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!

"He never allowed any of the what-ifs to become a plan, because he knew that absolutely nothing was under his control."

I was originally drawn to this book because of the cover, and then I realized the author is Orson Scott Card.  Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow are two of my most favorite books so I had to check out Lost and Found.  A middle grade read with less of a touch of science fiction than Card's other books,  this story was still a lot of fun.  Orson Scott Card is so versatile in his writing.  His books are always so engaging and absorbing no matter the intended audience.  I wouldn't rank this book up there with the Ender's series but it definitely warrants the read. I feel that this is a great place to start if you're looking for an introduction to this author, but not yet ready for the more science-fiction type books that's he's famous for.

Sorry if I'll be too harsh on this but this book really caught my attention with its glorious cover and the gist has mo much potential but the goods were not delivered.

First, the pacing was too slow. There were moments when I'm not even sure if I want to continue flipping the pages of this eARC because the narrative seems like a prolonged short story. The entirety of the storyline has potential yet the execution was not fitted for my taste so apologies on my end for that.

Another thing that made me rate this book this low is the fact that my mind is not grasping the plot, it seems that the interest was not there. I also allotted a whole 10 days worth of reading for this but the flight just did not take off. I am also a bit confused with the genre of this one because it is sending mixed signals all throughout.

Anyway, I don't want to rain on anyone's parade especially that this one is being released today so, here is my honest rating for this book:

RATING: 2stars

Orson Scott Card is at it again. Here he’s made a whole new world for us to follow. Or rather, all-new characters and abilities, set on earth (for a change). It’s marketed as a young adult novel, full of teens with powers. But it does have some darker subjects to be aware of (see below).
Ezekiel Blast is a finder. He can find things. Or rather, lost things tend to just find him. That has caused him all sorts of trouble in the past – from being accused of theft to nearly being arrested for trying to return something he found.
But all of that is about to change, as he learns to control his micropower in hopes of finding a little lost girl. And to think, none of it would have happened if a police officer hadn’t given him a chance and tried to make him do something with his gift.

“You know that I’m the school leper. Why would you walk with me?”
“I’m not walking with you. I’m walking inside your shunning bubble.”

Warnings: Lost and Found has some seriously dark elements hidden within. There are kidnappings, mentions of beatings with no consequences, bullying, child pornography, and (spoiler warning here) details about a body decomposing. I’m not going to say much on the latter, because it is a big revelation later on, but things get dangerously dark around that point. Consider yourself warned.

Lost and Found was an interesting concept; a kid with micropowers being forced to learn how to deal with them. Ezekiel Blast hasn’t had an easy life, with having lost things show up around him, only for people to accuse him of theft should he dare return them. That little twist did make his plot a lot more interesting, I’ll give you that.
I loved the concept behind the micropowers. It was fun to see powers used in a significantly smaller scale. My biggest regret is that we didn’t get to see more kids with them – just a handful, and even then we didn’t get to see too much of them.
I will say that I felt like this novel is marketed in an odd way. It’s written for a younger audience – the writing alone made that very clear. But there are some very dark subjects and themes running throughout this book, from the kidnappings and child pornography to Beth’s whole plot. It might be a little much, given the target audience.
I can’t help but notice that Orson Scott Card seems to have a pattern when it comes to his main characters. Ezekial is brilliant, young, underestimated and misunderstood. Sound familiar? It should. This cookie cutter character did break the immersion a bit. But maybe a younger audience (which is the target audience, remember) won’t know as much of his other works yet?
On the whole, I think that Lost and Found actually did have a great premise. It was just the follow through that ultimately was a letdown.

Lost and Found by Orrson Scott Card is a fun young adult novel about growing up, friendship and finding a way through isolation whatever the source. Orson Scott Card knows kids, especially gifted and isolated ones. You can see it in Enders Game and throughout his fiction and I was lucky enough to see it in person at a book signing when I was just a bit younger than the characters in this novel. They are a bit exaggerated as is often the case in YA, but they ring true and become more engaging as the story progresses. The story is technically about “micropowers” which are small superpowers and the protagonist uses his to find the owners of lost things. The important question is whether he also can use it to find lost people. The stakes are pretty high for young teenagers to deal with but their growth throughout the story is probably the most enjoyable part of the novel. Definitely worth checking out.

