Claim to Fame

Lindsay Scott, 16, lives a completely secluded life after spending her early years in the spotlight as a child star. Her fame, coupled with an ability to hear all that is said about her by everyone throughout the world, take its toll, and, at age 11, she suffered a nervous breakdown. Her distant father moved her to a new home in Illinois, which they shared until his untimely death. Now, she is alone in the house, but she is not alone. Despite her best efforts to keep herself and her ability secret, people enter her world. Lindsay views them as threats, but as the story progresses she finds them to be friends, a relationship new to her as she is used to people taking advantage of her. Lindsay can no longer escape from people, any more than she can escape from the voices she hears. She starts to absorb the situations people are facing when she hears them, changing the context and the power their voices have over her. Lindsay's transformation, especially her tranquil, strong, take-on-the-world-on-her-own-terms state at the end, is a bit far-fetched and too quickly realized. However, teens will like the brush with fame and her unique gift and will relate to her feelings of isolation and the need for others' help to spur on the maturation necessary to realize that one isn't always the center of the world; that others need our care.