The E-mail message field is required. Please enter the message. Please verify that you are not a robot. Would you also like to submit a review for this item? You already recently rated this item. Your rating has been recorded. Write a review Rate this item: 1 2 3 4 5. Preview this item Preview this item. Series: Shadow Children , bk. Allow this favorite library to be seen by others Keep this favorite library private. Save Cancel. Find a copy in the library Finding libraries that hold this item In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm, until another "third" convinces him that the government is wrong.
Reviews User-contributed reviews Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers. Be the first. Story of growth and maturation? Sounds like a young adult novel to us. Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. By Margaret Peterson Haddix. Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis.
You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update. Parents need to know that some kids may be disturbed by the death of a major character. Otherwise there's not much to be concerned about here. Add your rating See all 31 parent reviews.
Add your rating See all 95 kid reviews. In the not-so-distant future, overpopulation has led to draconian laws limiting families to no more than two children, and Population Police ruthlessly enforce the law. Thus Luke, his family's third child, has lived his entire life in hiding, and now that a new development is being built on the edge of his family's land, he can't even go into the yard anymore, nor can he go into rooms with windows, as the neighbors grow suspicious if the shades are pulled all the time.
This miserable, isolated existence is interrupted when he discovers another shadow child living in a nearby house, and risks his and his family's lives to meet her. But this other shadow, Jen, child of an official with the Population Police, is less passive about her situation -- she is organizing a protest march to try to free the shadow children.
What makes this stand out among others in the dystopian genre at least for children is that it doesn't shy away from the bleakness or hopelessness of Luke's situation. It also doesn't avoid the logical consequences of the situation the author has set up. The first third of the book chronicles Luke's living situation, as his loving but terrified family increasingly constrict his world until he lives almost entirely alone in a windowless attic room, and readers can feel the arid claustrophobia of his life.
But she does it in a way that is fascinating and suspenseful. Along the way the author raises many issues -- none of them are simple -- which makes this a good choice for reading groups and book discussion groups.
It's never clear, for instance, how real the overpopulation crisis really is, and both sides put out exaggerated propaganda that makes it hard to find the truth. There are no easy answers or pat endings here. Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes when you use our links to make a purchase. Thank you for your support. Can he afford not to? Get A Copy. Paperback , pages. Published June 1st by Aladdin Paperbacks first published September 1st More Details Original Title.
Shadow Children 1. Jen , Luke Garner. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Among the Hidden , please sign up. Ashmita Khurana I have searched this question's answer and it says that this book "Among the Hidden" takes place in Indianapolis. Can this book stand alone, or is it necessary to read the sequels too? Pamela This book can stand alone.
The books that come after it, however, make a lot more sense if read in sequence. See all 44 questions about Among the Hidden…. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3.
Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of Among the Hidden Shadow Children, 1. Nov 25, Jey rated it really liked it Recommends it for: no one. Shelves: books-for-young-people. I am adding this book as a warning. The first book and a half are very interesting and the plot is fascinating.
Somewhere in the second book, it begins to get quite violent. By the fourth or fifth book, there is holocaust-type violence, children killing in cold blood, and outrageous examples of treachery and hate. These books are dangerous, as the first one is so good.
Please use caution when you give your children books to read. I learned the hard way I am adding this book as a warning. I learned the hard way to read all of a series before you recommend them whole-heartedly to a child. Post Script: I'm amazed at all the responses I got to this review. When I wrote it, 13 years ago, my older kids were just learning to read and my youngest kids were babies.
I was teaching middle schoolers at a private school in a very conservative town and I was thinking hard about what was "appropriate" for a child to read or not. I had really strong opinions at the time. My strong opinions have swung far in the opposite direction since then. If a child is interested in a book like this, or even something else, have at it! I loved the suggestion from one mom about reading the book together with their child.
The only point to be made here now is that the first book in the series wasn't as violent, but then the series gets much more intense, so if your child is sensitive like I was as a kid , you might pay attention if they need guidance or to be told it's okay to put down a book or maybe just an extra hug?
Read on! View all 52 comments. Mar 24, Madeline rated it it was amazing. I love this book! Iwould recomend it for anybody who has a craving for excitment and adventure. I also love the use of words, and the excitment. I cannot stop reading the book. Any book that she writes is or will be wonderfull. View all 9 comments. Apr 01, Kelly H. Maybedog rated it it was ok Shelves: what-sf , what-middle-readers. 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. 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.
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. View all 18 comments. Jul 25, Mariah Roze rated it liked it.
I'm reading this book to my students and they love it, but I found it to be very boring. I'm not sure how others feel but nothing happens in this book, especially the first half. I read through the first half of the book super bored. Sep 10, Selene rated it it was amazing. Fifth Read: September 23, - November 7, 5 Stars I read this with my current grade 6 class and my whole class was really invested in this story. They enjoyment of the story made me realize how much I love this book.
I had some students really get into the story. They loved it. Second Read: January 12, - Fifth Read: September 23, - November 7, 5 Stars I read this with my current grade 6 class and my whole class was really invested in this story. First Read: In elementary school 3 Stars
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