Lost and Found, by Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is, of course, most famous for Ender's Game and its sequels.  His newest book, Lost and Found, has the same target audience, and features some of the same type of precious teens with unusual talents, but that's about as far as the comparisons go.

In Lost and Found we meet teens who have micropowers.  These are like superpowers, only less useful or significant.  (For example, the ability to make people yawn, or to tell whether someone's belly button is an innie or outie.)  The main character Ezekiel can see something that's lost and intuitively know whose it is and where to find that person.  This got him into trouble when he was younger, because no one believed him when he said he just knew where things came from; they assumed he stole them.  So he suppressed his power.  Nevertheless, all the kids shunned him, labelling him a thief.

Then several things happened: a detective read Ezekiel's file and tried to enlist him to find a missing girl.  Beth, a classmate with proportional dwarfism, started walking to school with him, forcing her friendship on him against his initial rebuffs.  And the school counselor encouraged him to go to a group called GRUT, Group of Rare and Useless Talents.  This is where Ezekiel and other teens with micropowers meet with researchers who help them develop their talents.

As he learns more about his micropower, Ezekiel decides to work with the detective.  As it turns out, the detective is with the FBI, investigating a significant child trafficking ring.  When Beth goes missing, Ezekiel is, of course, eager to do what he can to find her.

Card's writing is a lot of fun.  He deals with serious questions about things typical teens struggle with, serious questions about the complexities and implications of micropowers, and, as you might expect, mixes in plenty of good humor and fun.  I really enjoyed the banter between Ezekiel and Beth, as well as their mild smart-alecky attitude against authority figures.

I also enjoyed Ezekiel's relationship with his father.  Ezekiel's mother was hit by a car and killed when Ezekiel was very young, so his dad has had to be a solo parent.  It's nice to see a parent portrayed as wise and helpful, not a buffoon.

On the question of micropowers, the FBI agent who recruited Ezekiel wonders if everybody has one, "only we thing the stuff we're doing just happens by chance."  On the surface, Lost and Found is an entertaining adventure story with some silly premises and plot twists.  But Card raises some good questions about using our gifts, whatever they are, about accepting people who are different, and about faithfulness to friends and family.

Lost and Found is not your typical superhero origin story, and it's very different from Ender's Game, but should have a broad appeal for readers of all ages.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!