Among the Free by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Shadow Children #7

From the Publisher
"Enough games," the man said, raising the gun yet again. "And enough of the Population Police, I say."
This time he cocked the gun and aimed carefully.

This is real, Luke thought. This is really going to happen.

"No, don't!" he screamed.

Luke Garner is a third-born in a restrictive society that allows only two children per family. Risking his life, he came out of hiding to fight against the Population Police laws. Now, in the final volume of Margaret Peterson Haddix's suspenseful Shadow Children series, Luke inadvertently sets off a rebellion that results in the overthrow of the government. The people are finally free. But who is in charge now? And will this new freedom be everything they had hoped?

With all of the plot twists and excitement Haddix's fans have come to expect, Among the Free brings the Shadow Children sequence to a chilling conclusion.


My Opinion
This was a good ending to a wonderful story. While I found this final book in the series to be a bit anti-climatic of an ending as far as the action went, it was quite good as far as the philosophical angle. Very thought provoking. Just how easy would it be to manipulate a society into turning their hatred to a group of children who were not supposed to exist, after years of starvation and hardship. The fact that the new 'government' was so easily able to manipulate society as a whole was quite scary.

I was a little bothered by the first half of the book, where the author seems to completely change Luke's personality. Turning him into a scared, cowardly, child instead of the strong leader that he has been portrayed as in earlier books.

But over all it was a good ending to a wonderful series. I am glad that I had the opportunity to read it.

Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Shadow Children #6

From the Publisher

An ache grew in his throat and he wanted to sob, but he set his jaw and held it in. He'd been wrong to send Nina away, wrong to refuse to help her, wrong to let the commander treat him like a pet. He'd been wrong to think that everything ended when he lost Percy and Alia....I can stop this evil, he thought.

The Population Police are gaining more and more power, and illegal third-borns are in increasing danger. Young Matthias finds himself caught in the cross fire between the Population Police and the rebels — and unwittingly ends up saving the life of a Population Police officer. By way of reward, the officer takes Matthias to the luxury of Population Police headquarters to train him to become one of their own. There, among his most feared enemies, Matthias encounters Nina, another illegal third-born, who enlists his help in a plot to undermine the Population Police. But Matthias is under constant scrutiny, he has no idea whom he can trust, and he's mourning the loss of his friends Percy and Alia. What can one boy do against a wicked bureaucracy?

In the most exciting Shadow Children book yet, Margaret Peterson Haddix examines how the courage of individuals can make an impact on growing evil.

My Opinion

Another fantastic chapter in this chilling story.

In this book we meet back up with Matthias, Percy and Alia who we met in an earlier book. Just three young third children who were abandoned by their parents and raised by a kind old man named Samuel until his death when they found themselves on the streets struggling for survival. Last time we met them the were in a Population Police prison with Nina. After proving her loyalty and helping the three children escape from the prison, Mr. Talbot helped the kids by putting into a school under fake ids. But when the Population Police come to the school in the middle of the night and take all of the students away to be placed in Work Camps, Matthias finds himself faced with many choices to make, and results that he did not count on.

Through a string of events that leave him alone and desperate, Matthias finds himself at Population Police Headquarters, marked as a hero. Amongst those who have tried to kill him and his friends their whole lives, he has to face some hard choices and grow up much too quickly.

Fantastic story and I can not wait to see how it all ends in the next book!

Among the Brave by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Shadow Children # 5

From the Publisher
In the aftermath of a crisis that threatens the safety of all shadow children -- illegal third-borns in a society that allows only two children per family -- Trey's friends expect him to take charge -- a function he doesn't want or think he can do.

Trey's new role leads him to travel with Luke Garner's brother, Mark, to Population Police headquarters. There he impersonates an officer to try to rescue Luke, who has been taken prisoner. The nonstop adventure puts all three boys in danger and risks exposing the underground movement to help all shadow children.

In this, the fifth book in the Shadow Children series, Margaret Peterson Haddix returns to the futuristic setting and compelling characters she created in Among the Hidden. With an adrenaline-fueled plot and surprising twists, Haddix has again crafted a story that is suspenseful until the last page.

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My Opinion

I started this book back in September when I was reading the entire series. Then I got hired to work full time and dropped off on reading. I picked it back up today as I am finishing up Christmas vacation by trying to catch up on some reading.

I really enjoy this series of books. It is heart wrenching when you think about what is happening in the books.

In this one, Trey, who has always been the scared timid one at Hendricks School, is reluctantly forced into the position of a hero when his friends are arrested by the Population Police. Along with Luke's older brother Mark, he sets out on a journey to rescue his friends. He battles his fears, which are many, after spending his life in hiding as a third child. In the end, he discovers a new desire to take the fight further.

