Author | Margaret Peterson Haddix |
---|---|
Cover artist | Cliff Nielsen |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Shadow Children sequence |
Genre | Young adult science fiction |
Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | June 2003 |
Media type | Print (Paperback) |
Pages | 182 |
ISBN | 0-689-83906-5 |
OCLC | 49681456 |
LC Class | PZ7.H1164 Aj 2003 |
Preceded by | Among the Betrayed |
Followed by | Among the Brave |
Among the Barons is a 2003 young adult science fiction novel by American writer Margaret Peterson Haddix, about a time in which drastic measures have been taken to quell overpopulation. It is the fourth of seven novels in the Shadow Children series. [1]
The novel begins at the home of the Grants. The Grants are Barons, meaning that they belong among the super-elite class, which hoards most of the country's resources and controls the government. The Grants have only one surviving son, Smits, having lost their other son, Lee, in a skiing accident not long ago. To turn the tragedy into something good, Mr. and Mrs. Grant gave their son's name to a shadow child named Luke, allowing him to come out of hiding and attend school like a legal child. To keep up the appearances of familial love, the Grants send Smits to Luke's school, Hendricks’ School for Boys, for a visit. Accompanied by a bodyguard named Oscar, he sullenly agrees, still distraught over the loss of his brother, embittered by the substitution of Luke, which he sees as a decision to replace the real Lee. At the school, Smits tells Luke (who passes publicly as “Lee”) a number of fond memories about his brother.
Eventually, Smits tires of having Oscar watch over him. He lights fire to the school in an act of protest and tries to leave alone. Once the fire is suppressed, Luke goes back to the Grants’ house. There, he searches through Smits's room and finds two fake identification cards, one that identifies Smits as Peter Goodard. The other card, with a blank picture, reads Stanley Goodard. From these, Luke infers that the Grants are hatching a plan to adopt yet another identity for him. Having lost their son, but being unable to publicly mourn his death, they intend to backtrack and announce it, after all, throwing Luke back into the darkness.
Luke soon finds that the plot is even more sinister. Though the Grants are indeed motivated by greed, the real reason is that Smits has threatened to expose the real reason for Lee's death: he died on a rebel mission to overthrow the fascist government. If they are discovered, they risk the death penalty. The Grants’ fear of their own danger now threatens Luke's very existence. He soon suspects that the Grants gave him a new chance at life not acting out of altruism, but rather in a long-term gamble to stage a different death for a fake Lee.
The Grants stage a party at their mansion to welcome “Lee” home. The party is attended by many of the government's most prominent leaders, including its president, who is credited with beginning the war that installed the Population Police, leading to widespread atrocities. In a twist, it is revealed that the bodyguard Oscar is a rebel. He tries to assassinate the president, as well as Luke; his attempt on the politician's life fails, and Trey rescues Luke just in time. A chandelier detaches from the ceiling, crushing Mr. and Mrs. Grant. This event has a silver lining: with the deaths of the Grants, no one remains who wants to revoke his legal status. Furthermore, Smits will have to corroborate his familial relationship or risk his own safety.
At the end of the novel, Luke and Smits escape the Barons and Population Police, speeding away in a van with some friends and arriving at Luke's house. Trey steals a number of papers that seem to be valuable and related to the secret workings of the government, but it is not revealed what they are. Luke's parents, relieved, welcome Luke home, and take in Smits as one of their own. Luke redoubles his resolve to save more shadow children and overthrow the Population Police. [2]
The Souls was a small loosely-knit but distinctive elite social and intellectual group in the United Kingdom from 1885 to the turn of the century. Many of the most distinguished British politicians and intellectuals of the time were members. The original group of Souls reached its zenith in the early 1890s and had faded out as a coherent clique by 1900.
James Dover Grant, primarily known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British author who writes thriller novels, and is best known for his Jack Reacher novel series. The books follow the adventures of a former American military policeman, Jack Reacher, who wanders the United States. His first novel, Killing Floor (1997), won both the Anthony Award and the 1998 Barry Award for Best First Novel.
