Booktalking Colorado - Full Booktalk Record

Booktalking Colorado Full Record:

	Title:	Hidden Talents
	Author:	Lubar, David
	Date Published:	2000
	Genre:	Real Life
	Grade Level:	5 - 7
	Booktalker:	Bonnie Phinney

Booktalk:
Martin Anderson has a “not-so-hidden” talent – he has a big mouth! And his big mouth gets him into a lot of trouble. So much trouble, in fact, that Martin finds himself at the end of the road. Literally. He's already been kicked out of every school he's ever attended. Now he’s on a bus headed to nowhere… well, almost nowhere: Edgeview Alternative School. Edgeview is the last one that will take him. His teachers have given up on him. So have his parents. Everyone has given up on Martin Anderson. Even Martin. Edgeview is the sort of place where people keep broken machines, old tires, and other stuff they don’t need – or want. Like Martin. As usual, Martin’s big mouth gets him into trouble almost immediately. You see Martin has a bit of a problem respecting authority. He can't help it. It's like insulting adults is his special talent. And since Edgeview is a warehouse for the system's freaks and rejects, Martin fits right in. That is, until he falls in with a group of five misfits who are so messed up they make the other Edgeview delinquents seem like choirboys. Even the freaks call them freaks. There’s his roommate – Philip – also known as Torchie. Torchie’s problem is that he can’t seem to help starting fires; And "Cheater," he’s suspected of copying other students' work; And "Lucky," the presumed thief; And, finally, "Trash," known for throwing things around. Martin begins to hang around with these four, but still can’t seem to stop from getting into trouble – with his principal, with his teachers, with the school bully, “Bloodbath,” and even with his new found friends. His mouth, it’s not his friend. He just has a talent for saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time. Until one day, when everything changes. What the five don't know, but slowly find out, is that each possesses a “hidden talent": A remarkable, powerful talent - and Martin holds the key that will unlock their secrets. But first, he must battle his own worst enemy: himself.