Among the Hidden Themes

Among the Hidden introduces readers to a world where, following a multi-year drought and an ensuing food shortage, the government of an unnamed country has seized control of every aspect of citizens’ lives. So in addition to mandating what crops farmers grow and forcing factories that once produced junk food to produce more nutrient-dense food, the government has also implemented the Population Law, a controversial policy that states families can only have two children…

Through Jen and Luke’s friendship, Among the Hidden explores how privilege and wealth dictate how a person sees the world. Though both kids are shadow children (third children who, thanks to the government’s Population Law dictating that parents can only have two children, are illegal and live in hiding), they live vastly different lives due to their families’ economic statuses. Luke has grown up in near poverty, as Dad is a farmer. Luke is…

Over the course of Among the Hidden, 12-year-old Luke comes of age. Through his journey, the novel suggests that coming of age happens as young people become independent from their families and discover their place in the world. At the beginning of the novel, Luke, a shadow child (an illegal third child), has to endure a difficult change when the government purchases the nearby woods and cuts them down to build houses. The woods…