Among the Imposters

Shadow Children #2

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

In a world where transgressors of the Population Law are cruelly and unhesitatingly dealt with, Luke, a third child has spent all of his life in hiding. Enrolling in Hendricks School for Boys under a false identity should be his first taste of freedom, maybe even a chance to help his fellow hidden children. But Hendricks is far from what Luke expects, and he soon realises he doesn't know whom he can trust.Thought-provoking and fast-moving, this wonderful novel is guaranteed to leave readers wanting more from this fabulous writer

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fantasy

172 pages, Library Binding

First published June 1, 2001

About the author

Margaret Peterson Haddix grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio. She graduated from Miami University (of Ohio) with degrees in English/journalism, English/creative writing and history. Before her first book was published, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois.

She has since written more than 25 books for kids and teens, including Running Out of Time; Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey; Leaving Fishers; Just Ella; Turnabout; Takeoffs and Landings; The Girl with 500 Middle Names; Because of Anya; Escape from Memory; Say What?; The House on the Gulf; Double Identity; Dexter the Tough; Uprising; Palace of Mirrors; Claim to Fame; the Shadow Children series; and the Missing series. She also wrote Into the Gauntlet, the tenth book in the 39 Clues series. Her books have been honored with New York Times bestseller status, the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award; American Library Association Best Book and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers notations; and more than a dozen state reader’s choice awards.


Haddix and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio, with their two children.

Reviews

[Kylie Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot line of this series is just very interesting and I remember now why I loved these books when I was younger.
They are so underrated, so I think y’all should check this series out.

[Paul Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tris Prior, Katniss Everdeen and Thomas Edison have got company!

Luke Garner is a 3rd child in a famine-stricken, dystopian, totalitarian world governed by strict population control laws which condemn a third child to death merely by virtue of its existence. To exist and hide with a false name and false identification renders the offense an aggravated crime punishable by death by torture at the government's choice. Jake Talbot, a civil servant working for the population police, is actually a grieving father whose daughter Jen, also a third child, was summarily murdered by the government for the crime of attempting to stand up for her rights and for the rights of other children like her who didn't ask to be brought into this difficult world. Because Luke failed to find the courage to stand beside Jen at the anti-government protest rally where she met her death, he finds himself unexpectedly alive but angry and conflicted about his survival. Likewise, Jake, who was unable to protect his daughter, now has courageously chosen to put his own life in jeopardy by providing Luke with a false name, false identification and a school placement where he can at least live openly in the real world.

AMONG THE IMPOSTORS is a story of the search for courage to stand up to a totalitarian government; the coming of age realization that there are false people in the world who would claim friendship but offer betrayal for their own venal purposes; the realization that, from time to time, life offers only choices which represent variations on ugly outcomes; that maturity and growing sometimes means choosing and accepting the least of all possible evils. It's also worth pointing out that, as a young adult novel, AMONG THE IMPOSTORS also cleverly plays up the value of education, study and motivation without slipping into the trap of preaching or scolding recalcitrant or perhaps unmotivated young students.

If you have yet to read AMONG THE HIDDEN, do yourself a favour and set this book aside for a spell. Go back and start at the beginning of the SHADOW CHILDREN series, a most worthy addition to the growing canon of young adult literature, a genre that has blossomed most wonderfully in the last twenty years. The books are short (no more than 3 to 4 hours for a typical adult reader, I should think) but they are powerful, moving, absorbing, and compelling - so much so that I wonder if a typical young adult reader is capable of absorbing all of the messages that Margaret Peterson Haddix has actually put on offer. Maybe or maybe not? ... but I'm positive that any young reader will enjoy it and put on their thinking cap to consider what they've read when they're finished.

I'm looking forward with bated breath to reading AMONG THE BETRAYED.

