Among the Impostors

“But he’d lost everything else. Even just mouthing his name was a comfort. It seemed like his only link now to his past, to his parents, his brothers. To Jen.” 

In the opening paragraphs of the book, Luke is adjusting to his new life and identity as Lee Grant at Hendricks School for Boys. He still quietly whispers his old name in bed while everyone else is asleep, because he feels it is his only connection to his past. He does not want to forget the life he left behind, especially his family and the memory of his friend, Jen Talbot.

“For twelve years—his entire life—he’d had to hide. To be seen was death.” 

When Luke first arrives at school, he is scared of being in a new, unfamiliar place. As he enters a classroom for the first time, all the boys turn and look at him. Luke panics, temporarily forgetting that it’s safe to be seen. He has a new identity that protects him in public, but he has not yet adjusted to the new reality.

“He’d been thinking about making a difference in the world, finding some way to help other third children who had to hide.”

When Luke is lying in bed on his first night, he remembers that earlier that morning, when he’d left home, he was thinking about his desired goal: to help others. He hopes his new identity can be a start on his path to changing everything for the better.