Among the Enemy (6) (Shadow Children) - Hardcover

Haddix, Margaret Peterson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689857969 ISBN 13: 9780689857966

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2005

Synopsis

An ache grew in his throat and he wanted to sob, but he set his jaw and held it in. He'd been wrong to send Nina away, wrong to refuse to help her, wrong to let the commander treat him like a pet. He'd been wrong to think that everything ended when he lost Percy and Alia....I can stop this evil, he thought.
The Population Police are gaining more and more power, and illegal third-borns are in increasing danger. Young Matthias finds himself caught in the cross fire between the Population Police and the rebels -- and unwittingly ends up saving the life of a Population Police officer. By way of reward, the officer takes Matthias to the luxury of Population Police headquarters to train him to become one of their own. There, among his most feared enemies, Matthias encounters Nina, another illegal third-born, who enlists his help in a plot to undermine the Population Police. But Matthias is under constant scrutiny, he has no idea whom he can trust, and he's mourning the loss of his friends Percy and Alia. What can one boy do against a wicked bureaucracy?
In the most exciting Shadow Children book yet, Margaret Peterson Haddix examines how the courage of individuals can make an impact on growing evil.

About this title

About the Author

Margaret Peterson Haddix is the author of many critically and popularly acclaimed YA and middle grade novels, including the Children of Exile series, The Missing series, the Under Their Skin series, and the Shadow Children series. A graduate of Miami University (of Ohio), she worked for several years as a reporter for The Indianapolis News. She also taught at the Danville (Illinois) Area Community College. She lives with her family in Columbus, Ohio. Visit her at HaddixBooks.com.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Each title in the Shadow Children series reveals a different aspect of a dystopian future in which illegal "third children" are hunted by ruthless Population Police. In the sixth installment, Haddix zooms in on Matthias, the eldest of the three friends Nina allied with in Among the Betrayed (2001). While seeking help for Alia and Percy, both gravely injured during their escape from the latest Population Police raid, Matthias impulsively saves the life of an officer and must then pose as an aspiring recruit. Suddenly Matthias is hailed as a hero and whisked into the heart of police headquarters, where he finds unexpected camaraderie with his former archenemies and must contend with feelings of confusion, guilt, and grief as he uses his position to aid undercover rebels. The top-level authorities' instantaneous embrace of Matthias may bother some readers, but the brisk, efficient pacing facilitated by occasionally abrupt plot turns is precisely what has cemented Haddix's strong following among both avid and reluctant readers. Series fans and newcomers alike will devour this whole. Jennifer Mattson
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About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0689857969
• ISBN 13: 9780689857966
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224