree but then later comes to terms and says out loud that he did in fact kill him but we never learn how.) Like, his family will never know what happened to him or be able to pay their final respects to his body. His presence will just drop off the face of the earth with no answers for anyone who knew him and the audience isn't allowed to process that or grieve with the characters, we just brush on like nothing happened.
12. I understand that the code can't be destroyed, but why? If God gave the code to people to repopulate the earth after the flood, why does He feel the need to keep it on the Earth? What's the point besides making people give up their lives to live in a cave to protect it? This feels like more trouble than it's worth. Someone should go see a priest and ask them to tell God to take the code back up to heaven because it's kinda useless as of now
13. There's no way a 16 year old would be willing to throw the rest of her life away and abandon everyone she loves to live in a cave with her mom for the rest of her life. It's just not realistic.
14. Why can't they just destroy the deluge segment? Why do they have to hide it? Without the deluge segment, no one would be able to find the cave and then we wouldn't need to keep sending people to live out the rest of their days to protect it. There's no need to keep this thing going, so idk why people are so gung-ho to hide the pieces all over again.
15. And finally, last but not least, I CANNOT GET OVER THE PREGNANCY REVEAL. I DON'T UNDERSTAND. Ok so, if the baby is a gift from the code, why does she only get it once she has actually left the cave? Were she and her husband just not doing it until that very last day? Did the code feel bad that her husband had died and gave it to her as a "sorry for your loss" present? Is this a Virgin Mary situation? Does the baby have the dad's DNA or did the code just not give it another set of DNA? Is the code the father? Is the code sentient? Is the baby a gift from the code or a gift from God because God gave the code as a gift to Noah? So, so many questions, so few answers.
In conclusion, very little in this book makes sense. My brain hurts. I'm going to take a nap. If you don't like thinking too hard about the books that you read, you might enjoy this one. If not, best to only read if you need a good laugh.
1. This does not feel like a YA novel. At least not in the beginning. For the first ¾ of the book it reads very much like a middle grade novel: cut-out characters, simple prose, fairly low stakes, etc. It's only in the last fourth that things pick up content wise, but even then it's a bit rough. The romance is fine but definitely rushed. Hannah and Ethan escalate the relationship a bit to quick for my taste but you do you ig. The deaths are what I have an issue with. The death of Hannah's father is definitely the most shocking, so much so in fact that it feels entirely for shock value. I'll go into more detail later, but as an author, if you aren't going to explore the effects that death has on your characters in a way that makes sense and is fulfilling, DONT KILL OFF CHARACTERS. In the end, it feels contrived and only serves the story by heightening stakes that should have been higher the whole time and creating shock value just for the sake of shock value.
2. There are so many chapters in this book that just fill space and in the end contribute nothing to the plot. It feels like we spend 8 million years going through how many exotic pets our main girl has when I genuinely couldn't care less. I'd shoot King Tort myself if it meant she shut up about him for a minute. She is also forever going to different coffee shops and it takes paragraphs to describe the near-orgasms she has while drinking the stuff, even tho it's not like she's never drank coffee before.
3. Step back people: Hannah Hawkins is 💫✨Not-Like-Other-Girls✨💫 And thank goodness for that because I simply couldn't stand reading a book about a girl who likes traditionally feminine things, or has female presenting friends, or isn't nearly perfect in everyway but she's quirky so she's weird and no one likes her. I also highly enjoy her condescending comments to her friend Lucas: "Sometimes I forget not everyone reads scientific journal articles" why not insert a hair tuck and a conversation about how girls are too much drama here while we're at it? I kid you not, there's a scene where Ethan notices her collection of brains that she keeps for science and in her inner monologue says something to the effect of "maybe that's why I don't have many friends or I've never had a boyfriend. A dozen jars of brains on my shelves are just too much for some people. I'm so weird 🤪"
~Going along with how different she is, our girl has privilege in spades, the biggest aspect being her generational wealth. (I also can't for the life of me remember where it comes from. Like it might be explained in the book but her parents were biologists and her uncle is a linguist so the money just seems to pop out of nowhere) This makes the stakes of the story really low because A) we spend half the beginning of the book going on about how fancy her house is and how cute her exotic pets are and how poor Lucas is compared to her and B) because our girl can just jet off across the world with no consequences. Last minute flight to Turkey? Done. Cosplaying as poor by staying in shady hotels? Of course. Top of the line climbing gear, signal enhancer and a new phone at the drop of the hat? Obviously.