I received this ARC to read in return for a review. Thoughts are my own!
I read this book going on with high expectations so I wish thinking of it as Orson s other books. I tried to read it at least 5 pages, but I just couldn't get into it plus this was a middle grade read and it just wasn't for me. Overall, I'd recommend this anyone who loves Middle grade reads.and not have high expectations like I did.

This was a interesting book with good writing that sometimes could be a bit infantile.

Overall this was a nice read that didn't take much of my time.

2.8 ✨

Ezekiel is almost 15 and in ninth grade at Downy High School. His usual mood is one of “resentful loneliness”. The other kids have actively avoided him since the fifth grade because they think he’s a thief, although he isn’t. He actually has a micropower, which enables him to find things that are lost and return them to their owner.

“It was as if he had been born with this mission in life: to see that all lost things were returned.”

Beth is almost 14 but is in tenth grade and declares she’s “smart enough for college”. She tells Ezekiel she’s “a proportionate dwarf” and her height is referenced at every opportunity during the book, often in offensive ways. Beth is Ezekiel’s only friend.

Ezekiel’s micropower is of interest to Dr. Withunga, who runs the Group of Rare and Useless Talents (GRUT). The others in the group also have their own individual talents, which run the gamut from being able to make people yawn to knowing if someone’s belly button is an innie or an outie when they’re fully clothed. While these talents are used by the participants they’re not exactly lining up to save the world with them. These are micropowers, after all; there’s no one from DC or Marvel in sight.

Until Ezekiel is approached by a police officer with an unusual request. Help him find a missing girl. Except Ezekiel has never found a person before, only objects. Scrunchies appear to be a particular forte.

I was really excited to read this book. I love anything superhero related so figured anything even hinting at micro heroes would be right up my alley. I’ve had ‘Ender’s Game’ on my TBR pile for years but this is my first Orson Scott Card read. I’m not sure if there’ll be a second.

I loved the concept and there were sections of this book I would have loved as a kid. I’m certain I would have spent considerable time figuring out what my micropower would/should be and I would have cheered Ezekiel on as he figured out what he was truly capable of.

Adult me is conflicted. I had trouble figuring out the audience for this book. The writing felt like I was reading a middle grade book but then very dark themes were introduced, which would be more suitable for older readers.

I found the reveals predictable and I didn’t like most of the characters. Ezekiel could be a semi thoughtful human being at times but when he was in “brat mode” I found him insufferable. Besides knowing which character had which micropower, the kids in GRUT were fairly interchangeable. No one had a distinct voice and practically everyone in this book was trying to out-snark each another.

While I usually enjoy banter it exhausted me here. Most of the characters spoke almost exclusively in sarcasm (I would usually love this) but there was a lot of dialogue that was mean, rude and offensive.

I wanted to throw my Kindle at the wall with the sentences that irritated me and needed to switch my brain into ‘don’t question this’ mode whenever law enforcement allowed children to be involved in their investigation. What police officer would allow a child to be involved in interviews? What police investigation includes a child wandering with the officers into unsecure locations where they expect to encounter the baddies, who probably have weapons?

Some conversations had me scratching my head:

“But that’s how scared I am, Dad. I’m just shaking. Like I’m freezing cold.”
“It’s going to be a chilly night, maybe under forty. It really is getting cold.”

Others infuriated me with their poor taste, even if they were intended to be sarcastic. A psychology professor calls Beth Ezekiel’s “companion animal” and doesn’t seem to understand why Beth can’t see the “joke”. I almost refused to keep reading because of the flippant use of ‘crazy’ and ‘insane’, like when Ezekiel “played the crazy-kid card”. And who thought this was a good sentence: “Maybe almost getting killed and killing a guy yourself was a weight loss program that could really catch on.”

Although it’s made clear that Beth has her own mind, and a very intelligent one at that, Ezekiel and her father both take it upon themselves to speak on her behalf towards the end of the book. At no time has she requested this. She even annoyed me at times. Even though I assumed this was sarcastic, when discussing who could own a lost toy cement mixer, she comes up with, “With a truck it has to be a boy.”

The trauma that Beth experiences is glossed over and there are unanswered questions, like which police officer/s were involved in the crimes.

