Among the Hidden
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| Author | Margaret Peterson Haddix |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Cliff Nielsen |
| Country | United States |
| Series | Shadow Children sequence |
| Genre | Young adult novel |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing |
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Publication date
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March 1, 1998 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 160 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 37588395 |
| LC Class | PZ7.H1164 Am 1998 |
| Followed by | Among the Impostors |
Among the Hidden is a 1998 young adult novel by Margaret Peterson Haddix concerning a fictional future in which drastic measures have been taken to quell overpopulation. It is the first of seven novels in the Shadow Children series.
Overpopulation has occurred. Because of this there is very little food and all of it is monitored by the government. Due to this shortage, the democratic republic has been replaced with a totalitarian government that enforces heavy control over the population, particularly reproduction. They outlaw anyone to have more than two children.
Luke Garner, a twelve-year-old child, lives on a farm with his mother, father, and two brothers, Matthew and Mark. As a third child, Luke and his parents are in violation of the law. Luke, like all third children, must spend his days hidden or away from public view. When the government starts building houses in the woods behind the Garners' house, Luke is forced to hide inside his house, in total isolation from the outside world. In the beginning of the story, Luke is quite scared of being caught by the Population Police. But toward the end of the story, he becomes more brave and faces his fears about the Population Police.
Luke Garner used to go outside because nobody lived nearby and he was hidden because of the woods. But the government forced Luke's Family to sell the woods so people could live there, most of whom were barons. So Luke lost the freedom to go outside and was not even allowed to eat on the same table with his family anymore. His parents sealed all the things he could use to look outside except the vent.
While Luke is looking out of a vent from the attic, with which he can see outside, and not be seen from the outside, he sees the face of a girl in a window of a house that he knows already has two children. He secretly runs over to the house about a month later, and meets thirteen-year-old Jen Talbot, the daughter of one of the Barons living in the houses behind him and another third child. There he becomes a close friend to Jen Talbot.
Jen begins to show Luke that what the government has done is wrong. She organizes a rally in support of the third children, and asks Luke to come, but Luke refuses, afraid of what might happen. After not hearing from Jen for one month, Luke crawls over to her house where he meets Jen's father, George Talbot, a Population Police official. Luke finds out that everyone at the rally was shot and killed, including Jen. Mr. Talbot explains to Luke that he opposes the Population Law. The Population Police then break in to Mr. Talbot's house and Luke hides in the closet.
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