Imagine that having a child was illegal without the proper documentation. Now, imagine that you find out you are pregnant. Do you abort the baby as the law requires? Or, do you risk everything to protect the life inside of you? These are the questions that Victoria Randall’s book Get on Board Little Children asks. The story takes place in an eerily believable, futuristic version of the United States. In order to control population growth and assure that children are raised by capable parents, pregnancy is illegal without the proper license. These licenses are very expensive, however, and require the potential parents to pass a series of test and prove they are financially and mentally capable of being parents, and each additional child requires a new license. These rules have just been a simple fact of life for Sophie. She and her husband plan on having children when they can afford the license, but their plans are derailed when they find out Sophie is pregnant. Now, time is running out, and they must make a decision. Do they give up their dream of being parents, or do they fight for a new life together?

Victoria Randall’s novel, the first of the Children in Hiding series, is built around a fascinating premise, where right and wrong are not entirely clear. The themes of government control and population growth are hot topics, so the use of these themes makes this story a believable and exciting one. Randall’s characters are equally intriguing and the book was an enjoyable read throughout. However, at times the book lacked the gripping fear that I expected from a book on this topic. Even with this drawback, though, the book was an enjoyable read, and I look forward to seeing where the rest of this series goes.

The story of Get on Board Little Children (Children in Hiding Book 1) by Victoria Randall is about a future in which it is illegal to just have children without a license. You need to pass a variety of tests before you are allowed to become a parent. Everyone who fails to get a rather expensive license and still becomes pregnant will be apprehended and the pregnancy will be aborted. When Sophie finds out that she is pregnant, she and Josh, her husband, first think about getting their parents' help to raise the money for a license - but then something unexpected happens and the two find themselves on the run. They need to make it to a country in which the laws about licenses do not exist and which does not have extradition agreements with the USA. Unfortunately for them, the new head of the department of population management has made it his personal mission to get the department back on track, which means no "unwanted" pregnancy should be allowed to be continued. No matter what the cost.

I was worried that Sophie would turn out to be one of the typical main characters in stories like this: weak, helpless, and dependent on a man. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Sophie was a rather likeable character, and while she had Josh at her side, she could still take care of things herself. Yes, she made some silly mistakes, but they were quite realistic and added to the plot to keep it interesting. I finished the book in just two days because I wanted to know how the story developed, and whether there would be a happy ending - you just couldn't be sure. The book is well written, and the plot develops at just the right speed. It is not a difficult book to read, so I would recommend it for everyone looking for an interesting adventure.