4. They way the Code of Enoch is introduced makes no sense. The whole spiel is essentially "Doesn't it sound so crazy that a guy could fit every species of animals into a single boat? Doesn't that sound so impossible? Yeah, that's because it is! Here's what really happened: God came down and gave them this tablet instead and it has all the DNA to every plant, animal, person, disease, EVERYTHING in it and Noah used it to bring everything back after the flood!" Like it makes no sense. The Code is presented as the more logical than the Arc even though both run into the same problem: How does it all fit? How do you write out the DNA to every living thing ever on one single tablet? And it's not like it's supposed to be more logical because the Arc needs power from God; because the Code is literally a gift from God to Noah. Also what's the point of telling the story in the Bible about a big boat when that's not what really happened?
5. The fact that Lucas is the only prominent person of color in the entire story and he doesn't even get to come on the adventure absolutely stinks. He was one of the few characters that seemed like he could have more potential than a cardboard cutout if he had time to shine.
6. Speaking of Lucas, is drawing on chalkboards in coffee shops an actual job? Like maybe I'm just stupid and dragging on this book more than I should, but since when do we need to hire a separate person to draw on the little chalkboard outside?
7. I genuinely forgot about the middle of the book. They spend a good chunk of the book in Turkey meeting people and gathering clues (I think) and I can't remember any of it because it was so boring and contributed nothing to the plot except getting rid on the uncle so that Hannah and Ethan can have alone time in the cave. There was also something about the stupid rivalry between Hannah and another girl that added accelerant to the Im-Not-Like-Other-Girls bonfire and generally made me annoyed but I don't remember enough about it besides the way it made me feel to go into it any further.
8. Ethan's gaslighting throughout the book is infuriating. Hannah will be like "hey I saw a sketchy guy in the shop we bought our cave supplies" and Ethan will immediately be like "what are you talking about that's crazy I didn't see anyone huh no one is there you are just being dramatic" and then later when they are actually in the cave she hears a noise and tells Ethan, who responds, "no one is down here Hannah don't be crazy you are just hearing things" and then they wake up the next morning and can't find the map so instead of trusting Hannah he just goes "you lost it didn't you 😡"
9. I'm sorry but the scene where they make out in the cave so hard that they crush the centuries old jars makes me want to jump off a cliff. It goes against the already extremely flimsy character we have set up for Hannah. I thought she was into history and artifacts and preservation and such but evidently kissing boys is ranked higher on her list of priorities. Also that just sounds genuinely uncomfortable? Laying on a crushed clay jar with a bunch of shards digging into my back while I'm trying to have a romantic moment? No thank you
10. WHERE IS THE LIGHT COMING FROM IN THE CAVE??? AM I STUPID??? DID I MISS SOMETHING??? BECAUSE IT SURE ISN'T THE SUN BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE ELSE IT IS COMING FROM
11. The way that everyone reacts to Hannah's dad getting shot is infuriating. Sure, everyone sheds a tear and feels bad, but that's it. How is the mom not at all angry at Ethan's dad for killing him?? The only emotion at all present is sadness. The entire grieving process is dumbed down to a few tears and regrets at the grave site and that's it. No denial, no bargaining, no anger, no guilt, no fear, no depression. It feels like a spit in the face to anyone who has actually lost someone. The way Ethan's dad shoots Hannah's dad and then is immediately forgiven without any consequences for his actions is horrible. Especially because he killed Scott the cave guide too (which is also never explained in detail. He lies at first that he fell from a tree but then later comes to terms and says out loud that he did in fact kill him but we never learn how.) Like, his family will never know what happened to him or be able to pay their final respects to his body. His presence will just drop off the face of the earth with no answers for anyone who knew him and the audience isn't allowed to process that or grieve with the characters, we just brush on like nothing happened.
