The Hidden Girl

June 7, 2022
In Louise Bassett’s debut novel The Hidden Girl Melati Nelson has precariously performed the 'good girl' act for a year at her new school, trying to overcome the misdoings of her past. However, the bullying of another student by the vicious Libby Hartnett sends Melati over the edge and into trouble. While her academic life hangs by a thread, Melati’s actions in standing up against Libby set off a chain of events exposing something far more sinister when she steals a diary, presuming it to be Libby’s, from the school counsellor. The diary turns out to belong to Devi, an Indonesian girl who is being held captive by traffickers in Melbourne. As Melati slowly translates the diary, she attends a school trip to Java where she makes a new friend, and the two team up to seek help for Devi. While The Hidden Girl falls short in its description of high school dynamics, exaggerating stereotypes of popular bullies, nerds and jocks, it excels in the exploration of the fierceness, courage and complexity of young women. Melati is not only motivated by an impulse for adventure, but also by a deep sense of empathy and concern for Devi, and anger at the injustice she faces. Bassett also effectively depicts the electric awkwardness of romance in your teens, while maintaining Melati’s focus on helping Devi. Racing with the characters across lush Javanese roads and the menacing laneways of inner-city Melbourne while deciphering clues and waiting for justice to be served makes The Hidden Girl a thrilling and gratifying read. Shivani Prabhu is a freelance writer and a nonfiction editor for  Voiceworks.