Content warnings include mention of bullying, death of a parent, kidnapping, child pornography, murder, trafficking of children and abandonment. Oh, and if you haven’t read it already, this book spoils the ending of ‘Charlotte’s Web’.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I was expecting something much different from Orson Scott Card. I am glad I kept at this after the first pages. They were slow going but were necessary for the total story. Pay attention to the well developed conversations throughout.

4 stars because of subject matter

I am nearly always a sucker for stories about teens with powers (except horror and zombies).

I've also always liked Card's super smart kids. And all the snark is here, as oddball Ezekiel Blast (he tends to rename people, including himself) deals with the fallout of his micro power, which is to always know where lost things are.

He finally makes a friend for the first time in his life. Beth is another really smart teen, hampered as she's a little person--at first glance she looks about eight years old. But she is determined, focused, and when she decides to make friends with prickly Ezekiel, she is going to prevail.

It's she who inspires Ezekiel to stop ignoring his power (which is having emotional and even physical fallout) and help out a cop, who is trying to find a kidnapped child.

Here's where I get ambivalent. There are certain subjects I try to avoid in my fiction reading, and the subject matter lying behind this missing child pretty much tops the list. Add to that that this book is slated for teens, and my ambivalence heightens. (Yes, I know teens are watching Game of Thrones etc. But I still would not have given this book to either of my teens, until they were college age.)

That aside, the story was fast-paced, racing to a frenetic finish. I loved Ezekiel's relationships--with his dad, with Beth, with the crusty cop he ends up working with, despite initial antagonism. Except for that one aspect (and at least there is no excruciating detail) I found it an absorbing read, with some real gems of scenes, all of these being interactions between Ezekiel and the people he gets close to.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book wasn’t what I was expecting it to be. I wanted to read it because I like the other Card books I’ve read. And I like middle grade books, but maybe this one was too middle grade for me. The boy acted and talked a little too adult. Also, this book swore, which isn’t exactly mg material. So, I don’t know. I was just bored, and didn’t connect with the characters.

His power (in the book they’re called micropowers because they’re seemingly insignificant powers), is that he can find the owners of lost objects. He finds a lost item on the street, like a scrunchie, and he knows who the owner is. A police man discovers this and enlists his help in a kidnapping case, which soon becomes a murder case.

I think middle grade kids would enjoy the book. It’s an interesting murder-mystery type book.

Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone for an e-arc to review.

3.5 stars!

This was a strong win for fans of Orson Scott Card, however, it isn't one that I would use to introduce this author to someone. The plot was strong and unique (i.e. not tropey), and I really enjoyed the plot device of "micro powers" instead of superpowers. For a YA book, this definitely deals with some very heavy topics (see content warnings below) and wasn't too cheesy which was refreshing. My biggest issue with it was the dialogue. While the age of the characters were supposed to be 13-15 years old, it seemed like they talked as though they were much older which has the tendency to take the reader out of the story a bit. Overall though it was very enjoyable.

CW: Child abuse and child trafficking, conversations about losing parents at a young age.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

I enjoyed the first half of this story about 14 year old Ezekial, who is bullied, lonely, and struggling to control his 'micropower' of finding and returning lost items to their owners. The relationships between Ezekial, school administrators, cops, his dad, and, finally, Beth, a quirky girl who befriends him, give the reader insight into how smart, empathetic, and misunderstood he is. When he's recruited to help find a missing girl, things get interesting and it's fun to watch him gain self-confidence as well as the respect of others while he helps solve the crime. There's a lot of clever dialogue - some funny, some poignant, some which falls a little flat. Still, for the most part, I enjoyed the back and forth quips between and insights into the characters, especially his heart-to-heart conversations with his dad. I happen to love books with a lot of dialogue and the beginning half of this story delivers in spades.

In the second half of the book, the story takes on a much darker tone while the snappy dialogue continues. At this point, the story becomes uneven. Another crime needs to be solved - a grisly one involving murder and child pornography. Ezekial is again enlisted to help solve the crime, along with a few other kids who also possess various powers. The connection between the kids seems forced though we can see it's meant to help Ezekial relate to others (and vice versa). The snappy banter between the characters becomes tiresome and doesn't fit into the seriousness of the plot. I found myself skimming through a lot of the conversations because they went on way too long and seemed too contrived. However, watching Ezekial come into his own and find his fit make this a redeeming, heartwarming story overall.

