Among the Barons

A quick and exciting read, but I'm predicting that this will be the last one that any of my students will read in the series if they were not avid readers to begin with. The multiple levels of duplicity, the amount of brain effort needed to sort out subplots and motives, and the unanswered questions make this a much more difficult text than the first 3. As an adult, it also loses points for me because there were some highly implausible plot elements that reminded me that it was supposed to be YA fiction and to just roll with it. Haddix does continue to promote integrity and unyielding selflessness, which was nauseating but probably good for young readers.

The ending left me feeling satisfied to drop the series, which surprises me since show more there are 3 books left, and I think that's testament to how this one ranks with the other three. show less

Margaret Peterson Haddix's Among the Barons is the fourth story in the Shadow Children saga, featuring (as the first two entries, Among the Hidden and [b:Among the Impostors|303472|Among the Impostors (Shadow Children, Book 2)|Margaret Peterson Haddix|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173556582s/303472.jpg|1880]) Luke, an illegal third child in a near-future society that allows each family only two. In this entry, Luke is thrust out of the cloistered community of the Hendrick's School for the first time and forced to intermix with the wealthy family who have given him a new identity--that of their deceased son. No longer able to hide behind claustrophobic settings, Haddix is finally forced to develop her world fully. Unfortunately, the show more universe of the wealthy barons feels sketchy and ill-defined and many of the supporting characters seem to be little more than mouthpieces for their various fictional philosophies. Still, the character development between Luke and his new brother Smits is maturely handled, and Haddix's strong, sparse prose renders Among the Barons nevertheless a page-turner. show less

I liked this installment (plot) better than the last one. Luke Garner is pretending to be Lee Grant at a school filled with hidden third children when Lee's younger brother Smits shows up at the school. The Grants are a powerful (Baron) family, but Luke feels pity for Smits and his grief. Luke is quickly caught up in a plot to determine why Lee was killed, with a number of competing interests with vastly different agendas.

(see Book 1) Luke/Lee learns that even kids who should hate him have issues he can help them with. The technology in the books is "antiquated" now, but would have been up-to-date at the time of writing. Some use is made of the idea of internet connections being spied on, but not highly developed or integral to the plot in the beginning. The author's presentation of the complex adult world of politics and socio-economic classes is basically reduced to "rich and privileged" barons versus everybody else.

Once again, a fun read, but nothing special. The plot of this one was interesting, I certainly want to know what's going to happen.
And I really liked Smits... He was super sweet.

Yeah, I literally have nothing left to say about this book.

One of the weaker of the books, I think. It was a bit muddled for my taste. Think of it as nothing more than a transition between the first half of the series and the second.

In a future world of false identities, government lies and death threats, Luke feels drawn to the younger brother of the boy whose name Luke has taken.