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Overview
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.
"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
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780765379146 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tor Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 06/16/2015 |
| Series: | Talents , #1 |
| Pages: | 256 |
| Sales rank: | 269,365 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.78(w) x 8.15(h) x 0.71(d) |
| Lexile: | 630L (what's this?) |
| Age Range: | 12 - 15 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
OFF THE BUS AND INT0 TROUBLE
AII I needed was handcuffs. If my wrists had been chained to the seat, the scene could have been taken straight from one of those movies where they show the bus bringing the new guy to the prison. Of course, there wasn't any need for cuffs on this ride. Fill my pockets with rocks, add a couple more layers of winter clothes—wet winter clothes—and I might push the scale up toward ninety pounds.
The bus driver looked like he weighed three times that much. His wrists were thicker than my neck. He could probably crumple me up like a used tissue and still keep one hand on the steering wheel. No way I was going to cause him any trouble.
So I wasn't in cuffs—but the rest of it felt a lot like going to prison. I was the only passenger on the bus. After a long ride across three counties, we'd reached the main gate at Edgeview Alternative School. A guard out front holding a clipboard waved us inside, then talked with the bus driver for a minute. The two of them reminded me of a pair of dogs who stop for a quick sniff as they pass each other on their way to important doggy missions. I smiled at the thought of the driver wriggling around on his back in the grass.
Once the driver and the guard finished yapping, we rolled through the yard. The building even looked kind of like a prison—big, cold, gray stone, all wrapped up with a high brick fence. Edgeview was the sort of place where people kept broken machines, old tires, and other stuff they didn't need. Yeah, this was a place for things nobody wanted. End of the trip. End of the line. No way I could pretend it wasn't happening.
As the bus stopped near the front door of the building, J noticed all the windows had that dead look of glass filled with wire—the type of windows they use in a gym or a warehouse. A man slipped out from behind the door and walked stiffly down the steps. I got the feeling he'd been watching from inside for the bus to show up so he wouldn't seem like he was waiting. At first, I thought he was real old. As he got closer, I realized he wasn't that much older than my parents—he just moved like he was ancient He was wearing a dark suit with a bow tie. I never trusted anyone with a bow tie. I didn't trust anyone without a bow tie, either, but I especially didn't trust people who wore them.
The driver leaned over and pulled the handle, thrusting open the bus door. Then he glanced back at me. "Last stop, kid. Everyone out." He laughed. The big, stupid hunk of meat laughed like that was the funniest joke in the world.
I got up. My whole body made little cracking sounds as I straightened out. My spine was having its own Fourth of July celebration, six months late. Thanks to all the construction on the highway, the ride here had taken two hours. That wasn't counting the half-hour trip to the city to meet the bus. Me and Dad. What fun that was. Dad didn't say a word when he handed me over to the driver. He just gave me that where-have-I-failed? look. I didn't say anything, either. I just gave him my how-would-I-know? look. He couldn't wait to get out of there.
"Come on, kid," the driver said. "I ain't got all day."
I grabbed my bag out of the overhead rack and scooped up my jacket from the seat. Mom would have made me wear the jacket. Probably a dorky scarf, too. But it wasn't all that cold for the beginning of January, and Mom wasn't around.
"Move it, kid."
I took my time strolling down the aisle.
"Have a nice life," the driver said as I walked past him. He laughed again, wheezing like a donkey with asthma.
"Have a heart attack," I said. Then I hopped to the ground before he could grab me.
Behind my back, 1 heard the door slam hard, cutting off the stream of swear words the driver was spewing at me. Some people sure are touchy.
I looked at the stiff little man with the bow tie.
"Hello, Martin," he said, smiling the sort of smile that doesn't mean anything. "I'm Principal Davis. Welcome to Edgeview."
I had no idea what he expected me to say. Gee, nice place you have here, thanks for inviting me. I waited. He didn't seem like the sort of person who would run out of words, I'm sure he had all sorts of wisdom to share with me. I hadn't met an adult yet who didn't have essential advice to pass along.
"Well, you have a bit of settling in to do. We'd better get started." He creaked his way up the steps toward the front door, muttering the basic facts of my life as if to prove he knew and cared. "Martin Anderson, age thirteen, grade eight, hometown is Spencer, recently expelled from Spencer Heights Middle School. Previously expelled from Upper Spencer Junior High, expelled before that from…"
I tuned him out. To my right, the bus rolled out through the gate and rumbled down the road, carrying the driver back to the free world. I followed Principal Davis inside the building. The entrance was dark, barely lit by two weak bulbs that hung from the ceiling on frayed cords. The air hung down over me, too. Warm and heavy air. I felt like I was breathing soup.
We climbed a steep flight of stairs to the left of the front door. The steps ended in the middle of a long hallway. Something that might have been a carpet a million footsteps ago clung to the floor. More dim bulbs made a halfhearted attempt at lighting the area, revealing walls covered with scrawled graffiti.
"I assume you understand why you are here," Principal Davis said.
"I got on the wrong bus?" I figured a very stupid question deserved an extremely stupid answer.
He ignored my guess and kept walking, leading me up a second flight of steps. The wall felt rough, and the dull green paint had flaked away in a couple of spots. The odor of old varnish on the second floor gave way to the sharper stench of unwashed clothing as I climbed higher.
I tried again. "I won a contest? I wrote the winning essay? I'm the tenth caller? I got the highest score in Final Jeopardy?" This was fun. And as long as I kept talking, I wouldn't have to think about where I was going.
"These are the living quarters," he said, still ignoring my guesses. "After you've gotten settled, I'll have someone give you a tour of the school." He stopped where he was and 1 caught up to him. Actually, I almost ran into him. His suit smelled like dusty mothballs.
