Mr. Talbot reveals to Luke that Jen and all the kids at the rally were brutally killed. He says that " blood flowed into his [the president's] rose bushes"^[1].

• Luke Garner - A small, pale, shy twelve year-old boy. He is not allowed to leave his house due to the fact he is the third child in his family, illegal in the futuristic society.

• Harlan Gardner - Luke's father. Harlan works on a farm with pigs. He is one of the strictist people with Luke about being caught.

• Edna Gardner - Luke's mother. She is a plain middle-aged woman who has had to work hard for everything. Her strong will is one of the main reasons Luke is alive. "I wouldn't even let your dad talk about getting rid of you," she says.

• Mark Gardner - Luke's oldest brother

• Matthew Gardner - Luke's middle brother.

• Jen Talbot- Luke's neighbor who he discovers is also a third child. Jen is the first non-family member Luke has ever met. She organizes a rally of third children to march in front of the president's house and dies while doing it.

• George Talbot - Jen's father, a worn middle-aged man who does administrative work for the population police. He has a third child Jen who attempts to rally against the population police. In the end, he assists Luke with his escape into the real world.

• Population Police - The faceless characters who are sent to find third children for a large reward. Luke and the rest of the characters in the book are in constant fear of these shadow-like men. "The population police shoot first and as questions later."^[2]

"Along the way the author raises many issues none of which are simple."(commonsense.com) The book although it takes place in a semi-futuristic world raises as the quote says many issues relvent and relatable to us in this day and age. It deals with the difficult topic of human nature and lust for survival."In order to survive the innocent must lie, sneak, pretend, or face certain death. You can't blame them for their behavior - they don't want to die."(homeschoolbuzz.com). It shows that even good people can do bad things when their surival is in jeoperdy. The book details a world where the peole are thrown into a state of panic when they believe they will starve, this is how the population law starts. The people in the goverment of this world would rather slaughter a large group of children then risk their survival or an uprising. The book also shows how easily the people just go with the goverment. The people in the book dont really question why these laws are in place."Among the Hidden is a great vehicle to help teach young adults about the Bill of Rights and governmental control[............] it encourage children to think about the purposes and logic behind various laws, it also is a good lesson about whether people should believe everything they are told."(Diane Griffin and Jennifer E. Moore)