Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Shadow Children series)

A couple of weeks ago I read the entire Shadow Children series.  Each book was about 150-200 pages in length .
The Shadow Children are the illegal 3rd children in a family.  After the Famine, the government decreed that each family could only have two children.  3rd children were killed either before or after birth and families who harbor 3rd  children are considered criminals. 

Each book centers on a certain theme/protagonist

• Among the Hidden~ Luke is a 3rd child who has always tasted the freedom of outdoors because his family lives in an isolated area, but one day the bulldozers come to take down the woods and build houses.  Luke is forced to live in the attic, hiding in the shadows from the world.  Then Luke spots another 3rd in a house next door to him.  Jen opens Luke's world to the outside, to hopes and dreams of one day not having to hide.
• Among the Impostors~ After the events in Among the Hidden, Luke assumes the identity of a dead legal child (Lee Grant) and is sent to a school for troubled kids.  Here Luke thinks he may have found a home in the classes and the garden he begins making outside.  Then he finds out there are multiple 3rd children at the school.  Has he found a place to be accepted?
• Among the Betrayed~ Nina is the main protagonist of this book.  Having been captured by the Population Police, Nina is thrown into a cell with two other children whom she suspects are 3rd children.  Nina is questioned by the police and asked to betray Matthais, Percy, and Alia.  When she decides not to, the children run for their lives.
• Among the Barons~ Luke is summoned by his "parents" the Grants.  He is forced to pretend to be Lee in public.  While he is living the high life, he knows that something is up.  His suspicions are confirmed when the Grants reveal that they have a plan for him to die.
• Among the Brave
• Among the Enemy
• Among the Free

I will try and come back to finish the summaries later, but here is my view of the series.

The Shadow Children series is written for a younger audience that then Missing series was, but I enjoyed it anyway.  I found myself reading a book or two a night until the series was finished.  That is one of the true measures of a series, if I have to read the next book right away.

I'd really recommend this for the 9 and up crowd.