Among the Hidden

Among the Hidden Summary | Plot Summary

Among the Hidden is a gripping adventure about a boy whose very existence is declared illegal under the Government's cruel Population Law. Twelve-year-old Luke Garner has been hiding his entire life. As the third child born to the Garner family, Luke's existence is considered a crime under the law that restricts women from having more than two children in their lifetime. Luke does not know why he is illegal. In fact, it has taken him most of his life to figure out that he is different from his older brothers, Matthew and Mark. Growing up, Luke always assumed that all little children had to hide from people. After all, he knew of no other way to live. Luke has been so sheltered by his family that it has taken him many years to figure out that the way he lives is not normal. As he grows older, he realizes that he will never be allowed to go to school like his brothers, or walk down the street to the mailbox, or even play in the front yard.

When the woods next door to his house are cut down to make way for the construction of new houses, Luke's parents tell him he must never go outdoors again. The Garners are terrified that the construction workers or the people who move into the new houses will see Luke in the yard and report him to the dreaded Population Police. Luke is not entirely sure what would happen to him if the Population Police ever find him. However, his parents' fear is so great that Luke knows being found by the Population Police would be the worst possible thing that could happen. When new neighbors move into the recently built houses, Luke's father forbids him from even looking out the window. Eventually, his dad's fear causes him to restrict Luke to his attic bedroom. Luke is no longer allowed to eat at the kitchen table with his family because his parents are afraid someone could see his shadow through the window shade.

Despite his fear of being discovered, Luke cannot stand being imprisoned in his room. Six months go by in which he has nothing to do but watch the new neighbors through tiny vent opening in the ceiling of the attic. These vents provide Luke a window on a wider world than he has ever seen before. He sees more people through these vents than he has ever seen in his entire life. Luke gets to know the rhythms of the neighborhood and figures out that for several hours each weekday, all the houses near to his are completely empty. One day when everyone has left the new neighborhood for the day, Luke ventures into the kitchen against his dad's orders. Dad catches Luke and tells him he must never leave his room again. Luke grows despondent as he imagines the sad, isolated future ahead of him. He will never be able to marry or have a home of his own like his brothers. Luke cannot even walk down the street legally.

One day in the midst of this despair, comes new hope. From his attic vents, Luke sees the face of another hidden child in the house next door and he's thrilled. It had never occurred to him there might be other children like himself. Desperate to find someone who can understand what his life is like, Luke sneaks out of his house one day and breaks into the neighboring home. Inside, he meets a third child, Jen Talbot. The Talbots, like all the rich families in the new homes, belong to an upper social class called the Barons. Barons have a great deal of money and Luke quickly learns that money can buy privilege. Jen's life, although restricted, is not as restricted as Luke's. Her parents have enough connections and money to bribe people whenever necessary to protect their daughter. Jen has a fake shopping pass that allows her to shop in malls almost like a regular child. Mr. Talbot has custom built a hidden compartment into the back seat of the family car for Jen to ride in during outings. The Talbots have an expensive mirror system rigged to all the windows that Jen uses to look out without being seen. Jen even has Internet access and chats online with other third children. When she meets Luke, she is shocked that he has never been off his own property before and she promises him that she is his ticket out of hiding.

Luke learns that Jen has a plan to force the Government to recognize the rights of shadow children. Using her parents' connections and her Internet access, she is organizing a huge rally. She intends to march up to the President's front door with all 800 shadow children she has recruited to her cause. Jen is adamant in her belief that shadow children deserve the same rights as anyone else. Her views are very different from what Luke has been raised to believe. In his heart, he has a hard time accepting Jen's assertion that he has a right to live openly. However, Jen gives him some literature to read and as Luke studies the history of the Population Law, he finally learns why it became a law in the first place. Apparently, the country had suffered from starvation, famine and drought. This, Luke learns, is why the Government controls his parents' farm so strictly. They regulate crop prices and even tell farmers where they can live and plant. According to the Government-sponsored books Luke reads, all these measures, including the Population Law, had been implemented to prevent people from starving.

Luke is not sure whether Jen is right or whether the Government was right to ban Luke's existence. Luke feels guilty that by being alive he is causing other people to starve. But Jen's dad tells her that there really is enough food for everyone if only the Government would distribute it fairly. The Government has become greedy and wants to hoard most of the food and money supply by keeping it in the hands of the Barons. Meanwhile, farmers like the Garners are kept in poverty by the Government so that they will continually work hard to survive. The harder the poor people work, the more food there is for the upper class of Barons. The Government and the rich Barons live off the hard work of the lower classes and this, claims Jen, is why the Population Law has not been repealed. Luke begins to believe she is right when he sees the Government banning practices which could alleviate the food shortage. The Garners are banned from raising livestock or growing food indoors to increase their total food production. Luke realizes that there are better answers to the hunger problem than denying him his human rights.

Yet, Luke lacks the courage to attend Jen's rally. Walking right up to the President's house and announcing his existence sounds to Luke like his worst nightmare. He is afraid for Jen that the other 800 kids won't show up either. Her only chance of success and survival is if she can bring a large enough group of shadow children out of the shadows. Tragically, only 40 other children accompany Jen to the rally and every one of these brave young souls is shot dead in the street by the Population Police. Luke, trapped at home, has no way of knowing what has happened to Jen. He waits anxiously for days hoping to hear news of the rally, but the radio news never mentions it. Finally, he sneaks over to Jen's house hoping to find out what happened to his friend. She is not there, but Luke logs onto her secret chat room and types a message that he is looking for Jen. None of the other shadow children respond. The chat room is empty.

Jen's dad catches Luke inside his house. Luke learns to his horror that Jen is dead and that Mr. Talbot is a member of the Population Police. Panicked, Luke doesn't know if Mr. Talbot can be trusted. Before Luke can decide, more members of the Population Police arrive to search the house. The police had been monitoring the secret chat room ever since the rally and have traced Luke's message back to the Talbot's computer. To Luke's relief, Mr. Talbot saves his life by bribing the Population Police. Jen's dad tells Luke that he has been working behind enemy lines, trying to use his position with the Population Police to help other third children secretly. Now Mr. Talbot is in danger, too. He offers to help Luke while he still can. In honor of his daughter's memory, Mr. Talbot uses his connections to buy Luke a fake I.D. As the chapter comes to a close, Luke embarks on a new life as a Baron child named Lee Grant. An underground resistance group agrees to pay for a year-round boarding school where Luke will live as Lee Grant. Luke vows to use the education and privileges he receives as a Baron to help other shadow children come out of the shadows. He will carry on in Jen's memory.