12. I understand that the code can't be destroyed, but why? If God gave the code to people to repopulate the earth after the flood, why does He feel the need to keep it on the Earth? What's the point besides making people give up their lives to live in a cave to protect it? This feels like more trouble than it's worth. Someone should go see a priest and ask them to tell God to take the code back up to heaven because it's kinda useless as of now
13. There's no way a 16 year old would be willing to throw the rest of her life away and abandon everyone she loves to live in a cave with her mom for the rest of her life. It's just not realistic.
14. Why can't they just destroy the deluge segment? Why do they have to hide it? Without the deluge segment, no one would be able to find the cave and then we wouldn't need to keep sending people to live out the rest of their days to protect it. There's no need to keep this thing going, so idk why people are so gung-ho to hide the pieces all over again.
15. And finally, last but not least, I CANNOT GET OVER THE PREGNANCY REVEAL. I DON'T UNDERSTAND. Ok so, if the baby is a gift from the code, why does she only get it once she has actually left the cave? Were she and her husband just not doing it until that very last day? Did the code feel bad that her husband had died and gave it to her as a "sorry for your loss" present? Is this a Virgin Mary situation? Does the baby have the dad's DNA or did the code just not give it another set of DNA? Is the code the father? Is the code sentient? Is the baby a gift from the code or a gift from God because God gave the code as a gift to Noah? So, so many questions, so few answers.
In conclusion, very little in this book makes sense. My brain hurts. I'm going to take a nap. If you don't like thinking too hard about the books that you read, you might enjoy this one. If not, best to only read if you need a good laugh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2019
You can check out this review and my other reviews at Writing the Universe
Title: The Hidden Code
Author: P.J. Hoover
Pub. Date: September 10, 2019
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
This will be a short spoiler free review!
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a fun adventure read and I’m always down for an Indian Jones/Lara Croft/National Treasure kind of story. It was a little predictable and made for a pretty easy read. Once the ball starts rolling, it doesn’t stop until the end. This almost felt like a prequel to Lara Croft, since Hannah and her family basically have a very similar backstory.
I will say that I had a little bit of a hard time in really buying into the story, simply because of the character’s ages. I’m pretty sure that the main character is 16 and basically following in Indy’s footsteps…granted there is an adult figure with her, but he ends up not doing much at all. It almost felt like it had been written as a New Adult book and then the characters were aged down to fit a YA market. While, I did enjoy the book, I might’ve bought into it more if the characters had been slightly older, more independent in their own rights. Rather than them being stubborn teens, who think they know better than the adults in their lives.
I definitely hope that there is a second book, because I felt like I was finally getting to know the characters by the end of it. I really liked the group dynamic and relationships between them. If you’re looking for a fun adventure heist, you’ll definitely want to check this out! Out September 10, 2019!
Title: The Hidden Code
Author: P.J. Hoover
Pub. Date: September 10, 2019
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
This will be a short spoiler free review!
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a fun adventure read and I’m always down for an Indian Jones/Lara Croft/National Treasure kind of story. It was a little predictable and made for a pretty easy read. Once the ball starts rolling, it doesn’t stop until the end. This almost felt like a prequel to Lara Croft, since Hannah and her family basically have a very similar backstory.
I will say that I had a little bit of a hard time in really buying into the story, simply because of the character’s ages. I’m pretty sure that the main character is 16 and basically following in Indy’s footsteps…granted there is an adult figure with her, but he ends up not doing much at all. It almost felt like it had been written as a New Adult book and then the characters were aged down to fit a YA market. While, I did enjoy the book, I might’ve bought into it more if the characters had been slightly older, more independent in their own rights. Rather than them being stubborn teens, who think they know better than the adults in their lives.
I definitely hope that there is a second book, because I felt like I was finally getting to know the characters by the end of it. I really liked the group dynamic and relationships between them. If you’re looking for a fun adventure heist, you’ll definitely want to check this out! Out September 10, 2019!