Paul Weiss

[Bubbles123 · Rating 4 out of 5]

you really have to read the first shadow children book to get this one. it follows through where Luke gets a new fake identity. He becomes lee grant, a former boy who died in a ski accident.Luke goes through the school trying to blend in,as he was told. if you want more information read the book.the writer really takes a whole paragraph to explains Lukes feelings which i like. it gives you a better understanding of how he truly feels.This book is not predictable like some others. I had no idea about the ending.I would say that mainly people who are into the first should definably read this book.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

5*
This is like revolution leader angst. The main character is obviously going to become some genius that frees all the shadow children. This kid is already so good and this isn't even his final form.

I like all the references to Jen from the first book because there are these moments where Luke wants to be more brave like Jen, but it's because he much more cautious and careful than Jen that his steps in their ultimate goal to help free everyone are more effective. Jen's ideas was a great motivator for his ambition.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Good: This dystopian, fast-paced story made for a good quick read. You have to read the previous book to get it, but, it's worth it!

The Bad: As someone who was harassed throughout my school years, the bullying scenes were hard to read.

Conclusion: Despite the fact that some moments in this book triggered some bad memories, I still enjoyed it. I'm glad I have the next two in the series on hand!

[Scarlett Readz and Runz....Through Novel Time & Distance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great sequel!

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. Unfortunately, there is still always a risk of slight spoilers despite my best efforts. If you feel something in my review is a spoiler please let me know. Thank you.

Short but good. I found this one far more heart-pounding than the first one. I never got around to reading these when I was younger and I'm excited to finally be getting to them.

[Scott Ulrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt Welborn asked if I was going to take the AR test for this book, and he said if I finish these books by summer he’ll buy me a pizza from Pizza Hut… so it’s feeling pretty 2004 around here

[Tobin]

0 stars this was for school but I would literally watch paint dry then read this book

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luke, also known as Lee Grant, and Jen's dad moved away. Lee Grant goes to this Hendricks Boys School and he's afraid that he's going to blow off his identity. He gets bullied all the time, but all he wants to do is to fit in. He starts to hang out with a group of friends, but he's not sure if he could trust any of them. Jason was one of the people he hangs out with. Later on, Lee Grant found out that Jason works with the Population Police. This book was good, you'll get it if you had already read the first book of the series. I would recommend it to people who loves to read mysterious books.

[Tyler_E1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminds me of what is happening in the world because I have heard of in China and in other countries, there have been problems with the population so there were laws where you could only have so many kids to try to keep the populations down.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in a single sitting before bed last night. MPH is so fantastic. If only I had a copy of the next one....although since I know there’s a change of protagonist coming, I’m not as excited for that one.

[Jeremy Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the theme of this book's premise is still really great - maybe the only thing more haunting than the parameters of a plausible dystopia is the identity crisis you go through as a "dystopian insider". You convince yourself it isn't worth paying with your life in an effort too small to actually overthrow tyranny, that infiltration is required to bring about steady change, that you'd happily sacrifice insider comforts the moment it becomes practical. Luke battling with Lee is all too real for someone struggling to reconcile their privileged daily life with their acknowledgement of a broken system and the horrors it forces on others.

I also found the healing effect of nature engaging. Just outside the constructs of humanity, often built on deception, discrimination, and downright evil, is a beautiful, cleansing, sincere ecosystem, operating well before human interference and bound to continue after we destroy ourselves - perhaps harsh and unforgiving, but at least not unfairly so.

The plot itself got a bit slower, more interpersonal. It seems aimed straight at kids starting at a new school, totally appropriate but less entertaining to someone well past the age, although I think anti-bullying messages never get less important. As we move from the broad strokes premise of a dystopia into the specific imagined daily workings that a child could infiltrate and influence, we're bound to lose some of the plausibility. But I still think this is a good follow up sequel.

