Among the Hidden
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| Author | Margaret Peterson Haddix |
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| Cover artist | Cliff Nielsen |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Children's literature, Shadow Children sequence |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing |
| Released | March 1, 1998 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 160 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-689-81700-2 |
| Followed by | Among the Impostors |
Among the Hidden is a 1998 young adult novel by Margaret Haddix concerning a fictional future in which drastic measures have been taken to quell overpopulation. It is the first of seven novels in the Shadow Children series.
Among the Hidden is the first in the Shadow Children sequence by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Luke Garner lives on a farm with his parents and two brothers, Matthew and Mark. Because the government has passed a law which forbids women to have more than two children, Luke is an illegal third child. His family lives in a remote area so he is relatively safe until houses for the Barons (rich people) are built nearby and the woods which surrounded his house are destroyed. Luke faces a lifetime hidden away in his family's attic. The family's hogs are taken away, which cause a decrease in income.Soon his mother has to get a job to support her family, which leaves luke in his own care. One day he sees a face at a window in one of the Baron houses when the parents and two brothers are gone but assumes that he must have been mistaken or that someone broke in until he sees it again. He goes to the house and discovers another third child, Jen Talbot. Jen Talbot opens a new world for him by telling him of the outside world. She tells Luke that there are many more third children out there and shows him a secret chat room they have created to plan a rally. She and Luke form a close friendship but this is threatened when Luke refuses to go to the rally in the capitol. After the rally was to take place Luke goes to Jen's house hoping to make things right between them. She is not there. He signs on to the chat room hoping to discover the whereabouts of the other third children. Her father returns unexpectedly and tells him that Jen and all the other third children were killed. The Population police arrive, tipped off by Luke's visit to the chat room. Mr. Talbot hides Luke and tells them that he had signed in hoping to catch third children. He then offers Luke a chance to take on a new identity. Despite his sorrow at leaving his parents Luke knows that this is his only chance for a real life.
| The Shadow Children Sequence |
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| By Margaret Peterson Haddix |
| Among the Hidden - Among the Impostors - Among the Betrayed - Among the Barons |
| Among the Brave - Among the Enemy - Among the Free |
