Among the Hidden, by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Being grounded is never fun. You can't play outside, no TV, no friends can come over, etc. For Luke, this is every day. Luke is living in a time and place when only two children are allowed per family and the wrath of the Population Police is severe. Despite these harsh rules, there are still families that have three, even four children, meaning that these "shadow children" must stay in hiding for their entire lives...if they want to live.

Luke's father is a farmer, but is only allowed enough livestock and land to barely get by. His mother is a loving woman who works full-time at a factory and then comes home to finish all of the housework. His older brothers, Matthew and Mark, are allowed to live normal lives and do their best to make time for Luke, but as they have gotten older there seems to be less and less available. Before they had to sell some of their land to make way for houses of the elite, known as barons, to build their mansions, Luke had been able to walk around on their land and help with some of the work, but now that the tree cover is gone he is a prisoner in his own house.

The monotony is broken one day when he spots the face of a child in a window of a baron's house. After, he watches the house religiously and notices lights come on during the day while there is supposed to not be anyone home. Having not left the house for half a year, Luke finally works up the courage to run over to the house and break in when his Dad is away. His bravery pays off when he is greeted by a fellow shadow child, Jen.

Thanks to her baron parents, Jen leads a very different life than Luke. While she has to remain hidden, she has internet access and a fake shopping pass so that she can go to stores in distant towns from time to time. Thanks to the internet, Jen has set up a chat room where over 800 kids just like them are connected. However, all of these luxuries don't make up for not having an identity. Jen is in the process of planning a march at the capital when she meets Luke and while Jen ends up going, Luke makes the tough decision to stay behind.

This is a decision that will change Luke's life for the better and worse in some ways, as the reality of the population situation are revealed to Luke and he is forced to make some of the toughest decisions of his life...but, at least, it is his life.

Readers will fly through this book, wanting to find out the ending. Though, there are some fairly predictable twists, the storyline is still enjoyably fast paced and  invites the reader to ponder what is truth and deceit in their own society and the possibility and repercussions of population control in the future.