February 23, 2025
This book was highly unrealistic but was also your classic action book where they use technology to solve all of their problems. Now, I have nothing against P.J. Hoover, I thought she had a great story going for her but…it just got super confusing after a while. I thought Hannah was annoyingly smart and that Ethan should have totally turned on her and sided with his dad…but that never happened. Everything just magically happened to go their way, which was stupid. I don’t know, maybe I got too old before reading this book. Overall, this book was kind of disappointing. 3 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 24, 2020
I would like to start off by saying I thought the idea was phenomenal! It was unique and well thought out. However, I feel as if this story was lacking a bit in terms of characters, and basically getting me excited for what was going to happen next.
#1: Characters:
It is 100% just me, but I found the characters super boring and cliche. Hannah had an "I'm not like other girls" complex that really annoyed me. She was said to be very intelligent, but nowhere is it stated her specific expertise. I understand that this is a very plot-forward book, but I would have still liked to see some of Hannah's hobbies... that are not building libraries in Uganda.
Regarding Ethan, I think he is supposed to be a reflection of the authors interpretation of "the perfect boy." There are no real flaws to him (and even Hannah). I would have liked to see more depth to the characters.
#2 Suspense:
Quite honestly, this book lacked suspense. I wasn't intrigued to know what happened next, and all "action scenes" were quite dull. The plot was quite predictable therefore I didn't find it as enjoyable as it could have been. I thought it was a great concept, it just needed an extra boost or two.
#3 Romance:
I can see why people shipped Hannah and Ethan, but the romance just seemed out of place. There was no out of the box romantic moments between the two, and it just felt very forced. In my opinion, they didn't even feel compatible from what I could tell. Even if they were, I would never know since they are so one dimensional. They have no distinct personality traits, so I couldn't even tell if they were compatible in the slightest.
Overall rating: 6/10. I would recommend it to people who just want a fun, light read. It is not the type of book to be heavily judged like I'm doing right now. Despite all the criticism I gave, I thought it was a pretty decent book, and it definitely helped pass time.
#1: Characters:
It is 100% just me, but I found the characters super boring and cliche. Hannah had an "I'm not like other girls" complex that really annoyed me. She was said to be very intelligent, but nowhere is it stated her specific expertise. I understand that this is a very plot-forward book, but I would have still liked to see some of Hannah's hobbies... that are not building libraries in Uganda.
Regarding Ethan, I think he is supposed to be a reflection of the authors interpretation of "the perfect boy." There are no real flaws to him (and even Hannah). I would have liked to see more depth to the characters.
#2 Suspense:
Quite honestly, this book lacked suspense. I wasn't intrigued to know what happened next, and all "action scenes" were quite dull. The plot was quite predictable therefore I didn't find it as enjoyable as it could have been. I thought it was a great concept, it just needed an extra boost or two.
#3 Romance:
I can see why people shipped Hannah and Ethan, but the romance just seemed out of place. There was no out of the box romantic moments between the two, and it just felt very forced. In my opinion, they didn't even feel compatible from what I could tell. Even if they were, I would never know since they are so one dimensional. They have no distinct personality traits, so I couldn't even tell if they were compatible in the slightest.
Overall rating: 6/10. I would recommend it to people who just want a fun, light read. It is not the type of book to be heavily judged like I'm doing right now. Despite all the criticism I gave, I thought it was a pretty decent book, and it definitely helped pass time.
September 6, 2021
I met the author at the Hill County Comic Convention this year in New Braunfels, Texas. She was selling several of her books for sale and since I am a fan of codes and ciphers, I chose this novel. I think her strongest writing was her character development as I really enjoyed the connection her protagonist, Hannah had with Ethan, who she ultimately went on the mission with to search for both Hannah’s parents who went missing for eleven years and for the Code of Enoch. Hannah’s strong-willed determination was obvious and her playful arguments with Ethan were enjoyable. The plot was a bit far-fetched, so I might put this in the category of science fantasy, but it did hold my interest. I wanted to know if Hannah would find her parents and why they were missing for eleven years. The hint at the end of the book that there could be a sequel with a new mission was a fun ending. But, I don’t think I spoiled much here. As the back of the book reads, the Code of Enoch is “an artifact… believed could hold the key to curing disease – or creating it.” Hannah and Ethan build on their relationship as they spend time in a cave deep in the center of the earth during their search and the dialogue helped move the story along. This is actually a young adult novel, but I think that adults can enjoy it quite a bit too. Very imaginative.
