How To Draw Luke From Among The Hidden

Credits

Readability Historic period Range

8 to 12

Publisher

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an banner of Simon & Schuster Children'due south Publishing Division, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc

Awards

This volume has won a variety of awards voted on by children, including, but non limited to: California Young Readers Medal, 2001; Maud Hart Lovelace Honor (Minn.), 2001; Nevada Young Readers' Award, 2001; Bang-up Stone Face Honor (N.H.), 2000-2001; Nutmeg Children's Volume Award (Conn.), 2002; and Sunshine State Young Readers' Award (Fla.) 2001-2002

Year Published

1998

Book Review

This volume has been reviewed past Focus on the Family's marriage and parenting mag. Information technology is the get-go in the "Shadow Children" series.

Plot Summary

Luke is the third kid in his family, the youngest of iii brothers, which makes him illegal. But two children are immune in each family — additional children are unremarkably prevented from existence born or are killed. Luke's family lives on a subcontract, where isolation and a fix food supply have helped hibernate Luke. When his family unit is forced to sell part of their belongings to the government, a new neighborhood springs up backside their business firm.

This starts a concatenation reaction that puts increasing pressure on Luke and his family. Luke can no longer go outside — information technology'south non safe with then many new neighbors. The government decides that Luke's family tin can no longer raise pigs in addition to their crops, because the smell will offend their wealthy new neighbors. Big, new houses in the area mean their own family'southward farmland increases in value, which sounds good, only also ways an increase in their holding tax. With less income and access to food, forth with higher bills, Luke's mom must take a factory job to help make ends meet. Then she tries to squeeze a day's worth of chores into the evenings, after working 12-hour shifts.

Meanwhile, Luke is increasingly limited in his activities. First he is unable to go outside, then even into a room with windows (considering suspicions are raised by closed window shades). This ways he can't join his family unit at the tabular array for meals, and it becomes hard for him to acquit on a conversation with them from the attic steps. Slowly the isolation the family has been playacting begins to affect the reality of their relationships equally well.

Being largely confined to the attic, and alone much of the day, Luke gets cabin fever. Longing for contact with the exterior world, he regularly watches the new neighborhood through vents in the attic walls. Doing and so, he makes the surprising discovery that i of their neighbors appears to take a tertiary, hidden child every bit well. One day, after weeks of careful observation and planning, he sneaks over to their business firm, expecting to skid within the side door. When he finds the sliding screen locked, he panics. Instead of running back to his own business firm, he pushes his fist through the screen, unlatches the door and lets himself in.

Inside he finds the neighbors' third child is a girl named Jen, one year older than he is. She is sophisticated and technologically savvy, where Luke is socially isolated and unproblematic. Luke's family is poor, but hers is shockingly rich. Luke and his family are completely cowed past fear of the government, but Jen is brazen in her disdain for them. Jen introduces him to the wider earth, filling him in on not only what is happening in society, but why (response to a food crisis) and how to vanquish the system (mainly bribes). Jen and Luke devise a system where he tin can visit with her regularly. Their visits bring a new dimension to his life, simply i that he can't share with his family.

Jen is counting on the power of a protest to aid change the government's policy. She plans a rally outside the president'south home, hoping that she, and at least 800 other Shadow children she knows, volition shame the regime into granting them freedom. Jen assumes Luke will join her at the rally and makes plans accordingly. Nonetheless, Luke can't bring himself to join her. She tries to convince him otherwise, but in one case she realizes that he won't join her, she orders him out of her house.

Luke wrestles with his emotions — alternating between acrimony at Jen and the fear that her allegations of cowardice are true. Ultimately though, he just misses her and the esprit they shared. One nighttime he awakens with a start to find her in his room. She apologizes for the way she treated him, thanks him for being a skillful friend and says bye before leaving for the rally.

Luke waits for news in the days to follow, just hears nothing — either on the radio or from Jen in person. Finally, hoping to larn something, he breaks into her house, disarming the security code as she taught him. She is non there, and then Luke signs on to the hugger-mugger chat room, merely it, too, is empty. Suddenly, however, Jen's stepfather enters the room with a gun, enervating to know who he is and what he is doing in their firm.

Luke explains who he is and how he knew Jen, but her stepfather has devastating news. Jen is expressionless — the regime shot all xl of the protestors — and hid all show of them and the rally. Worse, they were at present closely monitoring the conversation room, and Luke'southward search there has triggered an alert that will surely lead them to Jen'due south business firm. From that, they volition deduce that some other Shadow kid lives close by and will search the neighborhood until they observe Luke.

