The issue faced by the characters in the book, that of overpopulation and what to do about it, is an important one, and deserves to have a children's book written about it. The possibility that we will one day be limited to two children or fewer per family, and people will undergo forced sterilization, is not so unlikely. China already has strict population control laws (one child) with heavy fines for violators.However the author simplifies the issue to a simple black and white set of extremes. She fails to fully examine the issue of overpopulation. In the book, the need for population leveling is solely due to food shortages. The characters assert that it's mostly due to mismanagement by the government that the famine happened at all. In fact, everything bad appears to be the fault of the controlling, fascist, yet inept government. Even in the end, the author doesn't appear to grasp the reality of the effect of our population explosion: Food is not the only issue. Others include, "Where will we put all the waste from these people? How will there be enough drinking water? How will we have enough energy to run the machines we need to support our society? Where will resources come from to create things like clothes, furniture, houses, cars? How do we deal with all the pollution this manufacturing brings with that many more people? And how will we survive when we've cut down all the trees and there is no oxygen being produced?The simple answer given in the book seems to be "we could police ourselves--some people could have more kids if others had fewer". And who does that policing? We certainly aren't doing it now. What are realistic ways we can address this population issue?The author also appears to be showing how fascist and evil the government is by showing how they outlawed junk food and even meat. Vegetarians are truly the evil of the future. ;) This is an interesting absurdity in that more calories are contained in fat than in anything else, so if food were scarce, it would make more sense to make food very high in fat.One excellent point the author does assert is that those who make the laws often don't follow them. Exceptions are made when it is convenient for those in power. This is an excellent point and I would have liked this to be expanded a bit more. Especially since those in power (the U.S. right now) currently use up many times more resources per person than the non-powerful (3rd world countries). The barons in the book, by excepting themselves from the rules, are causing even greater harm. Yet, even that point isn't explained, just inferred.Perhaps the simplicity is necessary for a children's story, and yet, the heaviness of the topic and the tragedy of the plot, are all mature enough themes that any reader of the book should be able to handle the additional complexity. The author also only shows one side of the story: that of the victims of an extremist, totalitarian government who dealt inappropriately with a very real disaster.What I would have liked to have seen would have been an afterword that addressed some of these issues on a level kids could understand. Just presenting the ideas in a fictional context may be too confusing. Other award-winning children's books that either deal with confusing, heavy issues, or take place in other mystifying eras, have afterwards for more information. I think such a beast would help this book tremendously. As it is, I am curious to know what children reading this book come away with thinking: Is overpopulation bad? Or is the government bad and we don't really need to worry about overpopulation? Because I fear the latter is the message children will walk away with after reading this novel, I have to be very wary about recommending this book.
I just have to say, what an amazing start to a series! For the past couple of months, I've been having a hard time finding books that'll hold my interest. But once I picked up 'Among The Hidden,' I was immediately sucked into this world (well, it did have it's draggy bits, but nevertheless, I was sucked in). I can't quite explain it, but it gave me all of those Unwind feels. This isn't your average dystopian book, I feel that it can stand on its own, much like Unwind, it was very unique, but I did have some problems with it (hence the four stars and not five). Among the Hidden is set in a world where parents are only allowed to have two children. But not everyone agrees with these laws, and that's where the term "shadow children" comes into play. We start out by meeting our main character, Luke Garner, a twelve-year-old shadow child (a third child born to a family) who must stay hidden at all times. Luke stays in his family's attic day in and day out until his new neighbors move in, and he realizes that maybe there are more children like him out there.So, let's get to our characters (this isn't going to take long because there weren't many). First, we have our MC, Luke Garner. I really liked Luke and how he progressed throughout the story. In the beginning, you have this boy who seems pretty content with everything. At first, Luke couldn't go outside for very long, and then it came to a point where he couldn't go out at all. As the chapters progressed "privileges" and I can't even believe that I'm calling them privileges, are slowly taken away from Luke. Privileges such as not being able to eat dinner at the same table as your family. The more the story progressed the heavier my heart felt. It got to a point to where I wasn't even sure who to be upset with, the government for enforcing that the parents can only have two children, or the parents for subjecting their kids to this lifestyle. So, I felt bad for Luke, but as I was saying I liked watching his irritation at his circumstances slowly build within him. He realized the life he was living wasn't fair. Luke went from being a sheltered boy to possibly being the leader of a revolution. I am here for it!Next, we're introduced to the other third child who happens to be Luke's next door neighbor, "Jen" (Jennifer Rose Talbot). I loved Jen so much! She was so fierce and so passionate about what she believes in. I admire people like that, and that's exactly who Jen was. I loved how she was able to ignite a fire in Luke and make him realize that the population laws were complete bull. (view spoiler)[ I was so sad that Jen died, but I can't act like I didn't see it coming. For one, I knew that the government would've had those children killed at the rally. I mean, they were all third children, which meant that there was no evidence of their existence, they could get away with killing them scot-free. But I knew she would have a huge impact on him. People like that always do. What was even surprising is that she was a Baron (extremely rich) and yet she cared about ALL third children. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Among The Hidden (2006)?
