In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke, an illegal third child, has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm in this start to the Shadow Children series from Margaret Peterson Haddix. Luke has never been to school. He's never had a birthday party, or gone to a friend's house for an overnight. In fact, Luke has never had a friend. Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child forbidden by the Population Police. He's lived his entire life in hiding, and now, with a new housing development replacing the woods next to his family's farm, he is no longer even allowed to go outside. Then, one day Luke sees a girl's face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. Finally, he's met a shadow child like himself. Jen is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows—does Luke dare to become involved in her dangerous plan? Can he afford not to?

Government regulations limit families to two children each, so Luke, an illegal third-born, must live his life in secret, hidden in his family's farmhouse. Then he joins Jen, another "shadow child," for a chance to come out into the light.

A desperate child escapes from hiding only to face new dangers in the New York Times–bestselling author’s near future YA adventure series. In a world where the Population Police wield terrifying power, Luke Garner is an illegal third child. After spending his entire life in hiding, he’s found a way to escape—by assuming the identity of a deceased child. But living among other people isn’t going at all how he imagined. Luke now attends Hendricks School for Boys, a windowless building with cruel classmates and oblivious teachers. He knows he has to blend in, but he lives in constant fear that his behavior will betray him. Then one day Luke discovers a door to the outside. He knows that beyond the walls of Hendricks lie the secrets he is desperate to uncover. What he doesn’t know is whom he can trust—and where the answers to his questions may lead him.

In this fourth installment of a series about a society that allows only two children per family, Luke Garner is finally adjusting to his new life at Hendricks School as Lee Grant. While the Grants belong to the highest class of society called the Barons, Luke avoids snobbish affectations and befriends his classmates, who are also illegal thirds. When the real Lee Grant's younger brother arrives at the school, along with his fierce body guard, Luke worries that Smits will expose him to the government. However, Smits has come to enlist Luke's help in discovering how his older brother really died, suspecting that he was murdered. The intrigue and danger grow more acute when both boys are called "home" and Luke discovers that the Grants have plans for him that could turn out to be fatal.

A ninth-grader's suspension for singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" during homeroom becomes a national news story.

In a future where the law limits a family to only two children, third-born Luke has been in hiding for twelve years, until another "third" convinces him that the government is wrong and he then enters boarding school under an assumed name.