Customer Reviews

Among the Hidden

5 star:		(291)
4 star:		(141)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

If you want to start reading a good book series, you may want to grab this book. This is the first of several books. In this one, you get all of the background information.

Luke is a third child in a futuristic society, where families are only allowed to have two children. His parents hide him away and he knows a quiet family life, one in which he is made to hide a lot and keep quiet, so that the population police will not know that he exists. It is a lonely life for Luke, who wishes he could go outside and play, like his brothers do, and also go to school, to leave the house and go anywhere.

When the land behind their farm is developed into a neighborhood, Luke is shocked to meet another child like him, Jen. She tells him all about other "shadow children" who live hidden away from the rest of society. When Jen tells him about a big rally that she's organizing to support the hidden children, will Luke risk his life by going to it? Does he trust his new friend with his life? Read this book and you'll find out. It will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat (and you'll want to have the 2nd book in the series, "Among the Impostors" ready and waiting to read when you're done with this one).

I read this book today and for the first time am suggesting that prents and teachers think carefully and preread this book before deciding to use it with children younger than 12. The themes are well worth discussing but my 9 year old reads Dickens yet this is inappropriate for her based on content. Among the themes raised by the book are the following:infanticide, mass murder, totalitarian government, subterfuge, and complete isolation . This was recommended as a candidate for a youth book club and will not be used for the suggested age range as the content while worthy of consideration is not appropriate for 9 or 10 year olds unable to comprehend the enormity of the issues raised in the book. Many contemporary educators and librarians fail to look beyond the readability of a text and ask the harder questions about content and age appropriate themes-I urge you to do so before jumping on the bandwagon and sharing this well written yet fairly adult book with those too young to appreciate and understand it.

Among the Hidden was a great book and an absoulute page turner! I loved the book and was unable to put it down for 2 days. I don't know how to explain the book.With Luke's farm and very few appliences you think you are looking at a hard life from the past but when he meets Jen it is like a whole new world opens for him. Being hidden seems hopeless for Luke until he sees Jen's view. She may not be allowed to be 'FREE' but she still knows a way to make a good life out of captivity. Luke gets a daring chance to make history with Jen, but will he go? Or will he stay at home like a coward, safe, but coward? You have to read the book to find out, but once you do, trust me, you won't regret it. I am now searching for another novel by Haddix, and praying it is as good! :)

I won't reiterate the basic plot as plenty of other reviewers have done that very well, so instead I'll comment on the themes in the book and some problems I see with it.

The issue faced by the characters in the book, that of overpopulation and what to do about it, is an important one, and deserves to have a children's book written about it. The possibility that we will one day be limited to two children or fewer per family, and people will undergo forced sterilization, is not so unlikely. China already has strict population control laws (one child) with heavy fines for violators.

However the author simplifies the issue to a simple black and white set of extremes. She fails to fully examine the issue of overpopulation. In the book, the need for population levelling is solely due to food shortages. The characters assert that it's mostly due to mismanagement by the government that the famine happened at all. In fact, everything bad appears to be the fault of the controlling, fascist, yet inept government. Even in the end, the author doesn't appear to grasp the reality of the effect of our population explosion: Food is not the only issue. Others include, "Where will we put all the waste from these people? How will there be enough drinking water? How will we have enough energy to run the machines we need to support our society? Where will resources come from to create things like clothes, furniture, houses, cars? How do we deal with all the pollution this manufacturing brings with that many more people? And how will we survive when we've cut down all the trees and there is no oxygen being produced?

The simple answer given in the book seems to be "we could police ourselves--some people could have more kids if others had fewer". And who does that policing? We certainly aren't doing it now. What are realistic ways we can address this population issue?

The author also appears to be showing how fascist and evil the government is by showing how they outlawed junk food and even meat. Vegetarians are truly the evil of the future. ;) This is an interesting absurdity in that more calories are contained in fat than in anything else, so if food was scarce, it would make more sense to make food very high in fat.

One excellent point the author does assert is that those who make the laws often don't follow them. Exceptions are made when it is convenient for those in power. This is an excellent point and I would have liked this to be expanded a bit more. Especially since those in power (the U.S. right now) currently use up many times more resources per person than the non-powerful (3rd world countries). The barons in the book, by excepting themselves from the rules, are causing even greater harm. Yet, even that point isn't explained, just inferred.

Perhaps the simplicity is necessary for a children's story, and yet, the heaviness of the topic and the tragedy of the plot, are all mature enough themes that any reader of the book should be able to handle the additional complexity. The author also only shows one side of the story: that of the victims of an extremist, totalitarian government who dealt inappropriately with a very real disaster.

What I would have liked to have seen would have been an afterword that addressed some of these issues on a level kids could understand. Just presenting the ideas in a fictional context may be too confusing. Other award-winning children's books that either deal with confusing, heavy issues, or take place in other mystifying eras, have afterwards for more information. I think such a beast would help this book tremendously. As it is, I am curious to know what children reading this book come away with thinking: Is overpopulation bad? Or os the government bad and we don't really need to worry about overpopulation? Because I fear the latter is the message children will walk away with after reading this novel, I have to be very wary about recommending this book.