November 27, 2021
The description of the book was intriguing but the beginning was rather slow. Hannah is a young lady from a wealthy family with interests in genetics, animals and linguistics. Her parents have been missing for 11 years. Her uncle is her guardian.
Hannah learns of stones called Deluge Segments. They have something to do with her parents. As she learns more about the deluge segments and her history, she convinces her uncle to go looking for her parents.
A boy from her past, Ethan, goes along on the adventure. For about a third of the book Hannah and Ethan are adventuring on their own.
The book has lots of interesting science ideas and ventures into science fiction/fantasy.
I got pulled in to the story once the introduction section moved into action. I liked it and kind of hope there will be another book that follows the teaser at the end of this book.
Hannah learns of stones called Deluge Segments. They have something to do with her parents. As she learns more about the deluge segments and her history, she convinces her uncle to go looking for her parents.
A boy from her past, Ethan, goes along on the adventure. For about a third of the book Hannah and Ethan are adventuring on their own.
The book has lots of interesting science ideas and ventures into science fiction/fantasy.
I got pulled in to the story once the introduction section moved into action. I liked it and kind of hope there will be another book that follows the teaser at the end of this book.
January 16, 2019
The story: Hannah’s parents disappeared years ago and everyone thinks they’re dead—everyone, that is, except Hannah. When the teen finds the tracing of a missing artifact, she and frenemy Ethan Oliver realize it’s part of an ancient puzzle...the solution to which could change life on earth forever and bring Hannah’s parents back from the dead—or possibly just destroy life on earth. Is it wrong to care more about your own family than about everyone else on the planet? If the evil corporate bosses looking to cash in on the hidden code have anything to say about it, Hannah and Ethan will never find out the answer to THAT question...or make it out with their lives.
June Cleaver’s ratings: Language PG-13; Violence PG-13; Sexual content PG (plenty of kissing, but nothing graphic); Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; overall rating PG-13 (7th grade and up).
Liz’s comments: Heist Society meets the Da Vinci Code in PJ Hoover’s latest YA novel. Fans of Ally Carter’s books, or Maggie Hall’s “The Conspiracy of Us” series, will enjoy this fast-paced thriller complete with cracked codes, missing persons, and an annoyingly hot travel companion who could end up being the boyfriend—or the bad guy.
June Cleaver’s ratings: Language PG-13; Violence PG-13; Sexual content PG (plenty of kissing, but nothing graphic); Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; overall rating PG-13 (7th grade and up).
Liz’s comments: Heist Society meets the Da Vinci Code in PJ Hoover’s latest YA novel. Fans of Ally Carter’s books, or Maggie Hall’s “The Conspiracy of Us” series, will enjoy this fast-paced thriller complete with cracked codes, missing persons, and an annoyingly hot travel companion who could end up being the boyfriend—or the bad guy.
January 23, 2019
Hannah Hawkins doesn’t believe her parents are dead in spite of the fact that the disappeared 11 years ago. Could the missing pieces of the Code of Enoch hold the key to finding them? Hannah sets off on a trek across the world with Uncle Randall and Ethan, a childhood friend turned enemy (?), boyfriend (?), to find out. Dr. Bingham and Amino Corp are hot on her trail. They also want to find the Code. But for what purpose?
For readers who enjoy suspense and intrigue, here’s a great new series to love.
For readers who enjoy suspense and intrigue, here’s a great new series to love.
February 19, 2021
This was a really fun read. It is very similar to Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth with a bit of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code thrown in.
Hannah’s parents went missing eleven years ago, and when a letter shows up at their estate, there’s a chance they might be alive. With the son of her enemy, Hannah and her uncle travel across the world to uncover the Code of Enoch, the map of genetics that allowed Noah to recreate species after the Flood wiped them out.