I can't wait to start the last in the series to see how it all ends!

Among the Betrayed by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Shadow Children #3)

From the Publisher
What does it mean to save yourself?
Nina Idi – a third child in a society where families are allowed only two children – has been betrayed by the boy she loved, and arrested by the Population Police for exposing other alleged third children. Angry and confused, Nina knows only one thing for sure: She is innocent of the charges. But now she is faced with the most difficult choice of her life: Get three other prisoners to admit they are shadow children and be spared herself, or refuse to cooperate and be killed.

The options are clear. The choice, Nina discovers, is not….

My Opinion
Another good read in the Shadow Children Series.

This book centers around Nina, who was arrested in the last book. She is imprisoned as a traitor who has betrayed the Third Children along with Jason.

Now she is forced to befriend and betray three other Third Children in order to save her own life. But how can she betray them, when like her, they have done nothing wrong besides be born.

This book follows Nina as she and the group of three other children manage to escape from the prison and head back to Hendricks school, where Nina thinks that they will be safe.

But nothing is as it seems and Nina soon wonders who is lying to who.

#72 -- Among the Impostors (Shadow Children #2) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

From the Publisher

OUT OF HIDING. INTO DANGER.

Luke Garner is an illegal third child. All his life has been spent in hiding. Now, for the first time, Luke is living among others. He has assumed a deceased boy’s identity and is attending Hendricks School for Boys, a windowless building with cruel classmates and oblivious teachers. Luke knows he has to blend in, but he lives in constant fear that his behavior will betray him.

Then one day Luke discovers a door to the outside. He knows that beyond the walls of Hendricks lie the secrets he is desperate to uncover. What he doesn’t know is whom he can trust – and where the answers to his questions may lead him…

My Opinion
This was another good book in the Shadow Children Series. After the events of the first book, when Luke’s friend Jen is killed trying to lead a rally to denounce the fact that third children are illegal, Luke is offered the opportunity to have a fake id and leave home. He accepts, knowing that he can not spend the rest of his life hiding out in the attic of his parents house. He is given the identity of a Baron boy who was killed in an accident and sent to Hendricks school for boys.

Luke tries to adjust to his new identity. He tries to fit in with the other boys, but after spending the first 12 years of his life hiding, it is overwhelming to be surrounded by so many other boys all the time. So one day when he discovers a door leading outside and he sneaks out. He discovers a spot in the woods near the school where he can be alone and visits it frequently. Until one day he discovers that he is not the only one sneaking out. There is a group of other boys who sneak out and meet in the woods. A group of other third children like himself. Luke discovers the meaning of friendship, loyalty and betrayal, but he also discovers a way to make a difference in the lives of other third children.

#71 -- Among the Hidden (Shadow Children #1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

From the Publisher
Luke has never been to school. He’s never had a birthday party, or gone to a friend’s house for an overnight. In fact, Luke has never had a friend.
Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child forbidden by the Population Police. He’s lived his entire life in hiding, and now, with a new housing development replacing the woods next to his family’s farm, he is no longer even allowed to go outside.

Then, one day Luke sees a girl’s face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. Finally, he’s met a shadow child like himself. Jen is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows—does Luke dare to become involved in her dangerous plan? Can he afford not to?

My Opinion
This was a fantastic start to this series.

In a not to distance future, overpopulation and years of droughts have devastated the world’s food supply. The Government has taken over and declared that it is illegal for any one family to have more than 2 children.

When they start building new homes near Luke’s house he has to go into hiding because he is a third child. His parents are poor farmers and are terrified that Luke will be discovered and taken from them, so he is forced to stay in the attic and has limited interaction with his family. One day while peeking out of the attic vents he sees a face in one of the new house’s windows that should not be there. Another Third Child like himself, could it be? He decides that he has to find out and one day after weeks of planning and waiting he sneaks out and over to the neighbor’s house. To his surprise he discovers another Third like himself, a girl named Jen. Jen lives a very different life than Luke as her family are Barons, one of the elite in the new world order, but she still has to hide as it is illegal for even Barons to have more than 2 children.

What follows is a growing friendship between shy, timid Luke and outgoing, determined Jen. As Jen plans a Rally for all of the Shadow Children that she has befriended via an Internet chat room, Luke becomes concerned for her safety. What will happen when Jen leads a march on the President’s House with other Shadow children, demanding that they be allowed to come out of hiding?

This is really a very scary and sad story about a not so unbelievable future. I look forward to continuing the series.