Claim to Fame

As are all of Haddix' books, this is an excellent coming of age story for preteens discovering that the world doesn't revolve around them. Although it is a bit preachy and hits you on the head with the message, making it less enjoyable for adults and teens, the message it good and will get through to the preteens. The message that the character of a person is hidden and not always visible to everyone but worth much more than any superficial beauty or fame is an important one for all young adults, making this an excellent suggestion for aged 11-15.

I am a huge fan of most everything MPH writes, but this book was a bit of a let down. The writing was done well, but I did not enjoy the subject matter.

this was a gift

Another fantabulous book by Margaret Peterson Haddix! It really gets you thinking about how hurtful it can be to talk about people be there backs. I recommend this book to everyone! : )

I gave this book 4 stars bc I loved it . Margaret Peterson Haddix has done it again. My favorite part was all the suspense plus the happy ending. I hope u read this book, it is Truley amazing! :)

Awesome godly book!!! I love it!!! My favorite book of hers finished it in four days would definitely recommend to my friends

As a huge fan of Haddix, I anxiously awaited this book. I can't describe how disappointed I was, however, once I received and read it.There is virtually very little "action", something kids this age require in their reading. The plot moves along very slowly and was actually boring at times. The biggest problem with this book, however, is that it is so closely tied to Transcendentalism - something that most children this age have never even heard of much less understand. I struggle with the understanding part myself and I am an educated 48 year old! Quotes from Thoreau that are included do nothing to help clarify what Lindsay is going through...in fact, in adds to the confusion!Haddix has always been an author that I have recommended to my 6th grade students but this book will NOT be added to my list of recommended reading. I do hope this is just a "fluke" and her future writing will once again be back up to her standard.

Introduction:Former child star Lindsey Scott had a meltdown then basically disappeared from the public eye. Five years later, two well-meaning but misguided young men briefly kidnap her in the hopes of freeing her from what the tabloids reported as her prisonlike home. That starts a series of events wherein our young heroine attempts to discover more about her peculiar gift.Margaret Peterson Haddix is usually great for a new, intriguing concept. This one featuring Lindsey's ability to hear comments about herself doesn't disappoint in that department. That said, some people are likely going to be bothered by a marked lack of action. Its more of a psychological journey. While I like that Haddix keeps it somewhat realistic in terms of what a real 16-year-old could do and would be thinking in a similar situation, it's a bit of a letdown that Lindsey's not even a smidge heroic. She's very normal. The slow moving plot didn't bother me because of the nature of the way I read it. I finished the book over the course of a few weeks on breaks at work.Small Tangent: If you want more action from Haddix, go check out the Shadow Children Series. (Most of those had decent action, though again there was some hit and miss in terms of how well I liked the stories.)Back to Claim to Fame: The author managed to slip in a few plottwists that are hard to see coming. That's always nice. Most of the characters, Lindsey, Mrs. Mullin, Roz, etc have unique voices in terms of dialogue and general attitude.Conclusion: If you're a huge Haddix fan, you're probably used to the fact that she writes a wide range of topics. It's worth trying. I enjoyed it, just be warned, it's much slower than some of her other series. If you're just gettting used to Haddix and/or are a bigger fan of action based stories, try Shadow Children or even that time traveling one. Running out of Time was very good as an audio CD. If you're a completionist, definitely buy the book to support the author.