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...

Among the Impostors (Shadow Children Series #2)

ANNOTATION

In a future where the law limits a family to only two children, third-born Luke has been in hiding for the entire twelve years of his life, until he enters boarding school under an assumed name and is forced to face his fears.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

It was awful. All those eyes, all looking at him. It was straight out of Luke's worst nightmares. Panic rooted him to the spot, but every muscle in his body was screaming for him to run, to hide anywhere he could. For twelve years?his entire life?he'd had to hide. To be seen was death. "Don't!" he wanted to scream. "Don't look at me! Don't report me! Please!"

But the muscles that controlled his mouth were as frozen as the rest of him. The tiny part of his mind that wasn't flooded with panic knew that that was good — now that he had a fake I.D., the last thing he should do was act like a boy who's had to hide. But to act normal, he needed to move, to obey the man at the front and sit down. And he couldn't make his body do that, either.

— from Among the Impostors

Luke Garner is terrified.

Out of hiding for the first time in his life, he knows that any minute one of his new classmates at Hendricks School for Boys could discover his secret: that he's a third child passing as the recently deceased Lee Grant. And in a society where it's illegal for families to have more than two children, being a third child means certain death at the hands of the dreaded Population Police.

His first experience outside the safety of his home is bewildering. There's not a single window anywhere in the school; Luke can't tell his classmates apart (even as they subject him to brutal hazing); and the teachers seem oblivious to it all.

Desperate to fit in, Luke endures the confusion and teasing until he discovers an unlocked door to the outside, and a chance to understand what is really going on. But to take this chance — to find out the secrets ofHendricks — Luke will need to put aside his fears and discover a courage that a lifetime in hiding couldn't thwart.

Once again, best-selling author Margaret Peterson Haddix delights her fans with this spine-tingling account of an all-too-possible future. Among the Impostors is a worthy companion to Among the Hidden and a heart-stopping thriller in its own right.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This sequel to Among the Hidden picks up with Luke finally out of hiding and going to boarding school under an assumed identity. "While Haddix is often able to capture the suspense of her earlier work," wrote PW, "this installment gets mired in too many confusing details." Ages 9-14. (Oct.)

Children's Literature

Luke is a "third child" in a society whose laws forbid having more than two children. All of his life Luke's family has hidden him from the Population Police, a story that was introduced Haddix' previous book, Among the Hidden. In this sequel, Luke enrolls under a fake name at Hendricks School for Boys where he is confused, hazed and terrified, until he finds an unlocked door to the outside. Luke was raised on a farm and loves gardening and the outdoors, unlike others in his prison-like new home, where he can trust no one. The disquieting message of governmental control of population due to food shortages creates a suspense-filled plot that should fully engage readers in Luke's plight and outrage at being estranged from the world. In the end, Luke's strength of conviction to defy the odds bursts through the complex web of secrecy and deceit he finds at the school. Luke is heroic as he finds the solution to his dream¾helping other third children like himself to live a more meaningful life. This is a real page-turner;one that may challenge young readers to look at the odds as they try to make a difference in their own world. 2001, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $16.00. Ages 10 to 14. Reviewer:Elaine Wick

VOYA

Luke Garner has been accustomed to the open spaces of his family's farm when not hiding from the Population Police. In a time when food and other resources are limited, it is against the law to have more than two children. After his parents broke the government's rule by having a third child, it eventually becomes too dangerous for Luke's family to keep him home. It is decided that he will attend an exclusive boys' school under the assumed name of Lee Grant. Hendricks School for Boys becomes a windowless prison where Luke submits to nightly hazing from one of the students he secretly refers to as "Jackal Boy." Luke notices that all the boys, afraid of the hall monitors and teachers, follow orders, keep their eyes lowered, and move as one throughout the school as they go to and from classes, meals, or indoctrination sessions. After Luke finds a door left open, he begins to make secret trips to the nearby woods. When he stumbles upon a secret meeting of boys and girls planning an escape from Hendricks and the neighboring girls' school, Luke is forced to make some life-threatening decisions about trusting other people and himself. Haddix successfully builds the tension and excitement in this quick-moving, easy-to-read sequel to Among the Hidden (Simon & Schuster, 1998/VOYA October 1998), the story of Luke's early life living in constant fear of being found. Although abrupt, the satisfactory ending will have middle and junior high school readers eagerly hoping for the next installment in Luke's thought-provoking story. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P M J (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2001,Simon & Schuster, 176p, $16. Ages 12 to 15. Reviewer: Brenda Moses-Allen SOURCE: VOYA, August 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 3)

Alan Review - Lu Ann Staheli

In this sequel to Among the Hidden, Luke Garner, a third child born under the a futuristic government that allows two children per family, has been placed at the Hendricks School for Boys under an assumed name. The other boys mistreat Luke, who longs to read the final message given to him by Jen's father, hoping it will provide comfort. It doesn't. Luke looks for another way to feel solace and discovers an open door. Once outdoors, Luke remembers his days at his parents' farm and starts a garden. When he finds it ruined, he begins to look at the other boys and discovers they are strange. Only a few of them look him in the eye. Determined to solve the mystery of who ruined the garden, Luke discovers a group of boys and girls meeting in the woods. They are also third children, but Luke doesn't trust them completely. Is he justified in his mistrust? Could these boys have anything to do with the Population Police? This novel answers some questions posed by the author's first book, but leaves many more, which logically point to a third book in this series. Young readers will enjoy the story as they ponder the implications of living in such a society. 2001, Simon & Schuster, 172 pp.,

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7-Luke, a third child, hides quietly in his house, eluding the Population Police because he lives in a society in which families are only allowed two children. Now he has a chance to come out of the shadows by taking on an assumed identity and leaving home. This sequel to Among the Hidden (S & S, 1998) has Luke, now Lee, entering the Hendricks School for boys and a completely new existence where he feels lost and confused by his surroundings. He has gone from a furtive solitary existence to one in which he is never alone, from being desperate for company to being hazed by his classmates, particularly his roommate, "the Jackal." Lee learns to cope with the changes before him by escaping through the door to the outside. The story is artfully told with suspense and interesting twists. As Lee's confusion dissipates, readers begin to see what is going on. Lee is a fully realized character, developing courage and a true sense of self. Peripheral characters are not as fully developed, serving solely to further the story. Repeated references to Jen, another third child from the first book and martyr to all third children, may cause readers to wonder what they have missed. By the end of the story, the main character evolves into "L" and the author has created the possibility for another sequel. This compelling read can be enjoyed alone but it's sure to leave readers wanting to know the whole story.-Susan M. Moore, Louisville Free Public Library, KY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. Read all 6 "From The Critics" >