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2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available
At a time in the future, when having more than two children is illegal, 12-year-old Luke Garner is third born, a shadow child—his very existence punishable by death.
He spends his whole life hiding and knows only his immediate family and their small farm.
When a new housing development is built near his family's home, Luke is forced into even greater secrecy, spending days and nights in his attic room. But after catching a glimpse of someone in one of the new houses, Luke is sure he's found another third child.
When he discovers Jen, as bold as Luke is timid, she makes Luke imagine a life of freedom. But at what cost?
Among the Hidden, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a classroom favorite, is Margaret Peterson Haddix's outstanding novel for middle readers.
" ... the unsettling, thought-provoking premise should suffice to keep [listeners] hooked."—Publishers Weekly
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 31, 1998
      Haddix (Running Out of Time) chillingly imagines a dystopia in this futuristic novel. Born into a totalitarian state that brutally enforces a two-children-only policy, 12-year-old Luke Garner, an "illegal" third child, has spent his entire life hiding from anyone outside his immediate family. His troubles multiply when the government makes his dirt-poor parents sell the woods surrounding their farm in order to build a housing development for "Barons" (the privileged elite), and it therefore becomes too dangerous for Luke to go outside. Next, the Garners are hit with a crippling tax bill and ordered to sell their hogs, so Mom has to get a factory job. Luke spends every day alone, hidden in his attic room, until he meets Jen, a "shadow child" secreted in the Baron house next door. She turns his whole world upside-down, introducing him to her secret Internet chat room and giving him literature analyzing the government's repressive policies. After Jen's foolhardy rally of shadow children ends in bloodshed, Luke is faced with a decision that will irrevocably determine his fate. The plot development is sometimes implausible and the characterizations are a bit brittle, but the unsettling, thought-provoking premise should suffice to keep readers hooked. Ages 8-12.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      In this young adult science fiction thriller, set sometime in the not-too-distant future, overpopulation and food scarcity have led to the Population Laws, restricting couples to having no more than two children. The first of the Shadow Children series tells the story of Luke Garner, a third child, living a secret, hidden life in the attic of his parents' farmhouse. When a housing development threatens the family's privacy, Luke must go even deeper into hiding--where he discovers that he isn't alone. Jonathan Davis reads with richness and sincerity, drawing listeners into a world that is both starkly different and frighteningly familiar. S.E.S. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 28, 2000
      This futuristic novel focuses on a totalitarian regime and the Internet. PW noted, "The plot development is sometimes implausible and the characterizations a bit brittle, but the unsettling, thought-provoking premise should suffice to keep readers hooked." Ages 8-12.

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  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:800
  • Text Difficulty:3-4

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