Book Review: The Shadow Children

The Shadow Children by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Recommended for: Ages 8-12

Rating: PG (mild violence)

Luke has never been to school. He's never had a birthday party, or gone to a friend's house for an overnight. In fact, Luke has never had a friend.
 
Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child forbidden by the Population Police. He's lived his entire life in hiding, and now, with a new housing development replacing the woods next to his family's farm, he is no longer even allowed to go outside.
 
Then, one day Luke sees a girl's face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. Finally, he's met a shadow child like himself. Jen is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows--does Luke dare to become involved in her dangerous plan? Can he afford not to?

I enjoyed reading this series and I read it quicker than most books. It is written for a younger age group than I am used to, but I still enjoyed reading it, and wish I had known about it when I was younger.

Writing: 5/5

The writing pulls you into the story and lets you know what the characters are going through. The descriptions are well written and she explains things in a way that fits with the story. Each character's point of view was unique. I didn't notice any typos or problems with the grammar.

Setting: 5/5

This series is placed in an unnamed location where all third children are illegal. The setting was good for dystopian and there are explanations for how their world is and why they banned third children.

Plot: 4/5

The plot starts when Luke meets a girl that helps to eventually start a resistance. The plot was interesting and didn't drag. Each book has its own story, and is a new installment in the overall story. It is hard to choose a favorite, they're all so good. The overall plot was good but there were some holes in Nina's past that was never fully explained. Another problem was when one character was set up to be an antagonist, but then was only mentioned giving a report in a later book.

Character Development: 5/5

The characters were well developed and unique. It was written in a way in which you get to know the characters and you know their emotions and struggles. It was interesting to see how Luke changed from a scared little boy to a leader. One other character that stood out to me was Trey, and how he overcomes his fears. He first appears in Among the Impostors, but is the main character of Among the Brave.

This series was good and exciting and clean and is a good dystopian series for children and I would recommend it.