It's an enjoyable book, but I think I would've liked it more with less smartass dialogue and more depth provided through description and explanation. A word of caution: though it seems like a good book about overcoming bullying and ostracizing, the crimes are gritty and might be disturbing to some kids.

When I saw that Orson Scott Card was coming out with a new book I had to get my hands on it. So disappointed! Wasn’t the book for me. The banter reminded me of Gilmore Girls. It was quick and snarky, but I couldn’t believe that these two teens were that witty. The whole FBI detective needing the help of a smartass teenage boy and letting him do things in the case that he obviously would never do was just too much for me.

Ezekiel Bliss has an unusual 'gift': he is aware of lost objects around him, and has an urge to return them to their owners. Sounds useful, right? But who wants a stranger approaching them with a muddy scrunchie? And if someone approaches you with a valuable, lost item, how else could they have known it was yours unless they'd been the one to take it, right?

Shunned and mistrustful, Ezekiel plods through life as best he can, until the day a girl decides she's going to walk to school with him. Soon they pair are caught up in a kidnapping case, and part of a research group looking into 'micropowers' - things like Ezekiel's finding ability.

I'll start by saying this: Lost and Found has nothing in common with OSC's most famous work, Ender's Game. The sci-fi element is as low-key as the micropowers being used and investigated, with the plot being centred more around the group - Ezekiel, Beth, FBI Agent Shank, and Mr Bliss - being pulled into the search for a missing child. However, the story is probably more about relationships and loss, and navigating life when you're a bit too different.

I didn't really know what to expect, and overall I wasn't entirely blown away by the mystery or world-building - micropowers are interesting, but they aren't really explained or deeply explored beyond being the central plot device. But I was sucked into the story almost from the get-go, mainly by the dialogue-driven character interactions. I liked that the grown ups are pulled into the quest, it's not just the kids. And those kids are smart and self-deprecating, very not annoying!

Overall, a decent read - nothing earth-shattering, but held my interest despite feeling vaguely familiar, plot-wise. So while I'm not branding it a 'must-read', it won't disappoint if you do find yourself picking it up.

(rating: 2.5 / 5)

Fourteen-year-old Ezekiel Blast has a talent for finding things and knowing who they belong to. Along with this talent comes a strong need to return things to the owner. This has earned him the label of thief by people who assume he stole the items in the first place. Now ostracized by peers and authority figures alike, he is not expecting to be befriended by fellow outcast Beth, who is thirteen, but looks like she’s seven. When he’s asked to use his “micropower” to find a missing girl, Ezekiel initially refuses for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is that he finds things, not people. However, with the help of his friend and some others, Ezekiel realizes that there may be more to his micropower than he ever knew.

I was pretty excited when I was approved to read an advance copy of this book, since Orson Scott Card is a big name author. I haven’t read anything else by him (though Ender’s Game is on my TBR short list), but fortunately, I’ve read other reviews that say this isn’t like his other, especially earlier, work. Because this could have turned me off to his writing otherwise. I struggled a lot with various aspects of this book.

My biggest issue was the dialog. Not just the dialog itself, but the way it was framed. I’m a huge dialog person, both in my reading and my writing. And this book was something like 75% dialog. Because outside of the actual events that occurred surrounding the lost girl (and even during that), it felt like the characters were always either standing around or sitting around talking. And there was very little in the way of action happening during the talking, but while this worked in Lock In, it just didn’t work the same in this book. I’m not sure if I can explain why though. Maybe because the MC in Lock In is more of a mind at work, then a physical person? Maybe because it wasn’t 75% of the book?

But then, it might be because of the actual content of the dialog. There was so much snark and snappiness, it was just overwhelming. Almost like it was trying too hard to be witty and intelligent. Most of the characters talked nearly identical, even the minor ones, so it was really difficult to get a sense of who was talking. The only thing that really led me to understand that Ezekiel was particularly smart was that the detective said as much to him. But sometimes, the detective talked just like him, except without the constant need to correct people, so I guess that’s what made Ezekiel smarter? Some dialog scenes actually read as if the characters were doing nothing but one-up’ing each other in being more and more correct about what they were trying to say. And I really didn't buy either Ezekiel or Beth as early teens due to their dialog.

