Module 4 - Fantasy & Science Fiction
"Read three of the following selections:"
Plot Summary
Luke has lived his entire life in hiding. As the third child born in a world where families are limited to two, his mere existence is a crime punishable by death. When the woods behind his house are sold and cut down to make way for fancy new houses, his limited ability to play outside with his brothers is abruptly cut off. Luke can not even look out the windows for fear of being discovered. But he finds a way. When he observes closely, he finds one of the new wealthy neighbors also has a hidden third child. Luke braves the fear of discovery to sneak over to the house and find out for sure. The two hidden "shadow" children form a friendship, but their very different personalities lead them in different directions.Critical Analysis
Among the Hidden was a fairly short novel at just over 150 pages. It's a little lacking in exciting adventure, so it doesn't read too quickly due to the narrative events, but rather because it is so short. And the book even ends on a cliffhanger moment, prompting readers to seek out the next book to find out what will happen to Luke as he ventures into the rest of the world with his false identity. This is a great gimmick to hook readers to a series!The setting of this dystopian story is primarily focused on the localized setting of Luke's family's farm and the encroaching housing development. There is mention of the social environment outside of the farm itself, like shopping centers and city locations and such, but because our narrator's entire world has been limited to the farm, we too are limited. The farm itself offers protection to Luke in his early years, due to its remote location and tree cover. If Luke's family had lived elsewhere, his experience would have been significantly different, as evidenced by the character of Jen and her very different experience of being a shadow child in a baron family. Jen is able to contact others, but Luke's entire social contact is only with his immediate family. Not even his aunts know about him.
The greater setting of the novel, however, is the depth of the U.S. government's social control over the lives of its citizens. How deep does that control run? Is there a possibility of individuals making a difference? We learn only so much about the government in this book; they are not afraid to gun down a group of shadow children and squelch news of the event. The efforts of Jen and the potential Luke has to influence future events and possibly reform or escape the governmental control is a highly compelling factor in the narrative. Maybe more about the government will be revealed in the rest of the series. The evolution of our modern day society into this totalitarian society is a believable jump; some nations have already implemented limits on child-bearing. Readers can draw similarities between modern day problems and their extension into the future to create this society.
The greatest excitement of the plot centers around Luke's discovery of the outside world and what he is able to learn from Jen and her books. The character of Jen is not as well developed as some might like, but she is definitely the secondary character of the novel even if she only exists occasionally for about fifty pages. Without her as a catalyst, Luke might foreseeably remain hidden in the attic for his entire life. Instead, Luke expands his vocabulary, learns more about government and society, contributes to the family livelihood, and begins to explore technology because of her influences. His final determination to strike out on his own is inspired by the loss of his friend. He says "I'm doing this for you, too, Jen. Someday when we're all free, all the third children, I'll tell everyone about you. They'll erect statues to you, and name holidays after you..." She is his motivating force.
Reviewers from Publishers Weekly criticized the novel in 1998 because "the plot development is sometimes implausible and the characterizations are a bit brittle", but this novel has held up well to the test of time. With the current rapid expansion in the YA dystopian genre, this shorter volume can be useful to bring lower-level high school and upper-level elementary readers into the fold. Among the Hidden is a title that has been fairly well tested in the classroom; I attended a seminar at 2011 TLA on using social media to teach the novel and series. It brings up a lot of serious world issues for discussion without including such things as violence and romance that might be offensive in a classroom situation. The most violence the book includes is the brief description of the gunning down of the rally-goers:
"They shot all of them. All forty kids at the rally, gunned down right in front of the president's house. The blood flowed into his rosebushes. But they had the sidewalks scrubbed before the tourists came, so nobody would know."
Bibliography
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Among the hidden. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1998. ISBN 9780689817007.Awards/Reviews
From Publishers Weekly:Haddix (Running Out of Time) chillingly imagines a dystopia in this futuristic novel. ... The plot development is sometimes implausible and the characterizations are a bit brittle, but the unsettling, thought-provoking premise should suffice to keep readers hooked.From School Library Journal:
This 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.-Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PAFrom Kirkus:
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.From Voice of Youth Advocates
...this bleak allegorical tale ends with Luke leaving to attend school, then rejoin the outside world. This is an easily understood, younger reader's 1984 or Brave New World, presenting a chilling vision of a possibly not-too-distant future. Haddix's other books include Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey (Simon & Schuster, 1996/VOYA December 1996).‘Debbie Earl.
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