Among the Brave

(see Book 1) Trey gets a chance to be co-protagonist, and discovers that being brave is sometimes just doing the right thing even if you are afraid. The adults don't seem to have any particular ideology other than the pursuit of power for its own sake, and the imposition of statist controls over every aspect of life.
The book glosses over any question of international relations, as if this is a completely self-contained (and not very large) country with no connections outside its borders. It does a good job of illustrating in bold line drawings the flaw of all totalitarian systems.
Which is why this is a parable, suitable to the SF alternate-worlds genre pioneered by Heinlein, rather than a "contemporary life" novel.

Book 4 in the series was a bit annoying, so it took me a while to get to this one (book 5). It was worth it! I read it in one 2.5 hour sitting while too caffeinated to sleep last night. The 1st person narration is from yet another Shadow Child's persective to the overall benefit of the whole series. Fast paced, the plot was not as ridiculous as Barons (book 4).

This series is perfect for middle school students who love the fast-paced, non-stop action, every-short-chapter-ending-in-a-cliffhanger kind of novel. At the moment, I have 12 students hungrily fighting over my copies as they tear through this series, which says a lot!

While I wouldn't recommend this to an adult for their own reading pleasure, I do advise parents and teachers of show more middle-school-aged children to get their kids into this one.

Action-packed,sufficiently thought-provoking, "appropriate" series for your middle school classroom. show less

It's been a long time since I read a book in this series, and since it starts immediately following the events in Book #3, I would have appreciated a brief reminder of what had just happened. In any case, Trey has gone to find help following travesty at the Grants, and is almost grabbed along with Mr. Talbot's house as the Population Police arrest him. Trey is no hero, but eventually partners with Mark Garner in order to find his friends, who have been imprisoned. Yet, Trey manages to find the courage to infiltrate the Population Police to save Mark from being executed and then mount a daring rescue of his comrades. I liked this book better than the previous ones: 3.5 stars.

I would say I was surprised by the intense atmosphere author created, it felt almost suffocating, with plenty suspense and also thrilling as the plot develop. In this dystopian world third children from any family are persecuted and illegal to have. There is a coup past the first quarter of the story and the actual government is topped by the Population Police Chief who becomes the president. The Population Police is in charge of killing any third children found. This book reminds me of the Hunger Games trilogy which deals with the similar topic of government control/revolution (Haven't read the books, my wife read the first but we went to watch the movies of the trilogy). A lot of the story is an internal dialogue in which Trey (a show more third child and main character) has to confront his fear. show less

Trey is so awkward, you can't help but like him. I love seeing Trey grow so much throughout this book. And unlike Luke, his growth seems natural, not forced.

It was great to see Trey step into the role he was meant to have. To see him become the man he was meant to be. To not let his fears stop him from saving his friends b

I hope that at some point these books are republished as a single novel or as a trilogy; the 6 books so far could easily be condensed without losing any of the character or drama. The Shadow Children series is set in a future where population control is managed by law and any children over the permitted one are outlaws and criminals.

The government is starting to fall apart but so is the resistance. Trey hides in plain sight at the Population Police headquarters and tries to find information to help save his friends and himself.