(Source: Haddix, Margaret P. 2001. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Photo source: Barnes and Noble. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/, accessed November 13, 2008)
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Haddix, Margaret P. 2001. Among the impostors. New York: Simon & schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0-689-83904-9.
2. PLOT SUMMARY: This is the second story in the Shadow Children series. A fantasy novel about a world where children who are the third born in a family are illegal. Luke Garner is one of these children and has been in hiding for all of his twelve years of life. He has now taken the identity of a dead “legal” boy and is out in the world for the first time, living under the pseudonym Lee Grant. He is attending Hendricks School for Boys and lives with the constant fear that he will be discovered by the population police. He is never quite sure who he can trust. The school is filled with students who appear to be autistic or agoraphobic. Luke has to figure out who he can be friends with and who might betray his secret.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: This book does what all good fantasy novels do; it “celebrates the power of intuition, imagination and intellect” (Vardell 2002, 206). Luke Garner must use all of his powers of intuition and intellect to stay alive in this book. It is the story of his courage and his willingness to take risks. I would categorize this book as low fantasy as it does not include a large number of fantasy motifs. Its primary motif is good versus evil with a bit of heroism involved. It is set in a world much like our own, with the exception that families may only have two children and other children, if found, are put to death. This is the part that the reader sees as pure fantasy; something that could never happen in our world. Ms. Haddix is very consistent when it comes to maintaining this altered reality throughout the book. Never once, when reading the book, will the reader think that such a world might not exist.
The protagonist is a very believable character. He has feelings of homesickness when he has to leave his mom, dad and two brothers. He is afraid of being caught by the Population Police. Most young readers can relate to the fear of being caught doing something they aren’t supposed to do. This allows them to relate to Luke even if their fear is not anywhere as intense as Luke’s fear. There are also other students at the school readers will relate to. For example, the first person Luke meets is Rolly Sturgeon. He’s not very nice to Luke; something readers can identify with. Luke meets other students as he sneaks outside to the forest at night and must decide which of these students are really friends and which may have intentions to harm him. Again, this is something that teenagers struggle with on a regular basis, even if to a lesser extent. The one character that Ms. Haddix adds who aids in the believability of this story is Mr. Talbot. Mr. Talbot worked for the Population Police but he was a good person and didn’t believe in the law against third children. He was helping hide Luke within the school and came to Luke’s rescue when Luke was discovered by an undercover policeman who was pretending to be a student. Without the character of Mr. Talbot, the reader would have a hard time believing that a twelve year old boy, who had lived his life in hiding, was suddenly enrolling in a private school and saving himself from undercover police officers.
The story is set primarily within the confines of the Hendricks School for Boys and its surrounding grounds. In the first few chapters, Ms. Haddix describes the massive school as having no windows, large brass doorknobs and row, upon row, upon row of students seated in the classrooms. When Luke finally gets the courage to sneak outside the school building, the surrounding grounds are described in great detail. The garden Luke plants and the way it grows is also described in great detail. These details provide the reader a clear vision of the setting of this book.
I found the theme of the book to be quite subtle. It involves the universal idea that every individual is worth something. The reason there is a law in this story against families having more than two children is because of overpopulation and lack of food. Luke knows how to grow food and was doing so when he would sneak out of the school building. At the end of the story, Luke wants to stay and teach the other students how to grow food. I think this part of the plot sets forth the theme that we humans must care for our planet and learn how to sustain ourselves by growing food so that our society really doesn’t end up in a situation where laws are passed to limit family size.
The author combines narrative passages with the appropriate amount of dialogue to move the story along in a realistic manner. She has coined a few phrases that are unique to this series such as “fonrols” which mean third children, hiding or not; “exnays” which are third children who have come out of hiding with fake ID cards (Luke is an exnay); and “leckers” which are country bumpkins. The author also gives a unique characterization to the third children of the world. She gives them traits that most children in our society do not have. They are traits similar to autistic or agoraphobic (fear of going outside) children. She explains their behaviors in the end by saying: “Who can tell if a child rocks because he has autism or because he is terrified out of his wits? Who can tell if agoraphobia is caused by oddities in the mind or lifelong warnings, ‘going outdoors is suicide’?” These words and portrayal of the characters was consistent throughout the story. It is a style that stays with the reader after the final chapter.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS, 55, no. 1, (September 2001) 17: “Haddix once again hits the mark with her ability to ask intriguing questions . . . and successfully weaves them into a believable, plot-driven, edge-of-your-seat tale.” (Source: Book Review Digest Plus, WilsonWeb database, accessed via TWU Library Online).
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, (July 1, 2001): “This compelling read can be enjoyed alone but it's sure to leave readers wanting to know the whole story.” (Source: Book Index with Reviews, EBSCO Host database, accessed via TWU Library Online).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, (June 11, 2001): “The descriptions of the school, windowless and built like a labyrinth, combined with accounts of obtuse school staff, give Haddix's story the appropriate nightmarish quality, and readers will understand Luke's constant feelings of anxiety.” (Source: Book Index with Reviews, EBSCO Host database, accessed via TWU Library Online).
5. CONNECTIONS TO SCHOOL LIBRARY SETTING:
* This book could be displayed along with all of the others in the series as a way to promote the series in the library.
* High school students could read this book and follow up with research on world population and food production. They could debate the issue of whether population control is something that is a possibility or is it totally unrealistic. A lively debate would surely occur. They could look into the rules that China has about population control and discuss this issue. I would not do this at a grade level below high school as it is too frightening of a possibility for young children to handle.
* Create a display of books involving “impostors”. Here are a few I found in WorldCat:
Singleton, Linda J. 2000. Regeneration: The impostor. New York : Berkley Jam Books.
Holmes, Victoria. 2006. Heart of fire. New York : HarperCollins.
Jenkins, Jerry B. 2002. Secrets of New Babylon. Illinois: Tyndale Kids
Other Related Items – The Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix:
Among the hidden
Among the betrayed
Among the barons
Among the brave
Among the enemy
Among the free
Reference List:
Vardell, Sylvia M. 2008. Children’s literature in action: A librarian’s guide. Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.
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