Character Descriptions
Luke Garner- He is a twelve year-old boy with pale skin and a fragile looking body. He spends
his life hiding because he is the third and forbidden child in the Garner family. He could be
seen as a “mama’s boy” because he likes the attention she gives him and seeks her comfort.
In the beginning of the book he gets bent out of shape easily, and hardly ever says how he
truly feels. When he does, it takes him forever to do so and he often feels bad for saying
anything at all, and he seems rather cowardly and timid. Towards the end of the book, he
becomes more courageous and brave, but still cautious, and wants to make a difference in the
world with a careful slow pace. He also seems capable of making mature decisions and seems
to become adult-like overnight.
Edna Garner- This is Luke’s mother. She is a kind, gentle, comforting, and soft-spoken
woman that is willing to make sacrifices for her family’s well being. She seems to go along with
most of the decisions that are made, but does enforce some of her own like insisting that the
attic be heated for Luke and keeping Luke despite the population laws. The only small change
she experiences is getting a factory job to help pay the increased taxes the family owes.
Overall, this does not affect her character; it only makes her more exhausted during the day.
Harlan Garner- This is Luke’s father. He is a farmer and also cares about the well being of his
family, just like Edna. He is stern, easily disgusted and irritated, and loses his temper quickly.
He is the primary decision maker in the household as well. However, deep down he does care
for the well being of his son.
Mark Garner- This is Luke’s fourteen year-old brother. He looks different than Luke; his hair is
darker and his skin is more tanned. In the beginning he often teases Luke by pretending to be
the Population Police. He seems to feel sad for Luke. Sometimes he offers to play board
games and cards with Luke. Towards the end of the book, he stops teasing Luke a lot and and
begins playing basketball all the time.
Matthew Garner- This is the oldest boy in the family, he is fifteen years-old. He has dark hair
and tanned skin. He teases Luke and often complains about school. His dream is to become
the owner of a hog farm one day even if it displeases the government. His only small change is
that he stops teasing his brother and had “outgrown him.” He also starts spending much of his
time at his girlfriend’s house and away from home.
Jennifer “Jen” Talbot- This is another third child in the neighborhood that Luke discovers and
becomes friends with. She has a mother, father, and two brothers. Her mother was determined
to have a girl and she is therefore the product of a gender selection experiment that only rich
people, Barons, could afford. Her father works at the Population Police Headquarters and often
tries to sabotage their plans and provide children with fake identification cards. Jen is
physically and mentally strong, almost seems tomboyish, is bold and daring, courageous, and
clever. In some ways she seems to rule the household! She is not afraid of anything and has
no problem taking risks. She is extremely intelligent, not only with books, but also with
technology, especially computers (she makes her own chat room for other children in similar
circumstances and hacks into the government site to change Population Police schedules).
The downside to her character is her inability to see divergent viewpoints, she loses her
temper, and speaks before thinking.