Book Review: AMONG THE HIDDEN
*NOTE: This blog was created for a class at TWU.
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. 1998. AMONG THE HIDDEN. New York, NY: Aladdin Fiction.
2. PLOT SUMMARY:
Luke Garner is the "hidden" third child in a totalitarian society where families are limited to two children, and people live within a strict class system. Because a new housing development is encroaching on the family farm, Luke must never go outside or even look out the window for fear that the "Population Police" will discover his existence. But when Luke makes a discovery of his own, that another "hidden" has moved in next door, he learns the truth about himself and the world in which he lives.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
During adolescence, young adults often question authority and their right to freedom as they explore their own identities and assert their independence. In doing so, they also engage in "social perspective taking," or seeing an issue from another person's point of view. Dystopian titles such as Margaret Peterson Haddix's AMONG THE HIDDEN tap into this developmental stage of exploration by allowing young adults to experience a world in which people are much less free than they are in our society today, seeing it, in this case, from the point of view of a boy their own age, who, due to government restrictions, should never have been born.
Reminiscent of Lois Lowry's THE GIVER, Haddix's series, of which AMONG THE HIDDEN is the first installment, paints a picture of a society, not too different from our own, where the people in power have taken away the freedom of the population in order to "protect" them. In THE GIVER, society was protected from memories and emotions that were strong enough to result in conflict, anger, and sorrow, but paid the price by losing the other end of the spectrum: joy, diversity, and triumph. Haddix's society is "protected" from food and energy shortages through population control and a strict class system. Although their lives are happy, they've lost the freedom to have more than two children, buy what they want, and live as they want. Luke comes to the realization that if he remains hidden, he will never be free, but that he may pay for his freedom with his life. The action is fast-paced and the vocabulary is accessible, making it a quick read for even reluctant readers.
As a teacher, one of the most valuable parts of the novel is the way in which Luke Garner learns why he must stay "hidden." Jen, the "hidden" child who lives next door gives Luke stacks of books and articles discussing the issue of population control from both the point of view of the government and those who oppose the two children per family policy. He discovers the concept of bias and also the ways in which groups of people can attempt to change government policy by writing to media, staging rallies, and infiltrating the government itself. At the same time, his eyes are opened to the hypocrisy of the ruling class "barons" who break and flaunt the rules almost as a status symbol.
Bias and hypocrisy are difficult concepts to teach, and with students getting much of their information from the internet and media, it is vital that they look at information with a critical eye. AMONG THE HIDDEN provides a concrete and thought-provoking example by which to discuss bias, hypocrisy, and the role of the government in our lives.
At the end of the novel, Jen attempts to confront the government with the existence of the "hidden" and pays for her act of defiance with her life. She had argued that hope wouldn't change the world, only action would, but in reflecting on her death, Luke has a revelation that there are different kinds of actions, just as there are different perspectives. "Maybe he could succeed where Jen failed," he thinks, "precisely because he wasn't a Baron - because he didn't have her sense that the world owed him everything. He could be more patient, more cautious, more practical." Haddix then leaves the reader to pick up the next volume and cheer Luke on in his quest to free the "hidden" shadow children.
AMONG THE HIDDEN has won numerous awards and was both a Top 10 ALA Best Book for Young Adults and an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
Publisher's Weekly: "the unsettling, thought-provoking premise should suffice to keep readers hooked."
School Library Journal (gr. 5-8): "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
* Middle School English Language Arts classrooms could use this novel as part of lessons on point of view and persuasive writing. The class could read it together, analyzing the arguments for and against population control and control of food/energy resources. Then, as a group project, students could choose a book out of the "What's That Got to Do With Me?" series of titles from Smart Apple Media. Topics include racism, elections, war and conflict, drugs, etc., and each title shows different points of view through personal stories, articles, and interviews. Students could then choose to create a PPT presentation aimed at persuading the audience to agree with their stand on the issue, write a letter to a government official persuading him/her to take a stand on the issue, perform a debate giving pros and cons, or write a fictional story like "Among the Hidden" using information on their issue.
