Name: Claim to Fame
ISBN: 9781416939184

Margaret Peterson Haddix

Lindsay, a former child star who suffered a nervous breakdown after developing the ability to hear what anyone says about her, comes to see this as an asset when, after her father's death, she learns that she is not alone.

Claim to Fame

Lindsay Scott hit the big time at age five, when she became the star of the television show "Just Me and the Kids." It seemed like she was set for life--until she had a nervous breakdown when she was eleven, because Lindsay had suddenly developed a very dangerous sense of ESP--the ability to hear what anyone was thinking about here, at any time, anywhere in the world. Lindsay's father whisked her away to her long-gone mother's house in small town Springdale, and Lindsay was amazed to discover that within the four walls of the house, she can't hear anything out of the ordinary. And so Lindsay has stayed hidden in the house, safe from other people's thoughts, doing her best to stay out of sight and let the world forget her. When the tabloids print a "where are they now" story about her, claiming that Lindsay's maniacal father has kept her imprisoned in her house for the past five years, a couple of well-meaning teens attempt to "rescue" Lindsay. For the first time in five years, Lindsay is outside the protective quiet of her house. And that's when she hears the one voice she never expected to hear: her mother's. When she discovers that perhaps her mother didn't leave voluntarily, she has a choice to make: will she risk everything to find the truth about her past--and the source of her ability?

Jeni Enjaian

This book took a turn I did not expect. I should have expected it coming from Haddix who tends to deal in fairly contemporary settings with a twist of something supernatural, something unexpected and just beyond the suspension of disbelief.
In the end, however, I could not connect with Lindsay. Her story did not make sense. Her reactions in the initial "kidnapping" scene confused me. Once she revealed her secret, they sort of made sense. However, Haddix completely botched the chance to bring the reader in to empathize with Lindsay.
Since I could not connect to the character, I never really enjoyed the book. Thankfully, it did not take me long to read.

Claim to Fame

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