Among the Brave

Lore & Background

The fifth book starts off directly where the last book had ended, from the point of view of Trey, Luke's friend from Hendricks' School for Boys. After Luke Garner leaves Smits Grant in the care of his real parents, Trey finds himself at Mr. Talbot's front door preparing to explain recent events. The car carrying Trey's friends Nina, Joel, and John takes off without him. The house is raided, and Trey's knowledge of Latin saves his life when a Population Police raider says 'liber' (Latin for free) and reports the porch clear. Inside, Trey meets Mrs. Talbot, a hostile woman with bright red hair. Together they learn from a private news network that the government has been overthrown by the Population Police. Mrs. Talbot abandons the house, leaving Trey to fend for himself.

Trey takes obscure, important-looking documents from the Talbot house and sets out to find help. He winds up on the Garner farm and ventures out with Mark, one of Luke's older brothers, to find Luke and the others. They instead find themselves at Population Police Headquarters, once the house of the Grants. Mark is captured, and Trey must sign up as a recruit to save him. Using his ingenuity, Trey saves Mark by working out a deal with a guard. He also saves his missing friends and Mr. Talbot from execution with the help of a rebel named Nedley. The group finds safety at Mr. Hendricks' cottage and discovers the schools have been raided. Mrs. Talbot, a housewife and reluctant ally, helps the group recover. Trey presents the documents, which Mr. Talbot reveals conceal the identities of hundreds of Third Children with false identities. The group decides to burn them, but Trey snatches them away, resolving to take small steps to destroy the Population Police from within along with Lee, Nina, the chauffeur, and Nedley.

Reader's Guide

Among the Brave continues the Shadow Children series, a dystopian narrative exploring themes of overpopulation, government control, and resistance. The novel is notable for shifting perspective to Trey, a secondary character, and for its high tension, as noted by Booklist's Carolyn Phelan, who praised the compelling story full of intrigue, danger, and adventure, though she observed that constant tension may reduce the impact of individual scenes. School Library Journal's Tina Zubak noted that some plot elements seem timeworn and not entirely plausible, but concluded the book provides a fast and wild ride that appeals to reluctant readers. The novel's significance lies in its contribution to the series' exploration of identity, sacrifice, and rebellion, particularly through Trey's choice to preserve the documents containing the identities of Third Children, setting up the series' later installments.

Did You Know?

• The novel begins directly where the previous book ended, from the point of view of Trey.
• Mrs. Talbot, who has bright red hair, is a housewife and reluctant ally, not a doctor.