Claim to Fame

Sixteen-year-old Lindsay was a child star on a popular TV sitcom, but now, in this character study with a sci-fi twist, she hides in her house, terrified to go outside. When young local fans see--and believe--a tabloid horror story, they try to help Lindsay by kidnapping her. Although the kids let her go, she's forced to struggle with her real talent--not acting, but the awful ability to hear everything anyone in the world says about her unless she stays in her "safe" house. Haddix focuses the story on Lindsay's quest to uncover the origin of her hearing ability and on her looming choice between continuing to hide or finding a way to cope with her difficulties. The veteran writer has the ability to make her characters recognizable even with brief sketches, and she holds attention with the mounting suspense of Lindsay's dilemma, especially when her choices turn out to be wrong. At last, the story becomes a parable about finding the strength to confront fears. An intriguing and often exciting diversion for young readers. (Science fiction. 10-14)

Copyright 2009 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 79Lindsay Scott, 16, lives a completely secluded life after spending her early years in the spotlight as a child star. Her fame, coupled with an ability to hear all that is said about her by everyone throughout the world, take its toll, and, at age 11, she suffered a nervous breakdown. Her distant father moved her to a new home in Illinois, which they shared until his untimely death. Now, she is alone in the house, but she is not alone. Despite her best efforts to keep herself and her ability secret, people enter her world. Lindsay views them as threats, but as the story progresses she finds them to be friends, a relationship new to her as she is used to people taking advantage of her. Lindsay can no longer escape from people, any more than she can escape from the voices she hears. She starts to absorb the situations people are facing when she hears them, changing the context and the power their voices have over her. Lindsay's transformation, especially her tranquil, strong, take-on-the-world-on-her-own-terms state at the end, is a bit far-fetched and too quickly realized. However, teens will like the brush with fame and her unique gift and will relate to her feelings of isolation and the need for others' help to spur on the maturation necessary to realize that one isn't always the center of the world; that others need our care."Tracy Weiskind, Chicago Public Library"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Former child star Lindsay Scott has been out of the spotlight for five years, ever since she became a hearer, able to hear anything said about her, anywhere in the world (I would call it a hidden talent, but talents are supposed to be happy possessions.... My secret skill has brought me nothing but pain). The one place she isn't bombarded by voices is her home, where she's been a virtual recluse. When a tabloid reports that her father is keeping her hostage (in reality he died two weeks before), two local boys kidnap her, starting a chain of events that gets the 16-year-old back out into the world, discovering other hearers and ultimately finding her mother, whom she's never known. The premise is compelling, and Lindsay's powers have fascinating, sometimes heartbreaking results (when a police officer arrives to inform her of her father's death, she suddenly knows the news before he speaks, then must act devastated after he actually tells her). If everything wraps up a bit quickly, Haddix ("Found") nonetheless creates a thought-provoking story laced with themes of transcendentalism, self-centeredness, and the importance of human connectivity. Ages 1014. "(Nov.)"

Copyright 2009 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.