Jen'due south stepfather offers him a simulated ID menu, which will allow him to get-go a new life away from his family unit. This is practiced news in one sense — staying hidden for the rest of his life seems as maddening as it is impossible. But cutting ties with his family is a high cost to pay. Luke wonders how Jen's stepfather can safely offer this to him. He learns that her stepfather is not just a high-ranking regime official simply besides works for the dreaded Population Constabulary, who are hunting the Shadow children. Luke becomes uncertain about who he can trust, and he even picks upwardly a gun to defend himself against Jen's stepfather.

Jen's stepfather is able to talk Luke out of using the gun, just Luke is still trying to process everything when the Population Police pound on the door — arriving much sooner than Jen'due south stepfather expected. He hides Luke in the cupboard and buys some them some time with a combination of bluff and bribe. It won't last long though, and Luke must decide what to practise.

Ultimately, he decides to have the offer of a simulated ID. He doesn't want to live his life on the run, but he does want to live his life on the outside and help other Shadow children. His hope is that by doing this, he and they volition exist able to change their society through ingenuity and intellectual contributions — thinking upwards alternate solutions to the food shortages, etc.

Although this programme does involve leaving his parents, it also means no more secrets for them, which is a relief. He says a painful, but somewhat hopeful cheerio to his family and leaves.

Christian Behavior

Sons in Luke's family are named after the apostles: Matthew, Mark and Luke. Luke'southward mother thanks the Lord for him, and confides that she always hopes there might be room in their family unit for a John as well.

Other Belief Systems

Jen's stepfather is non a Christian. When trying to convince Luke that he is on Luke's side, he swears in Jen's name, which is his ain example of everything that is sacred.

The government believes club runs best with a strong central authority directing every aspect of public and private life. They make up one's mind where people live (putting farmers on the best farmland) and what people do (such as only growing crops — not raising animals plus crops, or growing those crops indoors).

Many individual characters in the story believe club runs best when people are given the freedom to use their own ingenuity and tin can then reap the benefits of this creativity direct (versus having benefits assigned by the government). They believe people are e'er worth the investment, whereas the authorities portrayed here is not and so certain.

Jen values freedom and action above most everything else. She does not really understand prudence — either her stepfather's in working within the system or Luke'southward in fearing the authorities'south ability. She sees anything less than direct confrontation with the regime equally cowardice. Her stepfather values working within the organization to upshot modify.

Authorisation Roles

Luke's father is strict, gruff and distant, but he conspicuously wants what is best for Luke. Luke'due south mother is tender and kind. She is more than likely to explain things to Luke and to understand with him. She is equally strict with the rules but seems to empathise Luke's hurting in living under them. The government is a strong, unpleasant and demanding presence in all their lives. Yet, many government employees do not follow (or fifty-fifty sympathise with) the rules they are paid to enforce.

Luke has corking respect for his parents and the authorities, although he does occasionally defy them. He also keeps secrets from his parents but feels bad for doing so. His goodbye to them is less painful considering they are finally able to live their lives fully within lodge. Luke's obedience is mostly from a genuine respect and dear. He recognizes that their rules are there to protect him. His obedience toward the government is more often than not out of fright for the consequences that might otherwise come to him and his family.

Jen has a completely opposite attitude toward authority, both her stepfather and the regime. She sees no threat from the government because she thinks it is hopelessly incompetent (and judging from the risks she has taken these many years without consequence, she may be right). Jen is almost as disdainful of her own parents as she is of the government. She orders her stepfather around on the phone and seems to use his love for her every bit leverage to get what she wants. She thinks her mom mainly values her for companionship on shopping trips. Other Shadow children in their chat room have similar ambitious attitudes. They experience abased by their parents, certainly afar from them, and are aware that their parents have piddling leverage to discipline them. What privileges could possibly be taken away? Although Jen ofttimes relates to Luke mockingly, he still finds her fascinating.

Profanity & Violence

Jeez is said one time. Jen scrapes herself on an opened screen — drawing her ain blood to encompass for Luke's. All the Shadow children who attend the rally are killed, and their blood runs toward the president's roses.

Sexual Content

Jen tells Luke that she was part of some early gender option experiments, so her parents knew they would be getting a girl when she was built-in. She too complains a fleck to Luke about her female parent taking her bra shopping, then stops when she realizes that bras are probably non common conversation topic in a household of three boys. Luke tells her that his brothers do sometimes talk about bras, but only when they are being dingy.

Jen's stepfather asks Luke what else he and Jen did together. The implication is that they had a sexual relationship. Luke understands the question to exist accusatory, merely doesn't quite empathise why. Jen sneaks into Luke's bedroom in the middle of the night to say farewell before the rally (and to apologize for being harsh and thank him for being such a good friend). They do non fifty-fifty hug each other goodbye.

Discussion Topics

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