Among the Impostors

This series continues to surprise me. As the plot presents itself, Luke being sent to a boarding school under the fake name of Lee Grant and facing the loneliness, the complete change of his life, it seems fairly straight-forward. It seems predictable. It seems like nothing really extraordinary.

But dang, this little book is filled with 100+ surprises and plot twists that aren't over-the-top or fake. Thank goodness I've got the next with me because these books are also pretty addicting.

Loved the change in Luke's character, how he grew, how he learned, how he seized opportunities he would've shrunk away from in the first installment. I loved the constant homage to Jen, how everyone began making her out as some sort of martyr, and that she show more wasn't forgotten for even a moment. It was so sweet.

For such little books, these books pack a serious punch and are quite mature and serious, despite the targeted audience and that audience's usual sugar-coated fare. Loving it so much! show less

Luke Garner has just surfaced from hiding for the first time in his life--as the third child in a society with a population limit of two, his childhood has previously been one of cloistered solitude. Unfortunately, he escapes to a mysterious and windowless boarding school that's as claustrophobic as the world he left behind. The Hendricks school--filled with menacing bullies, detached teachers, and a significant population of mentally unhinged students--is the spooky setting for Margaret Peterson Haddix's second Shadow Children book. As in the first volume, Among the Hidden, this future-world feels well-rendered and realistic, very close to the one that we inhabit today. Haddix's sparse, strong prose remains strong, although this second show more story does lack some of the urgency of the original. show less

This is the second in the Shadow Children series, a dystopian series set in a future in which food is scarce and families are limited to having two children. But not everyone obeys the law, and when families have third children, they must remain hidden from the Population Police. In this second book in the series, we follow Luke Garner's quest to change things for Shadow Children. I won't say much more than that because I don't want to spoil the first book in the series, but suffice it to say that there several plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. Luke Garner is a compelling protagonist who grows throughout the book. My fourth grade son read the first book in this series for school, and I'm going to put this one on his TBR show more stack! show less

Twelve-year old Luke Garner is pretending to be the filthy-rich city boy Lee Grant at Hendricks School for Boys. He is an illegal third child and the Population Police is out to get him and all illegal children. After coming out of hiding for the first twelve years of his life, can he blend in? The books his family had him read did not prepare him for this. Children are rocking themselves back and forth and others are avoiding eye contact. Still, others seem to be "normal". One day he discovers a secret door to the woods, the "outside". He also overhears the meeting of the "exnays or fonrols". They are normal boys with fake names and fake IDs, like him! There is something going on in this school and he's going to find out about it. He show more discovers that Scott or Jason or whatever his name is, has a sinister secret of his own. What can he do to save himself and all the other exnays? My sympathy goes out to Luke or Lee as he transitions from hiding and into the world. I like how the author hooks you with the suspense to keep you reading. I could not put the book down as I kept on wishing he is not discovered every time I turn the page! show less

Satisfying sequel to Among the Hidden, Among the Impostors continues to follow third child Luke in his new life as baron's son Lee Grant at the Hendricks School for Boys. Luke/Lee struggles to blend in at this school where there are strict rules but everyone is anonymous, and not even the teachers or staff seem to care. Luke/Lee finds an open door one day, slips out and begins to follow a trail of discovery that may lead him to be found out by the Population Police. Quick, suspenseful and engaging.

I enjoyed this second book in the series, a follow up to Among the Hidden. Again, the language and plot are basic, but the pace was quick and the storyline engaging. Luke has now assumed the name of Lee Grant, another third child who died, and has been taken by Jen's dad, Mr. Talbot, to a boarding school. As he tries to fit in, he gains confidence in himself and begins to understand treachery, double lives, and lies.

All his life, Luke Garner has had to live in fear and hiding. He is a third child, an illegal by the passing of the Population Law. Knowledge of his existence spells his death and the death of all who tried to protect him.

Luke’s dead best friend Jen Talbot’s dad manages to get him a fake I.D. Suddenly he can be out in the world, mingling among others as Lee Grant, a Baron who had actually died in a skiing accident. At Hendricks School for Boys, a terrified Luke tries to adjust to life among other people. He is afraid all the time of someone finding out that he is a third child, and yet doesn’t want to forget his real identity, either.

One day, Luke finds a mysterious door in the wall and escapes outside school confines, only to show more discover that the whole entire school is windowless. This sets of a chain of events involving other third children and Luke’s own growing sense of self-confidence, awareness, and knowledge. However, not everyone is who they seem, and Luke must be extremely careful…or else the imposter among them will betray them all.

AMONG THE IMPOSTERS consists mostly of Luke trying to adjust to life in society. While it’s perhaps not as exciting as the first in the series, this book is a chillingly convincing story of societal adjustment, and it will only involve readers ever more into this eerie and complex world. show less