[Jessica Jablonski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Among the Imposters is the second book in The Shadow Children series. The book was alright. It would've been better, I think, if it was longer. The book is under 200 pages long, and half of that doesn't really matter to the point of the book I don't think. I wish that Haddix would have included more detail to the book. One something really big happens in the book, such as Luke/Lee meeting the group of other shadow children in the woods, I think the details are skipped over. It only gives the reader a broad concept of the conversations that follow him meeting other people like him. Once Luke/Lee met them, Margaret didn't really add much information about what they talk about while they're in the woods. All she says is that they're not talking about how to help other third children in any way possible. When Luke/Lee overheard Jason in the hallway talking to the population police as an informant, everything was rushed. Luke/Lee attacking Jason(Jackal Boy) was rushed and there wasn't much detail. Then, when Luke/Lee was getting Jason to the nurses office, I don't think that the nurse asked him enough questions about it or informed him well enough about what was wrong with him based off of Luke's explanations. In the morning, after Luke/Lee turned Jason into the nurse and broke into the main office to contact Mr. Talbot to inform him about the people who were in danger, nothing was said about anything. The broken glass in the door to the main office wasn't mentioned, no one else knew that Luke and Jason got out of bed that night, and no one really questioned Jason's absence in the morning. I also would like to know how Jason kept the phone hidden and how he got it in the first place. How did the boys who Jason ratted out to the population police over the phone know what aliases to use? Where they told in the morning by someone? Maybe by Mr. Talbot? How did the program Luke/Lee started up with growing a garden with other third children work? Was it something that the whole school knew about, or did they still have to pick out the shadow children from the one's who had mental illnesses or issues? I think there are too many gaps in the book that leave out important or interesting information. Overall, the book was pretty good. If you take out the gaps in it, the book would be great.

[La Talpa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schattenkinder ist eine Dystopie-Reihe für jüngere Jugendliche, die sich in 6 Bücher aufteilt. In dieser Welt kam es aufgrund von Überbevölkerung zu einer weltweiten Hungersnot und die Menschheit musste ums Überleben kämpfen. In diesem Zuge beschloss die Regierung, dass jede Familie maximal zwei Kinder haben dürfe. Aber es gibt auch Familien mit einem dritten und somit verbotenen Kind. Diese Schattenkinder werden versteckt und von der Regierung gejagt. Luke ist eines dieser Kinder und wir verfolgen in dieser Reihe seinen Kampf gegen die Regierung und somit für ein Leben in Freiheit.

Auch im zweiten Teil ging es wieder spannend weiter und ich bin auch schon auf den nächsten Teil gespannt!

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This kind of reminded me of The Maze Runner, except it's a dystopian middle grade set at a school.😂

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Among The Imposters- Post 1/4

Luke Garner masked himself for the sake of his family, he masked himself from society. In a crumbling world, the third child in any family is meant to be cast away due to a government that can't sustain the population. His whole life has been spent running and hiding from the Population Police, and now in "Among The Impostors" by Margaret Paterson Haddix, he takes the importance of his family to full lengths by changing his name.

Change in Luke's life came when he walked into Hendricks School for Boys as a new person. Mr. Talbot, who watched over Luke, got him into this school for invisibility against the Population Police. The school's not what he expected, as he's tormented at night by memories of his past life and a jackal-like bully. The hallways and classes are grotesque, and Luke's sucked into a black hole of confusion. The school doesn't even have windows...

Mr. Talbot had given Luke a note in the headmaster's office while Luke was inducted into the school. Seeing this as an aide, Luke drives himself crazy as he tries to find just one little place to read it. Finally, a door leads him outside the school and into the woods. The note is revealed, and only bears two words; "Blend in". This enrages Luke, his mind spins with life altering decisions. Should he go back to the cruel minefield of a school, or risk his life and the life of his family to go back to his family farm?

Luke's always made tremendous sacrifices for his family, and with thought of their love, he decides to do back into the Hendricks School for Boys.

Luke's obviously confused with himself, and lets the people in his life affect his physical and mental decisions. The school hasn't helped; as a child he hardly saw the outside world, much as there are no windows in this dark school. There seems to be a trend going on... The death of his friend Jen has haunted him, but confounds him because she had an aggressive attitude against everything. It's an attitude that Luke wishes he could have. So, he doesn't know to go against or with Mr. Talbot, seeing that he's her father.

As you've read, Luke's character is confusing to himself and to anyone else who's reading. I guess you'll have to read on to really understand this character.

