Haddix, Margaret Peterson. 1998. AMONG THE HIDDEN. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780689817007
2. Plot Summary
Luke is a third child. He was born in a world where a couple is only allotted two children according to the Population Law otherwise there are consequences. If they have a third child it has to be taken care of. "Told you before. We didn't have a choice. Government wanted it. You can't tell the government no!" (2). Luke has always been able to go outside due to the woods and no neighbors, but now the woods have been cut down and a housing development surrounds his families farm. Luke is no longer allowed to leave the house. "He has never disobeyed the order to hide" (1). He passes the time by hiding in his room in the attic looking out the vents to the outside world, so that he won't be seen. But one day he sees a child in his neighbors house. "A face. A child's face. In a house where two boys already lived " (41). Everyone is at work or school is it a third child?
3. Critical Summary
The protagonist in the story is a twelve year old boy who is very innocent of the outside world due to being confined to his home. Luke tells the story from his point of view in a simple style and tone filled with tension and suspense from a deprived child who is scared for his life. "I was safe. You left the shades down, so I thought it was okay, and I made sure everyone was gone from the neighborhood,-and" (40). The character is believable so young adults can relate to the way he tells the story and sympathize with his plight. Young adults want to be able to be free and learn about the world outside their door, this helps them identify with the main character. Everyone can relate with wanting to bend the rules and be free.
Luke is the victim of the laws passed by the government who is the antagonist in the novel. "The question was, what could he do about it?" (50). The plot of the story is self vs. society. The protagonist has to follow the laws or their will be severe consequences. The events in the story could happen in reality. The laws have been passed because their is not enough food in the world to feed the population, which is a believable occurrence.
The setting of the story is a futuristic society, but not many things have changed in the world, there just seems to be laws passed by the government that have changed society. "Then they started running all that on TV about the Population Police, how the Population Police had ways of finding out everything, how they'd do anything to enforce the law" (10). People still farm, drive cars ,and use the internet this makes the reader able to relate easily to the story and picture the setting of the story.
The theme the author has created in the story is freedom. No one wants to be confined by rules and restrictions no matter if it is the past or a future society. A person has to be free to learn and become who they want to be even if it can be a challenge. "Make a difference in the world" (149).
4. Review Excerpts
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "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.
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "His is a near future of shortages and deprivation where widespread famines have led to a totalitarian government that controls all aspects of its citizens' lives. When the boy secretly ventures outside the attic and meets the girl in the neighboring house, he learns that expressing divergent opinions openly can lead to tragedy. To what extent is he willing to defy the government in order to have a life worth living? As in Haddix's Running Out of Time (S & S, 1995), the loss of free will is the fundamental theme of an exciting and compelling story of one young person defying authority and the odds to make a difference. Readers will be captivated by Luke's predicament and his reactions to it."
5. Connections
Other books set in a futuristic society with environmental problems that have influenced society:
DuPrau, Jeanne. THE CITY OF EMBER. ISBN 0375822739
Lowry, Lois. THE GIVER. ISBN 9780385732550
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