*NOTE: This blog was created for a class at TWU.
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. 1998. AMONG THE HIDDEN. New York, NY: Aladdin Fiction.
2. PLOT SUMMARY:
Luke Garner is the "hidden" third child in a totalitarian society where families are limited to two children, and people live within a strict class system. Because a new housing development is encroaching on the family farm, Luke must never go outside or even look out the window for fear that the "Population Police" will discover his existence. But when Luke makes a discovery of his own, that another "hidden" has moved in next door, he learns the truth about himself and the world in which he lives.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
During adolescence, young adults often question authority and their right to freedom as they explore their own identities and assert their independence. In doing so, they also engage in "social perspective taking," or seeing an issue from another person's point of view. Dystopian titles such as Margaret Peterson Haddix's AMONG THE HIDDEN tap into this developmental stage of exploration by allowing young adults to experience a world in which people are much less free than they are in our society today, seeing it, in this case, from the point of view of a boy their own age, who, due to government restrictions, should never have been born.
Reminiscent of Lois Lowry's THE GIVER, Haddix's series, of which AMONG THE HIDDEN is the first installment, paints a picture of a society, not too different from our own, where the people in power have taken away the freedom of the population in order to "protect" them. In THE GIVER, society was protected from memories and emotions that were strong enough to result in conflict, anger, and sorrow, but paid the price by losing the other end of the spectrum: joy, diversity, and triumph. Haddix's society is "protected" from food and energy shortages through population control and a strict class system. Although their lives are happy, they've lost the freedom to have more than two children, buy what they want, and live as they want. Luke comes to the realization that if he remains hidden, he will never be free, but that he may pay for his freedom with his life. The action is fast-paced and the vocabulary is accessible, making it a quick read for even reluctant readers.
As a teacher, one of the most valuable parts of the novel is the way in which Luke Garner learns why he must stay "hidden." Jen, the "hidden" child who lives next door gives Luke stacks of books and articles discussing the issue of population control from both the point of view of the government and those who oppose the two children per family policy. He discovers the concept of bias and also the ways in which groups of people can attempt to change government policy by writing to media, staging rallies, and infiltrating the government itself. At the same time, his eyes are opened to the hypocrisy of the ruling class "barons" who break and flaunt the rules almost as a status symbol.
Bias and hypocrisy are difficult concepts to teach, and with students getting much of their information from the internet and media, it is vital that they look at information with a critical eye. AMONG THE HIDDEN provides a concrete and thought-provoking example by which to discuss bias, hypocrisy, and the role of the government in our lives.
At the end of the novel, Jen attempts to confront the government with the existence of the "hidden" and pays for her act of defiance with her life. She had argued that hope wouldn't change the world, only action would, but in reflecting on her death, Luke has a revelation that there are different kinds of actions, just as there are different perspectives. "Maybe he could succeed where Jen failed," he thinks, "precisely because he wasn't a Baron - because he didn't have her sense that the world owed him everything. He could be more patient, more cautious, more practical." Haddix then leaves the reader to pick up the next volume and cheer Luke on in his quest to free the "hidden" shadow children.
AMONG THE HIDDEN has won numerous awards and was both a Top 10 ALA Best Book for Young Adults and an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
Publisher's Weekly: "the unsettling, thought-provoking premise should suffice to keep readers hooked."
School Library Journal (gr. 5-8): "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
* Middle School English Language Arts classrooms could use this novel as part of lessons on point of view and persuasive writing. The class could read it together, analyzing the arguments for and against population control and control of food/energy resources. Then, as a group project, students could choose a book out of the "What's That Got to Do With Me?" series of titles from Smart Apple Media. Topics include racism, elections, war and conflict, drugs, etc., and each title shows different points of view through personal stories, articles, and interviews. Students could then choose to create a PPT presentation aimed at persuading the audience to agree with their stand on the issue, write a letter to a government official persuading him/her to take a stand on the issue, perform a debate giving pros and cons, or write a fictional story like "Among the Hidden" using information on their issue.
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