Among the Hidden

Author's Note: This is a piece I wrote about the book Among the Hidden. Pay attention to how I show the conflict and resolution throughout the story. 

In Among the Hidden, it's against the law to have over two children because the society is going through a famine. Luke is a third child, so his parents have to break the law and keep him hidden away from the Population Police. Due to this so called "hide-and-seek", Luke hasn't been outside since he was a little kid. He runs into some encounters with the police, but he manages not to get caught by them. 

Since he can't do much else, Luke looks out a certain window every day, at the same time, with a view of his subdivision. He remembers seeing movement in his next door neighbor's window. To free his curiosity, he breaks into that house and discovers another third child, a girl named Jen. Turns out that her dad works for the Population Police, but is undercover trying to help third children. 

In the end, Luke decides to break free from his sheltered home. He builds up enough courage to step foot outside, to see what the real world is like without his normal routine. Luke goes from being a third child, to an impostor who outsmarts the society because of Jen’s dad who was able to create a fake I.D. for him. With the fake I.D., he is able to live the life like he isn't a third child. Instead, he lives the life of someone else and it's not as risky getting caught by the police when he's undercover. He has to say goodbye to his family, who is tough enough but the options that are at stake are gruesome: either he lives the life of someone else and hopes he doesn't get caught or he is always worrying he will be caught as a third child and be shot at any waking second.

Luke decides to take the safest route. He goes from being in a stuffy room while forgetting what the outdoors smells like to five course meals and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The fake I.D. that Jen's dad created for him was the handiest thing he could have done . It was a hard choice parting from his family, but it paid off for him in the end.