This was fast-paced with interesting characters and a really great story. I enjoyed reading it!
Hannah’s parents went missing eleven years ago, and when a letter shows up at their estate, there’s a chance they might be alive. With the son of her enemy, Hannah and her uncle travel across the world to uncover the Code of Enoch, the map of genetics that allowed Noah to recreate species after the Flood wiped them out.
This was fast-paced with interesting characters and a really great story. I enjoyed reading it!
April 8, 2021
The Hidden Code is perfect for adolescents, especially struggling readers. It has the right combination of action, adventure, history and science to hold young readers interest while balancing a lovely smouldering romance that is never overboard. I love young Hannah's quest to find her parents and her globe-trotting adventure is wonderful! It's completely refreshing to read about a young woman who is more interesting in science, adventure and being a hero than she is in designer clothes or whether or not a boy likes her.
January 14, 2022
Interesting premise, but reads more like an independent reader series than YA. The characters have zero dimension, all the dialogue is exactly the same (even the Harvard linguistics professor speaks like the 16 yr olds), and the whole plot just felt weakly sketched out. It seemed like she wanted to explore the idea without putting any effort into providing the characters with any real motivations.
I did appreciate learning about the cave and being prompted to research that more on my own - bumped up an extra half star to 2.5 for that.
I did appreciate learning about the cave and being prompted to research that more on my own - bumped up an extra half star to 2.5 for that.
May 29, 2022
I first started the book thinking it was gonna be eh. But I actually got attached with the story and once the adventure started, the story really had a lot of meaning. I love love love how the author through in a tiny love story in the whole action packed book. But I do wish that we would have gotten more of the love story of the two main characters at the end of the book. Overall, the story had a wonderful message and left me wanting to know what was gonna happen next! Very happy about this read! <3
May 21, 2019
My teenager and I both enjoyed this book! Hannah is trying to figure out what happened to her parents, who disappeared years ago while trying to find the legendary Code of Enoch. Hannah must work through a series of clues to find the answer of what happened to her parents--and if the Code of Enoch is real. This story has intriguing mystery, exciting adventure, and some romance woven in, too. It's a fast, fun read!
January 27, 2021
The Hidden Code is a fun YA adventure story that will appeal to fans of National Treasure/Indiana Jones/pretty much all treasure hunting stories. It centers around ancient flood myths, missing parents, and an evil corporation, and concludes with a set up for a sequel. It reads young, making it perfect for audiences 12-15 or anyone who likes treasure hunting stories.
October 7, 2019
P.J. Hoover's new novel is in the spirit of Indiana Jones with adventure, buried clues, and a globe trotting race. A fun read.
Read more at Bookish Adventures.
Read more at Bookish Adventures.
April 15, 2021
I love books like this. It is part Divinci Code, part Hatchet, part romance.
I really enjoyed it. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is because it slowed down some in the middle and I found myself distracted by other books and it took me a little while to pick it back up.
I really enjoyed it. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is because it slowed down some in the middle and I found myself distracted by other books and it took me a little while to pick it back up.
April 24, 2019
(4.5 stars)
July 23, 2019
Enjoyable, fun, fast paced adventure.
June 7, 2020
Intense book with a great adventure! Fun young adult novel! I hope there's another!
February 11, 2021
Wow. A thrilling adventure incorporated with bits of historical information. I loved it!
July 1, 2021
3.5⭐️
December 10, 2019
Great adventure for teens and young adults. Has a good bit of mythology worked in but not with an overly dramatic magical way.
Hannah is a very independent young lady who uses her brain and the help of her friend and uncle to peice together what happened to her parents who have been missing for 11 years. Her journey takes her around the world and into all new depths as she follows the trail of clues to find her lost parents.
I would recommend this teens and young adults who like a little adventure and even to teachers looking to add something new to their curriculum.
Hannah is a very independent young lady who uses her brain and the help of her friend and uncle to peice together what happened to her parents who have been missing for 11 years. Her journey takes her around the world and into all new depths as she follows the trail of clues to find her lost parents.
I would recommend this teens and young adults who like a little adventure and even to teachers looking to add something new to their curriculum.
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