Review: Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Spoiler-Free)

'Hope doesn't mean anything,' Jen snapped. 'Action's the only thing that counts.'

How does this book for nine-year-olds manage to juggle the complex themes of personal liberty and revolution with levels of nuance comparable to the adult epic fantasy series I just finished??

Okay, that was a slight exaggeration, but there's also truth to it. Going into this, I wasn't sure if the messaging would have to be flattened to a point of "government bad, revolution good" because it's so short and written for kids, but somehow Ms. Margaret Peterson Haddix managed to avoid that entirely! There are layers to the conflict and Luke lies at the center of it, easily influenced by whichever powers present themselves to him first. In this first installment, he truly is completely impressionable, but I get the sense that throughout the series he will harden.

This holds up so well as an exciting dystopian novel for kids and I would not hesitate to recommend it.