Margaret Peterson Haddix who is this author of Among the Hidden is also the author of Running out of Time. Margaret's stories are based on the government having control on the town and the people. I think they are good books about that subject. It has a good point that freedom is important and that you shouldn't have to worry about being seen by other people besides your own family. The book is about a boy who is a third child. Where this family of five lives families are only allowed to have two kids. The boy's name is Luke. Luke is what is called a shadow child. He lives out in the farmland. The farm becomes a neighborhood. Luke has to watch out now for the population police and other neighbors seeing him. If Luke gets caught there could be a severe consiquince. When Luke was up in his room looking out the vents, he saw somebody in his neighbor's house. At that time he relized that he wasn't the only shadow child. He went over to the neighbor's house very quietly not even letting his dad know he wasn't in the house anymore. There was a young girl like him. Her name was Jen. Luke and Jen became good friends. In the story something happens to one of them. Read the book for more details on both Luke and Jen. You can find out what happen to both of them. This is a short novel and a great story!

Among the hidden was a great book. It is now one of my favorites.The book is about Luke, a third and illegal child.He had lived 12 years without being found.One day he see's another face in a house where 2 boys already live.Could it be another 'Shadow Child'? Yes, Jen is a third too. They plan a rally to go to the president's house and demand justice. But something tragic happens to Jen and the rest of the 'Shadow Children'. You'll have to read the book to find out more.

When you read Among the Hidden, Lukes dilemmas and reactions will keep you on the edge of your seat. Margaret Haddix has a unique style of writing that hides surprises on every page. Luke is a child who has never been to school or had any friends. The boy is a shadow child, a third child banned by the Population Police. He lives his entire life hiding and now, with the new house development replacing his familys woods, he is no longer even allowed to go outside. Luke cannot even eat with his family for fear that he will be seen. His parents make him eat in the stairway leading up to his room, which is in the attic. The stairway is now the only place he can go. If the shades are down, he still cant go out of the stairway. But Luke discovers a vent in the corner of his room. Every day that he can, Luke looks out the vent to watch the houses being built. One day his family is in such a rush that they forget to pull the shades up. Luke decides to surprise his mother by cleaning up the house and baking bread. The radio is even turned on very, very quietly. There is a problem though, his father comes in early for lunch and Luke is caught. After Luke is caught, he is sent up to his room to hide one again. But Luke is determined to stop hiding. To find out Lukes plan to stop hiding, read this amazing book.

It was against the law to have more than two children. Luke Garner, the main character in AMONG THE HIDDEN, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is a third child. He had to hide all his life. He couldn't go to school ride in cars, watch TV or even use the computer. At least Luke could go outside because the woods were protecting his backyard from sight. That is, before the woods came down. The barons(rich people) built their houses where the woods used to be. Luke could never set a foot outside again, he couldn't even look out a window. One day, after everyone had left, Luke saw a child's face in one of the new neighbor's houses. The only thing was, two children already had left that house. Luke starts watching more carefully and realizes another child luves where two children already live. Could it possibly be another third child? Does he dare venture over there, through the exposed farm, where anybody could see him? I liked this book, like Running Out of Time(another book by Margaret Peterson Haddix),because it was exciting. It starts slow but gets better as it goes on. Each event led to another, and kept you on the edge. Margaret Peterson Haddix did a good job of making the book suspenseful and it makes you want to keep reading.

It is now the future, and for any third child in this society, it is not a good time in which to be living. The Population Police have the task of strictly enforcing the law--only two children per family. A famine had occurred, resulting in near starvation for many and widespread conflict. Enter the Population Police and their new tactics to solve the problem--population control and a stiff fine for anyone not following the two child rule.

But the Garner Family has a third child, a shadow child, who is Luke. Life is very unpleasant for Luke--he must be kept hidden at all costs. He cannot be a "normal" child. Luke cannot attend school, play outside, or make any movement inside the house, as the Population Police is always on the lookout for violators.

But then one day in the housing development across from his farm house, he sees a shade being lifted and a face appearing in the window. Soon Luke's life will change and he will need to make a decision as to whether to challenge this totalitarian regime, and learning the meaning of "free".

In a future where the government enforces a strict policy of allowing only 2 children to a family, illegal third child luke garner must lead a secretive and cocealed life in his family home and the surrounding wood. But soon his life becomes even more secretive when a housing development is built across from his house, and his parents, fearing for his safety, restrict him only to the confines of his home.

Following the exploits of luke as he longs for freedom and a better life, this book is exciting interesting, and a heart pounding page-turner without much even happening. In fact, the plot is so simple it could be paraphrased into ashort story; but that is th beauty of the book, how the author wraps you into this frightening reality and portrays luke's feeling with such skill and description that the bookeasily recieves five stars from me.