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Margaret Peterson Haddix is an American writer known best for the two children's series, Shadow Children (1998–2006) and The Missing (2008–2015). She also wrote the tenth volume in the multiple-author series The 39 Clues.
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Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a young adult novel published on September 1, 1998 and is the first book in the Shadow Children series.
Among the Impostors is a 2001 book by Margaret Peterson Haddix, about a time in which drastic measures have been taken to quell overpopulation. It is the second of seven novels in the Shadow Children series.
Running Out of Time is a novel by Margaret Peterson Haddix, published in 1995.
Shadow Children is a series of seven books by Margaret Peterson Haddix about a dystopian country which suffers food shortages due to a drought and the effects of the government's totalitarian attempts to control resources as a way to solidify its power. The Population Police enforce the government's Population Law, killing or imprisoning "shadow children," any child born after their first two siblings. In some cases, a parent may choose to forge a child's identification card so a shadow child can live a normal life.
Among the Betrayed is a 2002 novel by Margaret Peterson Haddix, about a time in which drastic measures have been taken to quell overpopulation.
Among the Brave is a 2004 young adult science fiction novel by American writer Margaret Peterson Haddix, about a time in which drastic measures have been taken to quell overpopulation. It is the fifth of seven novels in the Shadow Children series.
Among the Enemy is a 2005 novel by Margaret Peterson Haddix, about a time in which drastic measures have been taken to quell overpopulation. It is the sixth of seven novels in the Shadow Children series.
Among the Free is a 2006 young adult science fiction novel by American writer Margaret Peterson Haddix, about a time in which drastic measures have been taken to quell overpopulation. It is the seventh and final book in the Shadow Children series.
The Queen and I is a 1992 novel and play written by Sue Townsend, a fictional best-selling political satire revolving round the topic of republicanism in the United Kingdom.
Kenneth McMillan was an American actor. McMillan was usually cast as gruff, hostile and unfriendly characters due to his rough image. However, he was sometimes cast in some lighter comic roles that highlighted his gentler side. He was perhaps best known as Jack Doyle in Rhoda (1977–1978), and as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in David Lynch's Dune.
The Missing is a series of fictional young-adult novels written by Margaret Peterson Haddix. It tells the story of famous children from history stolen by futuristic time travelers from their place in time and accidentally sent to the 21st century as babies. They are then adopted by families in the 21st century. Because Jonah is one of the stolen children, he, along with his non-adopted sister Katherine, must help return the missing kids to their rightful places in history and fix time before it is destroyed. The first book in the series, Found, was published on April 22, 2008. The series continued with book titles Sent, Sabotaged, Torn, Caught, Risked, and Revealed. The eighth and final book, Redeemed, was released on September 8, 2015. There are also two ebook short stories, Sought and Rescued . Haddix originally intended the series to consist of only seven books. However, she stated that she had trouble closing out the series in seven books; leading to her decision to write Redeemed.
Bodyguards and Assassins is a 2009 Hong Kong historical action film directed by Teddy Chan, featuring an all-star cast including Donnie Yen, Wang Xueqi, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Nicholas Tse, Hu Jun, Chris Lee, Eric Tsang, Fan Bingbing, Zhang Hanyu, Wang Po-chieh, Mengke Bateer and Leon Lai. The film is about Sun Yat-sen making a secret trip to British-ruled Hong Kong to discuss plans with fellow revolutionaries to start a revolution to overthrow the Qing Empire and establish a republic in China. When Sun faces an attempt on his life by assassins sent by the Qing government, a motley crew of people from various walks of life band together to protect him and ensure that the meeting goes as planned.
Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey is a 1996 young adult novel written by Margaret Peterson Haddix. It tells the story of high school student Tish Bonner through journal entries assigned throughout the year by her English teacher, Mrs. Dunphrey, and follows her as her life slowly begins to spin out of control through familial and social troubles.
Margaret Peterson was an English novelist.