Book Cover Photo Source, Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Among-the-Hidden/Margaret-Peterson-Haddix/e/9780689817007/?itm=3, accessed Dec. 3, 2008.
Bibliography
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. 1998. AMONG THE HIDDEN. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689824750
Critical Analysis
In the book AMONG THE HIDDEN, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, families are forbidden from having more than two children. There is a government agency called “The Population Police” that enforce this law among its citizens. The hero of the story is Luke, a third child, or shadow child as they come to be known, who is hidden in his farmhouse attic. At the beginning of the story thick woods surround his farm so he is able to play outside, work in the garden, and roam the house freely, but when the government buys the land next to his family’s farm in order to build new houses, he has to stay hidden in the attic to keep from being seen by the outside world. One day, after being caught in the kitchen by his father, Luke is upstairs looking out through the vents in the attic when he sees a child’s face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. He finally gets up enough courage to run next door, where he meets Jen, a shadow child like himself. Jen is unlike any other child he has ever known and is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows and be free. Jen wants Luke to join her on a dangerous plan to free all of the shadow children, but will Luke have the courage to do so?
In this frightening and exceptional novel, Haddix envisions a near future where a tyrannical United States limits families to only two children. Focused on government policies and the Internet, the plot development is sometimes hard to believe but the disturbing, thought-provoking premise will keep readers hooked from the first page. Students will sympathize with Luke’s character for how he handles each new situation he is thrust into. The question of if he should obey his parents wishes and stay out of trouble or help Jen on her dangerous quest for freedom, will be a topic of discussion among all who read this story. As in other books by Haddix, the underlying theme is loss of freedom, that brings us a dramatic and compelling story of one young person’s journey of defying those in power to make a difference in the world. Readers will have a new sense of appreciation for the freedoms that we are all afforded in the world in which we live.
Review Excerpt(s)
ALAN REVIEW: “Although the denouement is swift and tidy, the fully realized setting, honest characters, and fast paced plot combine for a suspenseful tale of two youngsters fighting for their very existence.”
VOYA: “This is an easily understood, younger reader's 1984 or Brave New World, presenting a chilling vision of a possibly not-too-distant future.”
KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Haddix offers much for discussion here, by presenting a world not too different from America right now. The seizing of farmlands, untenable food regulations, and other scenarios that have come to fruition in these pages will give readers a new appreciation for their own world after a visit to Luke's.”
Connections
Have the students discuss the possibility that anything like this could really ever happen. Research how some other countries (ex. China) have started to try and control their population and the laws that are already in place. Discuss their findings in class.
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