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Title: Hidden Talents by David Lubar ISBN: 0-7653-4265-0 Publisher: Starscape Pub. Date: 20 January, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.29 (17 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Accepting Hidden Talents
Comment: The book Hidden Talents by David Lubar is a story of six boys who have been kicked out of every school they have ever been in. For different reasons that are normal to troubled young people they have all wound up at Edgeview Alternative School where they meet and become friends. The character that this book centers around is Martin. The other five boys, "Torchie", "Cheater", "Trash", "Flinch", and "Lucky" were at the school prior to Martin's arrival, however, it is when Martin arrives and notices something strange about his new friends that everything starts to get interesting. As Martin goes about his daily routine of getting yelled at by teachers and avoiding the bully, "Bloodbath", he observes that his newfound friends act slightly differently than the average kids. Eventually he does some studying on what he thinks are their conditions and confronts them with the possibilities. Appalled by the thought that they might be as "freakish" as Martin suggests, the other boys shun him. He is eventually reconciled to them as they band together to use their special gifts to save the school from being destroyed by "Bloodbath" and closed by the Board of Education. In the end it is Martin's own "hidden talent" that he did not even notice that saves the day, and the school.
The themes of this book are very applicable to many young people, I believe. The major theme that can be seen throughout the story is that everyone should accept their differences. The importance of doing so is shown through another theme of working together and synergy. When the boys finally accept their "hidden talents" and strengthen them, they are able to use them as a group to perform a task that they never would have been able to do on their own. At first the boys were afraid of being different and being seen differently, but when they realized that being different is not a bad thing then everything is better than ever between them. Each one of them has a part in the final conflict that is very important and leads to the final resolution.
What was most striking about this book was a few stylistic things that Lubar chose to include. The most obvious thing is the addition of small pieces of writing such as school assignments or notes at the end of each chapter. These little notes give us as readers an insight into the inner mind of one of the characters, a foreshadowing of things to come, or a clarification of events that have already occurred. One such example occurs in two chapters toward the end of the book. There is a short assignment written by "Lucky" saying that people like him because he is a generous boy and such. In the following chapter we see that perhaps "Cheater" does have a special power to read peoples' minds as he writes the exact same thing for his assignment. Another stylistic thing that Lubar does is he keeps the chapters short. I was very impressed at how he brought small pieces of information into each chapter and then moved on to another chapter while at the same time keeping the pace of the story going. I also liked how he introduced characters to the story. Lubar does a very good job of easing characters in to the story and giving the impression that there is something special about them without beating the reader over the head with this fact. He hides the "gifts" of each student behind a normal characteristic that a troubled child would have and then later brings it out as a positive thing. It is little stylistic things such as these that help make Hidden Talents stand apart from a typical story for this age.
As I read Hidden Talents by David Lubar, I was reminded of another school for special students who were outcasts from normal society, the X Men. This being said, there are many differences between this story and the X Men, but I can see how a young reader would equate the two and feel an impulse to continue on with the book because of it. I would recommend this book for young adults because they could connect with the boys in the story and what they are going through. Because the story is based around six boys as the main characters, I think this is a book more suited for the male population, but not exclusively. Hidden Talents is a book that combines good lessons and strong moral value with an enjoyable plot to create a book that I would recommend to any reader who likes a story that breaks a little bit from reality.
Rating: 4
Summary: Hidden Talents
Comment: I really liked this book because of the psychic elements in it. It's a very original concept. Martin gets sent to the end of the line, and along with other social dropout kids, discovers that he has mental powers. The most intriguing part of it is that these powers are the things that got them kicked out of all the schools in the first place. Little by little, their powers start to emerge, in a very clever way. I recommend this book because it really makes you think.
Rating: 5
Summary: Hidden talents:Another david Lubar sucess
Comment: Hidden talents is a great book. The action Is submersive, yet not to fast, the characters are interesting and unique, and You can't help but laugh out loud When reading this book.The best part is the actuall story. It is just so amazingly creative and simply magical. It Really lets you understand everything, without spelling it all out for you. David lubar is one of my favorite authors. Also check out some of his other books, Especially Dunk, and wizards of the game.
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Title: Zach's Lie by Roland Smith ISBN: 0786814403 Publisher: Hyperion Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen ISBN: 038080560X Publisher: HarperTrophy Pub. Date: 30 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Foster's War by Carolyn Reeder ISBN: 059009856X Publisher: Apple Pub. Date: November, 2000 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
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Title: No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman ISBN: 0786816015 Publisher: Hyperion Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Stormbreaker: An Alex Rider Adventure (Alex Rider Adventure) by Anthony Horowitz ISBN: 0698119347 Publisher: Puffin Pub. Date: April, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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