Author: David Lubar
Publisher: Starscape Books
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: March 2007
True Talents is the sequel to Hidden Talents where we first met the group of boys who were just discovering their unique capabilities when they met at the Edgeview Alternative School. Now we meet them again, a little older, a little wiser, but still quite able to get into trouble, their talents notwithstanding. This portion of the tale is a little bit darker, with a more adult feel to it. Where in Hidden Talents much of the story centered on the school issues of five kids, this next book deals with high school kids dealing with serious issues. This time, instead of concentrating on one character, Martin, the reader gets to follow each individual separately.
One of the group, Trash, has been taken prisoner by an unscrupulous businessman who would like to exploit Trash’s talent for monetary gain. Trash has been drugged and held captive for some time before he manages to escape with the help of an unknown ally. Once free, Trash has to stay on the run to keep out of the hands of this man. Martin, who’s mouth is both his talent and his curse, has run away from home after a particularly nasty argument with this father. Torchie, after annoying the neighbors with his accordion music has somehow become the beneficiary of a fully paid trip to an accordion camp. Cheater has misused his talent to try and win a poker game and has received a horrible beating for it. This lands him in a hospital where his friend Lucky has also been sent. Flinch has landed himself on a TV show with his stand up comedy act.
With the entire group, seemingly by chance, converging on the same city, it is only a matter of time before the story brings them back together again. They join forces to help Trash extricate himself from his current situation and hopefully learn a little more about themselves and each other.
David Lubar has created another engaging story of kids overcoming obstacles to win out in the end. I’ve enjoyed both of these books and appreciated the group dynamics, how each member uses talent and intellect to help the team as a whole. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the first book.
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