Among The Impostors- Post 2/4

Before long, Luke finds a sort of harmony in the outside world. He begins a garden, in the woods. For once at the wretched school, he's happy. The more he goes outside to his garden, the more he thinks of the school as a chess game. He's just a pawn, sacrificing himself for something bigger than he is. Luke comprehends the fact that the hall monitors are always looking at the door to the outside world, and decides to follow the monitors and their allies outside in the cold night.

Through out the conversation that Luke overhears while a group of students meet, he realizes that they too are third children. But the fact that Jackal Boy (BULLY) was in the group made him weary of his decisions. Courage arises, and Luke steps out from behind the tree to be seen.

As he's inducted into the group of third girls and boys, he spins stories of the days when he talked and hung out with Jen. Apparently, this was awe inspiring to the others. He told the story of the Third-Child rally in front of the White House, and how every living soul was murdered.

Luke still hasn't come to terms with how the school works, and still hasn't come to terms with the absence of his family, and Jen. Maybe this new group will help him, maybe they'll drive him crazy. Who knows, you'll just have to read on!

Among the Impostors- Post 3/4

Third child group meetings kept going on, but at a steady pace things have changed. Jason (Jackal boy) plans to lead a resistance against the overpowering tyrant government. One night, everything changes.

With Luke hard pressed to study for school finals, he makes the decision of skipping the meeting to study. In the midst of the night, Jason leaves the bedroom, Luke follows. Before long, Luke has no idea where Jason has gone, but hears faint mumbling. The mumbling was coming from Jason's mouth...

Luke walked down the stairs to where Jason was with a whisper of the foot, so not to be seen. Jason is giving the real names of his own allies, and ends the cell-phone discussion with the words, "They don't know I'm part of the Population Police."

Luke scrambles to tell Mr. Talbot, and it pays off. The following day, Jason was taken in custody by the population police, and the other third children were safe. All of this happened thanks to Mr. Talbot.

In the past fifty pages, Luke has been guilty for his actions, as well as confused of what he should do. He still aspires to act like Jen, the rebel. He has some personal gratification as Jason is taken away to be killed, by the Population Police that he himself had worked for.

Among The Impostors- Post 4/4

In the final pages of "Among The Impostors", Luke is finally given information to clarify the whole situation that has turned his life inside-out. He personally speaks with Mr. Talbot, and the schools namesake, Mr. Hendricks. It turns out that the person he trusted, Jason, was either bribed by the Population Police to do their dirty work, or he was fighting for a cause that he believed in.

Mr. Hendricks and Mr. Talbot mutually proposed the idea of Luke moving to another school. Although it seemed like a logical decision, Luke chose to stay at the school. He would keep masking himself for the sake of the other third children.

In the woods, Luke and the other children planted a garden of peas. Trey, who wouldn't open his eyes to the outside world, finally opened them as he planted a new seedling into the ground.

"Among The Impostors" was based around foreshadowing and the need to ask questions. Is there betrayal? When is he going to die? What's wrong with the school? Those questions and foreshadowing of character, and plot brought me to the conclusion that "Among The Impostors" gets 4.5/5 stars. It was just one of those books that you can hardly put down, not for the cliche reasons though. The most common question that came up when reading this book was, "Could this ever really happen in the world's future?" As you can see, "Among The Impostors" is a bit of a confusing ride, but the thought of it happening, and certain plot changes, will ultimately keep you reading.


Recommendation: Ultimately, anyone can read this book. The idea and plot aren't very difficult to grasp. Although that's true, the prospect of this really happening could be a potential scare to children younger than ten, whilst a ten year old can comprehend what's going on and realize it'll never happen.

[Sydney Mauer]

Childhood favorite ✅

[Olivia Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

-audiobook-
I can remember reading the first book of this series in like 5th grade and felt the urge recently to read the whole series. Honestly their quick listens and I’m having fun. Anywho gotta start the next one now!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very good book with many twists and turns. I would recommend it to everyone in the galaxy if I could!! VERY ambiguous story! I love it because it is super duper coooooooooooooool :) ! Stay pragmatic!