Ezekiel’s micropower is analyzed to death, right up until the end of the book. On the other hand, a few certain elements (that I won’t detail for the sake of spoilers) were left completely unexplained. And there were certain things that happened in this book that reminded me of my 10-year-old self writing about a girl who got her best friend adopted alongside her simply because she was plucky enough to ask. It just felt a bit too unlikely in several spots (including what would likely allowed in police work). But maybe Card has done some research and knows some things I don’t (I am definitely not an expert).

As far as the plot goes, it got off to a bit of a slow start, and then started to get interesting. And then went a surprising direction right at about the halfway point, and then became too predictable because of that. I know this is vague, but I don’t want to spoil anything.

Now, the positives. Because I did give this book some stars. Ezekiel’s dad. I really like seeing a parent portrayed in such a great light, especially a father, because let’s face it, they’re pretty beat up in fiction of various mediums these days. I also liked the way the detective treated Ezekiel, for the most part, outside of the unlikely things. I really did like the premise, and even the plot, for the first half of the book. Then it felt like a rinse and repeat for the second half.

I struggled with how many stars to give this book. While I was reading it, I was hovering around 3-3.5. But by the end, I couldn’t figure out what I was seeing that gave it even that much redeeming value. I hate writing a review like this, and I will sum up by saying that a lot of this is personal preference. But it really didn’t suit my preference. I think there are plenty of people who would enjoy the quick, snarky dialog though, considering that the writing actually reminded me of a few people I know. So for those who enjoy that type of writing, it’s probably worth a read.

I was conflicted about this one. I liked it because the cadence reminded me of his Enderverse books, but I just didn't click as well with the characters. I love the story, but I think some of the conversations were a little off. Not that I can't see real people having them, just that they seemed a bit wrong.

Fourteen year old Ezekiel Blast has a talent ('micropower') for finding lost things and being able to sense who lost them. However, returning lost things to their owners has got him labelled as a thief and by the time he got to high school he was shunned by everyone and had no friends. That is until Beth Sorenson, a very smart thirteen year old and fellow outcast as a result of her dwarfism, decides to walk with him to and from school starting an unusual friendship.

I'll be interested to see if YA readers like this better than I did. This is not Orson Scott Card at his best, although it has its moments and is very readable. I found the constant smart, snarky banter between Ezekiel and Beth and his father a little unrelenting for even a bitter, lonely teenager. In many places less would have been better and sharper. The plot also felt like it could have been developed more to extend the drama and action, particularly in the first half of the novel. I felt the inclusion of other teens with micropowers was also underdeveloped and the group could have been better utilised in the plot. The suggestion that together they could potentiate each other was never clearly demonstrated or explored. However, I think that teenage fans of Orson Scott Card will nevertheless enjoy this ya novel.

This is such a quirky and witty read !! I love Enders game and The Lost gate. I had high expectations!

I adored the friendship between the main characters. Their banter and quick witted conversation kept the novel flowing quickly and made me laugh more than once.

I also really enjoyed the idea of Ezekiel’s micro power. Seemed interesting enough. However the others powers just seemed a little ridiculous. By the end of the book I was so tired of reading the world micropower I was tempted to throw the book across the room.

Over all cute YA read with some interring plot points (murder, kidnapping.... micropowers 🙄) but over all average execution.

To be honest. I expected more from the author based on previous novels.

Disclaimer: I was given an advance reading copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity.

This was the first book I've read from Orson Scott Card. I've seen copies of Ender's game before, but I never had the courage to read it because it overwhelms me. But when I found out that this was a YA novel, I immediately grabbed the opportunity.

However, given it's YA genre, it felt like a middle grade read to me. I still like the idea plot overall, especially the part where micropowers are involved. There were moments when I just skim the pages because I somehow felt that I lost connection and I want to pull myself back in.

This might be a it's-not-the-book-it's-me kind of thing, but this won't stop me from picking up more of his works (preferably YA) in the future and compare it to my experience reading this. It may not be my cup of team, but it might be yours, so please still grab a copy of this book when it comes out.