Books in Canada
Imagine a world devastated by such severe environmental disasters that a country's population has to be tightly controlled by the government to ensure that there is enough food for everyone. In this world families are allowed only two children.
Imagine that your family has violated that law and you are the third child. You have to be kept a closely guarded secret. No one can know of your existence. You can never go outside. You have to stay away from windows. If you are found, you will be taken away by the Population Police and made to disappear. You are a Shadow Child. This is the world that Margaret Haddix has created in her Shadow Children series. Among the Barons, the fourth book in the sequence, follows the continuing sage of Lee Grant, aka Luke Garner, a shadow child who is using an identity he is provided with by an underground network of those who believe that shadow children have the right to exist and that the laws have to be changed. Luke's life at a private boys' school, which is made up almost entirely of shadow children, finds his life suddenly turned upside down when the younger brother of the boy whose identity he is using joins him at Hendricks School. Luke is uncomfortable masquerading as Lee, knowing that Smits knows his true identity. And when Smits and Lee are summoned home, Luke fears that his freedom is about to be taken away and that he'll be forced back into hiding. Among the Barons will interest readers 10-12 years of age with its fast-paced plot and intriguing storyline.
Jeffrey Canton (Books in Canada)
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-In this fourth installment of a series about a society that allows only two children per family, Luke Garner is finally adjusting to his new life at Hendricks School as Lee Grant. While the Grants belong to the highest class of society called the Barons, Luke avoids snobbish affectations and befriends his classmates, who are also illegal thirds. When the real Lee Grant's younger brother arrives at the school, along with his fierce body guard, Luke worries that Smits will expose him to the government. However, Smits has come to enlist Luke's help in discovering how his older brother really died, suspecting that he was murdered. The intrigue and danger grow more acute when both boys are called "home" and Luke discovers that the Grants have plans for him that could turn out to be fatal. As in the previous books, characters who seem honest turn out to be dangerous while others who seem suspicious end up as allies. The climax hints at a further installment. Fans of the series are the most likely audience for this story of Luke's continuing struggle to survive.
Farida S. Dowler, formerly at Bellevue Regional Library, WACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