This is a decent book about a fictional community where the government controls everything. The people are only allowed to have 2 children so anything after 2 they hide them. This is a story about a boy that has been hidden his entire life and find out that there are other hidden children out there as well. He meets a girl and they become friends. I have mixed feelings about this book. The reason I read it was because a friend of mine asked me about it. Her 11 year-old son read it and he was upset and sad about some things in the book. She was kind of shocked and upset that he read such a book. So I read the book as a favor to her to see what kind of book it really was. So I honestly cannot say if I think it is appropriate for 11 year-olds. I probably would let mine read it but now that she has brought it to my attention I am kind of hesitant about what I really think.Don't know if that made any sense at all-Sorry..
—Rachelle
Among The Hidden was written by Margaret Peterson Haddix, this is a fiction book. This book had a lot of parts that made me stare into the book. The word hidden in the title has a lot to do with what occurs in the book, actually the book revolves around the word hidden.A strength in the book that I noticed was how the author put in events that where in the characters past to help give a glimpse of the character. For example the author mentioned the main character, Luke celebrating his birthday. In this part of the story, the author tells how Luke felt when he was younger in the past to him being older in the present. Another strength in the book that I noticed was how the author didn’t just use one point of view, she used two different points of views. For example the author wrote about Luke’s past in first person. She wrote in the third person when she talked about Luke daydreamingSomething that people might be asking is, if the main characters are believable? The main characters are believable, because Luke is a person who is willing to take a risk to find out something. This is the same as people who take risks. I can write myself down as someone who would take risks to try something new. The author also does an adequate job with describing, because she described what the character was wearing more than once.This book gives an example how people who make laws jeopardize others’ lives. This book also has great details to help describe the story. I hope many others will enjoy this book.
—Ny'dea
“Among the Hidden” Book reportRenee Armitage 5th The novel I will be telling you about is Margaret Peterson Haddix’s “Among the Hidden”. In Luke Garner’s life the government has put a limit to how many kids a family can have and Luke is an illegal third child and his freedom is getting torn down with the trees. After the trees in his families land gets chopped down and Luke’s slight amount of freedom is gone when the new neighbors move in. The narrator and main character in this novel is Luke Garner and all he wanted is someone to talk to outside his family, he is an illegal third child that is not allowed to be seen, then when he is close to giving up he sees a someone in a widow of a seeming empty house next door, so he plans and plans to go and see who if anyone is in the house. I loved the book I never wanted to put it down it made me laugh and cry I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The book in my opinion is magnificently written there would only be slight changes to the ending. The main theme is to stand up for what you believe in no matter what. “Among the Hidden” is a memorable exciting page turner that you just can’t put down the book also makes you thinks would our government limit how many kids we can have? “Among the Hidden” is such a good book because it is full of many different aspects of writing mystery, love, and tragedy some thrills and it is an easy read for weeks or weekends. I agree with Haddix’s theme, we should stand up for what you believe in. Just think if you don’t stand up for yourself who will? I disagree with very little in “Among the Hidden” I do not like the death of a main character at all, ever. I think main characters should live throughout the book or book series in this case. The way Haddix wrote this book is mystifying to me she is just brilliant with her theme although she killed a main character.I thought the book was great. The style was different than others it really makes you think. I believe that the story is completely original in many ways. The novel has raised the questions like how many of us would the population law effect. Could this happen? Would innocent kids die just for being born? I recommend this book to ages 10years and up because there is some violence and you need to be able to comprehend the text completely. “Among the Hidden” is a great thoughtful read, if you like to think you will love this book.
—Renee Armitage
