Hidden Talents

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Description

When thirteen-year-old Martin Anderson arrives at the Edgeview Alternative School, it's the end of the road. Literally. He's been expelled from every other school. Edgeview is the last stop. A warehouse for the system's rejects. Martin fits right in. Everyone has given up on Martin. Even Martin. But at Edgeview Martin falls in with a group of five outsiders who make the other Edgeview rejects appear gifted by comparison. He makes a remarkable discovery: each of his friends possesses a remarkable talent. One is telekinetic. Another is empathic. Others have psychic abilities. Martin thinks these talents make them special. They think it makes them freaks. Martin has one shot to convince them otherwise.

Reviews

"At a time when truly humorous young adult fiction is scarce, reading Lubar's first YA novel (a coming of age story) is like finding a nest of kittens in a hayloft--wondrously surprising, playful, and heartwarming." --VOYA (5Q, 4P, M, J)

"Hidden Talents provides us with a glimpse of David Lubar as a writer whose comic talent is matched by his ability to write with sensitivity and power about adolescents." --The Alan Review

"On the whole Lubar serves up great fun, along with an insight or two for those whose powers are only too human." --Publishers Weekly

"[T]he interrelationships between the five misfits and their interactions with the teachers are credible, and the dialogue is right on target. With plenty of humor, this is a good bet for reluctant readers as well as for kids who like offbeat fiction." --Booklist

"Hidden Talents is becoming--and deserves to be--a classic of YA literature. It's one of the best, no matter what age you are." --Orson Scott Card, bestselling author of Ender's Game

Author Bio

David Lubar has written more than thirty books for teens and young readers. His novels, including Hidden Talents and Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, are on reading lists across the country, saving countless students from a close encounter with Madam Bovary. His novel, Dunk, won Pennsylvania's Young Adult Book Award and was used by the New Jersey Library Association for their One Book New Jersey program. His Weenies short story collections have sold more than two million copies. He had several books come out this year, including Hyde and Shriek, and Extremities: Stories of Death, Murder, and Revenge (He's actually a much nicer person than these titles would indicate.) He is a popular speaker at schools and conferences around the country. He also designed and programmed many video games in an earlier eight-bit life, including Home Alone and Frogger 2.