"I know," I said as the perfect answer hit me. "I'm here because you need an assistant. The place is too much for you to handle by yourself. You just aren't up to the job."
Oops. That one got rid of his smile. His face turned mean and angry for an instant—the sort of meanness that needs to lash out and cause pain. I could almost hear his teeth grinding together. Unlike the smile, this was an honest expression. This was Principal Davis at his finest. If he'd been a cartoon character, steam would have shot from his nose and ears. But, like a true professional, he hid the anger quickly. "Well, now…no point standing here chattering. Let's get you—"
He never finished that sentence. From down the hall, we were interrupted by a shout: "FIRE!"
• • •
TELEPHONE CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE
PARENTS OF MARTIN ANDERSON
Richard Anderson: Hi. It's me. I got the kid to the bus. I stopped at the office on the way home.
Dorothy Anderson: Do you think he'll be okay?
Richard Anderson: Who knows? I hope this place does him some good. Heaven knows nothing else has worked. I'll tell you, my old man wouldn't have let me get away with anything. He'd have smacked me a couple of good ones with his belt. That always kept me in line. I don't know where the kid gets that mouth of his.
Dorothy Anderson: Martin's not that bad.
Richard Anderson: Tell that to the fast three schools he's been kicked out of. Tell that to the scout troop that threw him out. And while you're at it, try telling it to his Little League coach. You know how bad that made me look when he mouthed off to the coach?
Dorothy Anderson: It's my fault. I just know it. I saw this psychologist on a talk show, and he said—
Richard Anderson: Forget that nonsense. And don't blame yourself. Or me. It's not our fault. It's his fault. We're good parents. His sister is turning out fine. We did everything we could. Listen, want me to pick up a pizza on the way home?
Dorothy Anderson: I guess. Yeah, that would be nice.
Copyright © 1999 by David Lubar
Reading Group Guide
Questions for Discussion
1. Reread the first four pages of Hidden Talents. What do you think of the narrator and his circumstances at this point in the novel? Do you like him or dislike him? Do you think he is a good kid or a bad kid?
2. How do Martin's mother and father feel about their son? How do you think they made the decision to send Martin to Edgeview? Does Martin ever receive letters from home? Who sends these letters? What do the unfinished, unsent letters from the Anderson home tell you about this family?
3. By sending him to Edgeview, Martin's parents seem to have given up on him. Have you ever felt like those around you have given up on you in some way? Describe this experience.
4. What is Martin's first impression of Torchie? List at least three ways first impressions play an important role—or serve as important motif—in the novel. Do you believe first impressions are usually right or wrong? Explain your answer.
5. Who are the members of Torchie's group? What is important about their Friday night adventures?
6. Is Martin concerned about not being accepted very quickly into Torchie's group? Why or why not?
7. What are the differences and similarities between Bloodbath and Torchie? What are the differences and similarities between Bloodbath and Martin?
8. How is Edgeview like any other school? In what ways is it different?
9. Would you like to attend Miss Nomad's class? Do you think you would enjoy studying with Mr. Briggs? How would you define the job of a teacher at Edgeview? How is this job similar to, or different from, the job of a teacher at your school?
10. Find and reread the memoranda written about Martin throughout the novel. What do these notes tell you about Martin? What do these notes tell you about their authors?
11. Find and reread the letters, self-descriptions and other matter written by Torchie, Cheater, Flinch, Lucky, and Bloodbath. Do these characters believe that they are bad individuals? How does their written work compare or contrast with their behavior or with their parents', friends', and teachers' impressions of them?
12. List the many nicknames given to characters throughout the book. What is the importance of nicknames in the story? Which characters are not given nicknames and why do you think this is the case?
13. What is funny about the memos written by Principal Davis? What is sad about the memos? What do you think of the character of Principal Davis?
14. How does Martin finally make sense of his new friends' strange behavior? Do you believe in precognition, telepathy, or other psychic phenomena? Why or why not?
15. Do you think Torchie, Cheater, and the rest truly did not realize their psychic powers before Martin pointed them out? Explain your answer.
16. How do Martin's friends initially feel about him after he points out their "talents"? How do they begin to take control of their power? How do their efforts make them feel?
17. Imagine that you had a psychic power such as mental telepathy. What would be the advantages and disadvantages, pleasures and perils, of such a power? How might having this power affect your life?
18. Why do you think Cheater suggests Mr. Briggs' class explore mental telepathy? How does Cheater give himself away with the Zenner cards?
19. Why do Martin and his friends try to save Edgeview from closure? How do Martin's friends help him decide what to do before the State Inspection Committee? What sacrifice does Lucky make to help Martin?
20. What is Martin's "hidden talent"? Cite ways in which he uses this "talent" before he becomes aware of it. Would you like to have Martin's "talent"? Why or why not?
21. Why is Edgeview a particularly appropriate name for the school to which Martin is sent? List the ways in which this name might be interpreted in the context of the story.
22. What is the most important thing Martin tells the State Inspection Committee about Edgeview? How does this truth lead Martin to realize another, very painful truth? Is there a relationship between Martin's refusal to recognize his own "hidden talent" and his thoughts about his relationship with his father? Explain your answer.
23. At the end of the story, Martin comments that "the last thing I want is to be a bully." How can his "hidden talent" make him a bully? Can everyone be a bully in some way? Can all bullies stop themselves?
24. What is a talent? Are all abilities talents? Are all talents useful? Can the discovery of certain types of talent be upsetting or frightening? Do you agree with Martin that "every talent has a price"? Explain your answer.
