Among the Hidden

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. (1998) New York: Aladdin Paperbacks. 0-689-82475-0

PLOT SUMMARY

Twelve year old Luke Garner is a "shadow child," unable to go out and play, go to school, or even roam his own house without fear of being discovered. In a society where parents are only allowed to have two children, Luke is the hidden third and is forced to live his life in seclusion. When he sees a face in a window of one of the nearby houses, he ventures out to discover if there is another child like him. Not only does he discover a third child, he makes a new friend who opens up his eyes to the injustices of the world, causing him to make some decisions that will affect both him and his family.

CRITICAL EVALUATION

This book is the first in the Shadow Children sequence. It tackles some strong themes that are appropriate for tweens to evaluate: fairness and equality, role of the government in manipulating the lives of its citizens, relationships, etc. Because the main character Luke is forced to live in seclusion and has no knowledge of the outside world aside from what his family tells him, it stresses the importance of being able to access information not just from one source, but from various ones so that a person's view is not one sided, enabling that person to make educated decisions in his/her life. Readers can sympathize with the strained relationship Luke has with his family, forced to live as if he didn't exist. They can also understand his desire to be free and live as a normal person, without having to hide in fear nearly every moment of the day. The book is extremely well written with engaging and realistic characters situations where they grow and discover who they are and the world around them.

READER'S ANNOTATION

In a society where government has strict control over your life, including the number of children that can be born to parents, there will doubtless be those who will not conform. Luke Garner, the illegal third child of poor farmers, is forced to live life in the shadows because according to the government, he should never have been born. He must either spend the rest of his life in the care of his family, never to go beyond the confines of the house, or find a way to free himself in order to live like a normal person.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Margaret Peterson Haddix is a children's book author born April 9, 1964 near Washington Court House, Ohio. She graduated college with degrees in English and Journalism from Miami University in Ohio. She has received many awards during the course of her career including the ALA Best book for Young Adults and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers citations.

GENRE

Drama/Realistic Fiction

CURRICULUM TIES

Compare/contrast the government in the book to the government we are familiar with today--their roles, the way they have changed society, the importance of citizens to be active in the making of government.

BOOKTALKING IDEAS

How would living life like a shadow child affect a person as a grown up? How does this type of lifestyle affect the family? What could the citizens in the book have done to prevent the government from creating such control?

READING LEVEL/INTEREST AGE

11-14

CHALLENGE ISSUES

The idea that government could be so extreme and create such control over its citizens, with the dichotomy between the have's (the Barons) and the have not's (everyone else), there is bound to be someone who is against the whole idea of showing children the not so pretty things that can happen when government is no longer policed by its citizens.

WHY INCLUDE THIS BOOK?

With such strong themes that can spark interest and discussion, there's no question why I would include this book, but aside from that, the book is very well written with a couple of tween characters who are engaging and interesting. We can follow Luke's growth from a meek and frightened child to one who is ready to leave his family and do something to help other shadow children.