I loved this book with all my heart.I think the USA is being a little too far fetched. ( )

I loved the story. It is a junior fiction book so it's pretty easy to follow, but the whole of idea of earth suffering from a food shortage and population explosion is intriguing. What would the government do?? The end caught me off guard and I am excited to read the rest of the story to find more out about Luke, I mean Lee. ( )

I hate that this was so sad but it an AWSOME story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i liked the book it was mysteris ( )

This was a good book, while reading it I kept thinking of my partner, who would love this book, which she is currently reading! to be told and live in a world that were you beleive or well everyone around you beleives and then coming to the rrelize that it is wrong well the Government is wrong, I would have chosen another book. ( )

This is the first book of a young adult series about a dystopian society of the future that is especially hazardous for children. Since the famines, Population Police enforce strict laws that make it illegal for a family to have more than two children.

As the third child in his family, Luke must remain hidden while his two older brothers enjoy a normal life of outdoor games, school and farm chores with their Dad. Luke could also enjoy some time outdoors, hidden by the dense woods behind the house, until the year he was 12. That's when the government forced the family to give up their woods to developers who built expensive homes for the wealthy elite citizens, including government officials. From then on, Luke wasn't allowed to leave his room in the attic. At least he had his mother home all day to keep him company, but then the government tripled the family's tax bill and Mom had to take a factory job, often working long hours, to keep the family from losing their home.

Of course Luke became very lonely and bored with nothing to do but read the same books over and over, until he discovered he could look down on the new houses through the attic vents. Soon he caught a glimpse of another third child in the nearby home of a government official. His actions from there put him on a path that could jeopardize his life, as well as his family's welfare.

There are some dark, intense moments, and the entire book is a warning against too much government. In addition to illegal children, pets are illegal, food is rationed and junk food is illegal, and Luke's family falls victim to an eminent domain type ruling. This is like 1984 or Big Brother for a younger crowd.

The writing is a little simplistic, but I got hooked on the story, so now I'll have to read more of the series. ( )

Good book. Nice pacing and interesting story. Definitely teen fiction, though. I'll read the rest of the series. ( )

If you like mystery books i recommend this book and its really easy and fun to read. ( )

first book in the shadow children series ( )

I enjoyed this book so much that it only took me a couple of hours to read it from start to finish. The path the author took with the story was surprising and not at all what I was expecting. When I realized that there where several more books in this series I was hooked. I am eager to find out what happens to Luke. ( )

The Garner family had disobeyed the Population Law. The government gave a family permission to have two children. If a third child was born, the parents had to get rid of it. Twelve year old Luke was a “third” or shadow child because he had two older brothers. Therefore, Luke had to remain hidden from the Population Police. The government was taking away people’s rights to protect the food supply. Luke’s mother and father were struggling to survive.
Luke became restless when he was forced to stay inside the house because a housing development had taken away his woods. While sitting in his attic room, he soon discovered a “third” in the Sports Family’s house. When no one was home, Luke managed to sneak into the house next door to meet Jen. She was not only a “third”, but also a wealthy Baron. Although they were from different backgrounds, a friendship developed. Jen used her computer to organize a rally at the President’s house to convince the government to remove the Population Law. Although she convinced others to go with her, Luke did not go to the rally. When Jen did not return, Luke went to her house. He learned from Jen’s father that Jen and the others had been killed by the government. Jen’s father saved Luke from the Population Police by giving him a fake I.D. Although Luke had to leave home, he had lost his fear and vowed to help other “third” children in memory of Jen.

Among the Hidden is a believable novel. Young adults would understand that there is a possibility that the events that occur in the story could take place. For example the government forbidding hogs pets, guns, and junk food. Taxes being raised and limits placed on the number of children allowed in a family. The power of the government to control the population and rights of citizens in the future is very realistic. The author was successful in allowing the reader to experience the character’s thoughts and feelings. Character development was seen when Luke understood himself and was ready to leave home to help others. The theme had the ability to make the reader appreciate the world they live in today. In addition, conservation, environmental, and government issues maybe looked at by young adults to stop the country from being under total government control. The two main characters in the novel came from different family backgrounds. Although one was rich and one was poor, a strong friendship developed. Family struggles and young adults’ needs, interests, experiences, and emotions were expressed in this futuristic novel.