~Daniel

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice continuation of series. Looking forward to next book

[Jan Carlo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is okay, it's really not that intense as the first book. But I read it any way I'm not gonna read the whole series because I'm focusing on the new series I'm reading, so yeah. This book is about an illegal third child name Luke Garner and Jen's Dad is trying to help him and he goes to this school for boys and he is really scared of blowing his cover of being an illegal third child.
I think this book is okay because I like how Luke finally experienced the world. The first book is more intense.

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Among the Imposters is a strong addition to the Shadow Children series, but it doesn't have the quite have the level of emotional impact that it's predecessor, Among the Hidden, possessed.

Among the Imposters takes place in a society not unlike our own where there can only be 2 children per family because of how our booming population has wrecked and polluted the Earth. The punishment of having more than two children? Death.

Luke Garner is one of those illegal third children, and he's terrified. He's taken on the identity of a deceased boy named Lee Grant, and is sent to a boarding school. Will Luke be able to keep his true identity a secret, or will the government find him first?

Luke is an admirable protagonist to follow. Isolated and hidden his entire life, you can't help but sympathize what it must have been like for him to suddenly have been shoved into a place with people and eyes everywhere, with the unspoken threat of death hanging above him if his true identity is unraveled. His struggles and his fears become your own, and it's difficult not to sympathize for him and everything he is going through.

While not quite as strong a novel as Among the Hidden, and it's too-close-for-comfort world is still as present as ever. Especially after the ending, I am curious to see what Margaret Peterson Haddix has up her sleeve for the next installments of the series.

[WyattQ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Among The Imposters by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a 2001 dystopian book and it’s the second book of the Shadow Children series. In this series, each family can only have two kids. Luke Garner, is a thirteen-year old illegal third child with a false identity. The identity of Lee Grant who died at the end of Among The Hidden, the first story of the series. Luke in this story must not tell anyone that his name is Luke or he’ll get caught by the Population Police. At the beginning of the story, Luke is very fearful and he didn’t know where his classes were. Mr.Talbot gave him a note, and Luke found a door that led him outside to read the note. It didn’t do him any good. As the story goes on, Luke goes to the woods almost every day during some classes, and he tried to make a garden with raw potatoes but they got trampled on. Eventually, Luke found out he isn’t the only child with a fake I.D. He finds out that during the night, some Shadow Children leave the building at night to meet up, along with some girls for Harlow School for Girls. Jason betrayed four Shadow Children and he was working for the Population Police. Luke knocked him out because he called the Population Police on four Shadow Children, and the next morning only Jason got arrested by the Population Police because they believed that he was lying about the Fake I.D’s. Luke goes to a meeting later that day with his history teacher, the headmaster of the school, and Mr.Talbot and they told Luke that this was mainly the first school that Shadow Children go to out of hiding but Luke decides to stay at the school to help other Shadow Children.
In my opinion, this story is dark because Luke is in a school of unhelpful teachers and mean students. Also, Luke gets called rude names in this story, and someone gets knocked out. I recommend if you’re below fourth grade to not read this story.

[~Bellegirl91~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS was actually better than book 1! I seriously enjoyed this one and thank goodness for short chapters and a quick listen to on rhr speed up pretty good on Libby 😅 Now I'm excited to get to book 3 and hopefully finish this series soon because all I can think about is where the heck have I been when this series was coming out? I'm excited to see what happens next in the 3rd book!! 😬🙊🙈

[Annalicia Chacon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good but the other ones of the series were better

[Beccaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immer wieder gut.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this 2nd in the series a little more than the first. Luke's character is growing and learning. Good ending. I'll finish this series but taking a break for awhile.

[Kendall Crowell]

I thought the book was great because they finally got a secret I.D. and found out there were more shadow children at the school.

[Khanh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Round up to 4.5 stars. I am strangely addicted to this series of fast pace and short books. And no regrets about starting off a Friday with very little sleep because I stayed up to read this.😝