This is the story of Luke, a third child hidden from a government which forbids third children. Luke gradually becomes aware of the impossibility of staying hidden from the government for his entire life, and the book is the first in a series detailing his adventures. I think the book raises some really interesting questions, ie, how much does the government control the flow of information to the populace? What are the implications of our current excessive consumerist lifestyle? How do you determine fact from propaganda? And, on a deeper level, how important is freedom and what does it mean to be free? All these questions are hidden underneath the guise of a suspense novel. While I like the possibility for discussion that the book allows, and I found the premise to be very intriguing, I finished the novel with no interest in reading the rest of the series. I just found the writing to be a little sub-par. ( )

This was good, but not as gripping as the first one. I can see this turning into a loooong series. Good historical fiction, though; not much done for this age level about the murdered Princes in the Tower (or were they???)

This is such a great series - the first chapter of Among the Hidden gets you completely hooked. Luke is such a likable character and you want to see how his life might change if he is no longer a "hidden child." ( )

This book is recommended to readers ages 8-12. I think the subject matter (government killing children) is more appropriate for a slightly older audience. I would have liked to have seen an even richer, more complex development of the characters. Even so, I'll be reading the next book in the series (Among the Imposters) to see what happens to Luke (Lee) next. ( )

This book is very similar to the holocaust, except in a present time. ( )

good book

Book read for Children's Book Novels

This book is very powerful. It is very well written in the Omniscient point of vie.w. I could feel how Luke felt and understand his thoughts. I read it in one seating and will no check out the rest of the series to see what happens next.

This book is a wonderful conversation starter and can truly draw strong emotions out of students. Students can ask some deep questions about our world and what conditions could truly exist in order for our government to need to control the population. A conversation can also be had to connect this issue to present day China and the many countries across the world where food and water shortages are great issues and concerns. ( )

A dystopic world of government control, food crisis and population control is the world Luke shows us. In the perspective of a hidden third child, we are taken through his development of quiet, hidden child to thoughtful, calculating activist--ready to risk his life to save others of his kind, ready to question authority and his fears.

A fast-moving story about Luke, an illegal third child, who becomes less able and willing to remain hidden on his family's farm as he grows up, eventually leading him to meet another "shadow child" who hopes to destroy the system that oppresses them.

This would be a fine introduction to science fiction for a middle reader. ( )

This story is set in the future, and in this future the government has decided that we are in a population crisis and that every family can only have two kids. The main character is a THIRD CHILD, so that means he can never leave the house and is always hiding, because if he gets discovered he'll be killed. The book was really rushed and short, but its the first in a series so if you want to get into a big series then you should check it out. ( )

Famines ravaged the nation in the recent past, giving rise to harsh population-control measures which restrict families to a maximum of two children. As an illegal third child, Luke has spent the last dozen years of his life in hiding--until a friend tries to persuade him to emerge and join a political demonstration against the tyranny of the Population Police. First in the Shadow Children series. ( )

After the Government purchases the woods behind the Garners’ house from them to build mansions, twelve-year-old Luke is forced to remain inside and away from windows. He looks on with envy as his older brothers complain about going to school and perform outdoor chores on the Garners’ farm, and yet he mustn’t complain, because they are keeping him hidden for his own safety.

Luke Garner is a third child, one of the Shadow Children, illegal under the Population Law. To the rest of the world except his immediate family, he doesn’t exist. His world is his family’s farm, and, after the taking away of their forest, his house.

Then one day, in the window of one of the mansions in his backyard, he spies the face of a young girl in a house he knows already has two children. Luke soon strikes up a friendship with Jenny, another illegal third child.

Unlike Luke, however, Jenny is full of strength and ideas. She plans to gather a group of Shadow Children, found from their online chat board, and march to the White House. She invites Luke along, but he is afraid. Does he choose to stand up for his own rights or to save himself for perhaps a better future?

AMONG THE HIDDEN marks the beginning of a startling new series by acclaimed author Margeret Peterson Haddix. Anyone who enjoys dystopian books should pick up this one. ( )

Oh, I hated this book. I don't know why. Everyone told me I would love it, but no. I am not going to read the rest. ( )